THE STATE OF UNHEALTHYSAVAGELYTHEHOUSINGMARKETSAVAGELYUNHEALTHY HousingWire Lead Analyst, Logan Mohtashami MAGAZINEHOUSINGWIRE ❱ 2022SEPTEMBER September 2022
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HOUSINGWIRE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SARAH WHEELER MANAGING EDITOR JAMES KLEIMANN SENIOR MORTGAGE REPORTERS BILL CONROY, GEORGIA KROMREI REAL ESTATE & TITLE REPORTER BROOKLEE HAN MORTGAGE REPORTER FLÁVIA FURLAN NUNES REPORTER CONNIE KIM LEAD ANALYST LOGAN MOHTASHAMI CONTRIBUTORS RICK SHARGA, SCOTT OLSON 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 SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST KENNEDY BENJAMIN SALES SVP SALES AND OPERATIONS JENNIFER WATSON LAWS VP SALES MICHAEL ORME WESTERN CHRISTI HUMPHRIES, LINDSLEY HARRIS, CASS HECKEL CENTRAL & NORTHEAST SAMANTHA STEIN SOUTHERN TAMARA WREN, AMINA JAHIC CLIENT STRATEGY MANAGER ADINA RITTER 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 JUNIOR DIGITAL PRODUCER ELISSA BRANCH CONTENT SOLUTIONS COORDINATOR EUNICE GARCIA 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 REPORTER TANNISTHA SINHA 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 REVERSE MORTGAGE DAILY EDITOR CHRIS CLOW HW MEDIA CORPORATE 4 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
The housingunhealthysavagelymarket
#6you? #4 by @LoganMohtashami Brena Director,NathHW+ & Events @BrenaNath LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 5 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
Mohtashami, since writing that piece, has continued to expand on what this means, diving deeper and deeper into recession talks and even adding the word “nightmare” to the mix. Because of the timely September issue theme, retail and lending, we asked Mohtashami to update readers in a feature piece that focuses on the need-toknow information moving into the rest of 2022 and beyond. Starting on page 26, you’ll hear directly from him about the state of housing and the economy. And, for those who would love to see him in person, you can join us at HousingWire Annual for his Housing Super Session. Go to page 19 to learn more.
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.
Streets
Tweets From The
Back in March, HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami coined the phrase “savagely unhealthy” to describe the state of the housing market. As catchy and memorable as the saying is, it signifies a very volatile and discouraging time for industry professionals and people look ing to buy a home. Do you notice how I used a present-tense word there? Unfortunately, this phrase still rings true six months later. When Mohtashami first used the phrase in his commentaries back in March, he said, “I have lost my five-year home-price growth model of 23% in just two years, and inventory has wors ened in 2022. So now, I consider this not just an unhealthy housing market, but a savagely unhealthy housing market.”
Now that we are days from August, you feel my savagely unhealthy housing vibe, don’t
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What’s your affordable homeownership strategy? Homeownership should be accessible and affordable to all Americans, yet disparities persist, especially for communities of color. Across the mortgage industry, the message is clear: We all have a role to play in bridging the racial equity gap in homeownership. MGIC’s ARCS framework can help you ask the right questions and build your affordable housing and racial equity plan in 4 key areas: • Awareness • Readiness • Community • Solutions
All Things Housing October 3-5, 2022 Fairmont Scottsdale,PrincessAZ HousingWire Annual Heads to Scottsdale Content Technology Community Register today! housingwireannual.com
8 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
12 New leadership was sworn in at HUD following a nom ination by President Joe Biden. Take 5 14 Get your next favorite book recommendation from Chuck Iverson, president at Mason-McDuffie Mortgage. Local Intel 16 Beachfront towns like Siesta Key in Florida have a lock on real estate for remote workers. Event Calendar 18 Kick off conference sea son in warmer climates with big events from AIME, NAMMBA, and HW Media. Inside Agent 21 Hidden vacation gem, Southaven, Michigan, is home to this $4.495 million home. Trade Desk 70 NAHB is encouraging stu dents to consider careers in the skilled trades during Build Across America Day. Real Estate 74 Chicago-based Realtor Stephanie LoVerde shares her experience working in the Windy City.
Reverse Mortgage 78 Christina Harmes Hika is coaching the next gener ation of reverse professionals.mortgage Mortgage 82 There are several mortgage companies who are hiring even in the changing hous ing market. Kudos 88 Learn how to get involved with the Mortgage Bankers Association Opens Doors Foundation. Parting Shot 90 The HW Media team can’t wait for all of you to join us at HousingWire Annual 2022. 2022
PeopleSeptemberMovers
The state of the savagely unhealthy housing market The current state of housing is a far cry from the great recession of 2008. So, what is coming next? 26fffeaturesCantechpointCompassintherightdirection? Compass has made a massive impact in the industry, but can the company maintain this technologically fueled momentum ? 48 2022 HousingWire Insiders HousingWire’s 2022 Insiders represent the unsung heroes of the top companies in the industry. Congrats to these 50 behind-thescenes rockstars. 32 What a difference a year makes By Rick Sharga 22 Is it time to bring Fannie and Freddie out of con servatorship? By Scott Olson 24 Special Reports These 12 companies showcase the newest fintech products and services that will amplify your business. 54 9 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
ServiceLink Congratulates Laura DiRienzo on being named a 2022 HousingWire Insider! Learn more at svclnk.com
Never one to expect the spotlight, Laura DiRienzo is the embodiment of an organizational Insider. Her work ethic, relentless pursuit of knowledge and passion for the mortgage industry inspires all those around her. Laura, thank you for all you do to move the industry forward! ServiceLink congratulates you on this well-deserved honor.
Laura DiRienzo Vice OriginationPresident,Title&Close
PEOPLE MOVERS
Karthik Kumar | LendArch | Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Mortgage consulting firm LendArch named Karthik Kumar as the chief operating officer and executive vice president. Kumar most recently served as the global mortgage practice head at Tata Consultancy Services, where he spent 18 years focusing on solution architecture, operational delivery and entity transformation. Kumar will be responsible for fundamental changes in lending procedures, including areas like behavior, market dynamics and products.
Vinay Singh | Department of Housing and Urban Development | Chief Financial Officer
Wells Fargo named Kleber Santos as CEO of consumer lending. Santos joined the bank in November 2020 as head of diverse segments, representation and inclusion. Before Wells Fargo, he worked for Capital One for 15 years in various leadership positions, including as retail and direct banking president. Santos will continue to report to Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf, who said Santos has “built the DSRI function over the past two years and driven significant outcomes in both representation and inclusion.”
Vinay Singh was appointed as the chief financial officer of the Department of Housing and Urban Develop ment following his nomination by President Joe Biden in April. Singh will oversee financial management at HUD and his priorities will range from grants management to improving the department’s budget process. Singh has more than 25 years of experience in finance-related positions. Singh served as a senior advisor at the U.S. Small Business Administration from September 2021 to July.
Andrew Weiss | BlackFin Group | Partner Management consulting firm BlackFin Group hired Andrew Weiss as a partner. Weiss, who has more than 25 years of experience, will work in the company’s technology practice. Recently, Weiss served as senior vice president of platform strategy at Origence. He also held leadership roles at Bank of America, Newbold Advisors and New Penn Financial. Weiss started his career in the mortgage industry in 1991, serving as senior vice president of advanced technology at Fannie Mae.
iEmergent appointed Megan Horn as its new chief marketing officer. In this role, Horn will expand the brand strategy of iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory company that works with real estate, financial services and mortgage industries. Horn moves into this role after working as a consultant for iEmergent through her own business, Megan Horn Digital. Prior to her time in the housing industry, Horn worked in the marketing departments for companies such as Far Reach and Innovate Energy.
Former FHFA director Mark Calabria has been appointed to Evolve Mortgage Service’s advisory board. The board is focused on promoting the company, the leadership, network expansion and audience expansion. Calabria currently serves as a senior advisor at Cato Institute. Before his appointment as FHFA director, he served as the chief economist to Vice President Mike Pence.
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Sushil Sharma | Better.com | Chief Growth Officer Digital mortgage lender and real estate company Better.com hired Sushil Sharma as the chief growth officer. Sharma, who brings more than 20 years in product management and software engineering from other in dustries, will lead user acquisition efforts. He previously worked at LendingTree and Match, where he helped the company go public in 2015. Sharma also serves on the board of advisors for the University of Texas at Arlington.
Mark Calabria | Evolve Mortgage Services | Advisory Board Member
Kleber Santos | Wells Fargo | CEO of Consumer Lending
Megan Horn | iEmergent | Chief Marketing Officer
The competitive edge you need to stay ahead. Complimentary seat saved at HousingWire’s virtual events and access to on-demand librariesJointoday:housingwire.com/membership HW+ members get exclusive access to: Deeper dives into the stories impacting the housing industry and your bottom line Connect with other industry leaders and HW Editors in an exclusive membersonly experience Premium Content Virtual Events HW+ Slack Channel
TAKE 5 14 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
4. The book I can’t stop recommending is... “Relentless” by Tim Grover, who was Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s trainer. a trip to Scotland and Amsterdam this year. 2022 has been a make-up year for the
Chuck Iverson not only serves as the current president of Mason-McDuffie Mortgage, but he also serves on the board of directors for the California Mortgage Bankers Association and was the recent chair of their breakout Mortgage Innovators Conference. Iverson has over 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry and has 1. I felt like a success at my job when... our team introduces a new product, solves a small problem or somehow improves some
2. My favorite thing to do with my employees is ... hang out and get to know them! This usually involves a meal and just getting to connect as If I had picked a different career path, I would a Scientist. I love the idea of being able to
Chuck Iverson, President, Mason-McDuffie Mortgage
The Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area, better known as the Twin Cities, is home to everything from professional sports teams to award-winning theater pro ductions, a vibrant craft beer scene, as well as the nation’s largest shopping mall. With all these attractions, it is easy to see why so many people want to call the Twin Cities home. “The Twin Cities is almost always in those ‘top ten places to live' lists," Ryan O’Neill, a local RE/MAX agent, said. “There is a strong employment base, four distinct seasons and big city amenities without the crowds of some other major cities.” Like just about everywhere else in the country, the Twin Cities has been dealing with an inventory issue. On the day O’Neill spoke with HW Media, he said there were rough ly 5,000 homes on the market in the area, and noted that a balanced market is closer to 18,000 homes. “Interest rates are rising, and we are seeing some cooling, but demand is still strong, just not as strong as it has been the last couple of years.”
By Brooklee Han Remote work flexibility opened up the possibilities of where people could live, so more and more homebuyers have decided to make the move to the beach. Just outside of Sarasota and right on the Gulf of Mexico, Siesta Key is one of the many beachfront locales these buyers have flocked to. “The beach has been a huge draw — it never snows here, you never have to worry about shoveling the driveway or scraping off your car,” Trystan Foglia, a local eXp agent, said. “And with the COVID-19 pandemic, things started opening up in Florida a lot earlier than other places, so some people moved here because of that.” But as interest rates have ris en, demand, which was once white hot, has started to cool. “Now we are starting to see houses sit on the market for more than a week when you used to be able to get five offers in under 24 hours,” Kayla Minck, who works with Foglia on The Kameli Team, said. Both Minck and Foglia said that while things are cooling down, it is not quite a buyers’ market, though it may turn that way in the future. “Buyers are active, but not as active as they once were. Prices are high and now rates are high and every time we have spoken to buyers recently, they say they are waiting for the rates to go back down, but at this point, I think they will be waiting a while,” Minck said.
LOCAL INTEL Siesta Key, Florida
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Twin Cities, Minnesota
TexasAustin, Raleigh,NorthCarolina
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Raleigh was one of the fastest growing cities in the country. As more and more people flocked to the metro area, Raleigh’s housing market turned scorching hot according to Redfin. However, local agent Marti Hampton, of Marti Hampton Real Estate, said that rising interest rates have been putting a damper on the previously hot market. “It is still a very strong sellers’ market and there is not enough inventory for the buyers, however, I have seen a shift in the number of offers that we are receiving,” Hampton said. “A few months ago, we were receiving 30 or 40 offers on a single property and that has dropped down some. We have seen a slight seasonal increase in inventory like we normally would see this time of year, but it is still not enough.” Despite the downshift, Hampton is confident this big city’s small-town southern charm, along with other attractions like top universities and health care providers, will continue driving homebuyers to Raleigh.
Temperatures in Austin have been in the triple digits for months now, but the metro area's housing mar ket finally started to cool off. Austin’s housing market has generated plenty of headlines over the past two years, as major corporations, as well as individuals, have decided to call the capital of the Lone Star State their new home. But, as mortgage rates have risen and home prices in the metro have contin ued to rise, the market has calmed down. “Instead of seeing 10 plus offers on something, you are seeing more like five offers. Instead of going in three or four days, homes are now sitting a bit longer,” Jeremy Vandermause, a local Bramlet Residential Real Estate agent, said. Vandermause also noted how much pur chase power homebuyers have lost as interest rates have risen. “People are more hesitant,” he said. “I have a client right now whose price range was $400,000 to $420,000 and now it is more in the $360,000 to $390,000 range because her original budget was created when interest rates were at 3% or 4%.”
Sioux Falls, the largest city in South Dakota, accounts for roughly 30% of the state’s population and has become quite the destination. Its namesake, the Big Sioux River, runs just north of the downtown area providing lush landscapes and picturesque waterfalls for locals to enjoy. It is easy to see what is attracting homebuyers to Sioux Falls. As with so many metro areas, however, an increase in homebuyer demand has, of course, created some challenges for the lo cal housing markets. “We are still seeing fairly low inventory,” local agent Amy Stockberger, of Amy Stockberger Real Estate, said. “We have seen a little bit more inventory accumulate but it is nothing in the big picture.” As interest rates have risen, Stockberger said she has seen a slight drop off in demand, but conditions have more or less persisted at their current rate. “Anything under the $400,000 price point is still pretty aggressive and getting a lot of offers, then we also have an aggressive market for things above $900,000, which is really interesting,” she said. Stockberger attributes the high level of demand for pricier homes to the influx of out-of-state buyers the area has seen, and while the market may cool due to rising interest rates, she expects the area’s natural beauty and lack of a state income tax to continue attracting buyers in the coming months and years.
“During the Great Recession, it was like somebody turned the faucet off,” she said. “It was gangbusters, home sales like crazy, then all of a sudden it went down.”
LOCAL INTEL
Savage and Messerli discuss their ”halftime report” of 2022, some of the trends the industry is seeing this year, the challenges the industry has to overcome and more.
KM: I think big one, of course, was the rising rates, low inventory and affordability. And those were areas that we wanted to really expand on, like what are the dynamics there because people were sometimes saying different things or had different perspectives on it. Then there were trends around like the shift to non-depositories and also automation.Itends up being a lot of categories.different Scan the code to listen now! Sept. 15-17
EVENT CALENDAR
Cost to attend: Members: $499 | Non-members: $1,499
For this Housing News episode, HW Media CEO Clayton Collins is joined by Chief Savage,BoomerangCoachOfficerInnovationatMortgageandSalesDaveaswellas the Experience.com Vice President of Strategy Kristen Messerli. The three dive into a discussion on the current state of the mortgage industry.
Cost to attend: $395
Presented by the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America ORLANDO, FL CONNECT is a popular real estate and finance industry conference. At tendees are treated to three days of panels, round tables, keynote speak ers and fun networking events with like-minded professionals in the in dustry. Plus, there are unique events like the gala dinner, College Days and sector-specific speakers for attendees to get information that is relevant to their niche community. Take full advantage of everything Connect has to offer through sponsored luncheons, dinners and a three-day exhibition hall where you can try out the latest technology. Attendees will take a wealth of knowledge away from this year’s Connect conference and build a better industry moving forward.
Presented by the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts LAS VEGAS, NV
Sept. 29-Oct. 1
THE FIFTH ANNUAL Fuse National Conference is built for mortgage pro fessionals who are ready to grow their business, network with other pro fessionals and get the inside scoop on where the industry is headed. This conference features special sessions and panels on VA loans; diversity, equity and inclusion; working in a recession and women in the mortgage industry. Saturday’s keynote speaker, Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of UWM, will present and later that day attendees will enjoy a celebration of the top 100 producers in the industry.
NAMMBA Connect 2022 Oct. Cost3-5toattend: Members: $655 | Non-members: $1,295
SCOTTSDALE,
HousingWire Annual 2022
“Housing News” Dave Savage and Kristin Messerli discuss the current state of the mortgage industry
LISTEN NOW
AIME Fuse 2022
18 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
HOUSINGWIRE ANNUAL is the ultimate event for housing industry professionals to connect and learn. Featuring dozens of panels, speakers and networking opportunities, HW Annual is the place to be if you want to learn from industry leaders and experts, connect with like-minded profes sionals and explore the latest technology from conference sponsors. Don’t miss the Marketing Leaders Success Summit or the Women of Influence Forum taking place on Oct. 3 prior to the HW Annual. These individually ticketed, half-day events will feature housing industry leaders with specific marketing experience and powerful women in the industry who want to build a better industry moving forward.
Presented by HW Media AZ
HousingWire: What were the drivers and the data points that you chose to focus on to help build the thesis for this halftime report? Kristen Messerli: Well, what was really cool about this report is that we did get all of this initially from the experts and so we tran scribed all of the interviews and then went through and categorized where everyone was talking about different subjects. Then we did additional research. So it’s cool because I do feel like we aggregated the information, but it’s kind of written by the industry and industry experts. HW: When you did that categorization, what were the data areas that started to form that people were talking about?
Nominations close September 23rd Recognizing the most impactful and innovative technology leaders serving the economy.housing 19 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
EVERY STATE HAS A LUXURY SIDE to it, and the Wolverine State is no exception. On the west coast of Michigan lies South Haven, a mainly resort town of less than 4,000 permanent residents and a cavalcade of second-home dwellers That’s where Jackson Mattson comes in. Mattson has been a real estate agent in southwest Michigan for the last 20 years. His trade is selling homes along the pristine, though for months of the year, frozen, Lake Michigan waterfront. For the last 10 years, Mattson has hung his license with @properties, which makes some sense. The brokerage has the biggest market share in Chicago. And “85% to 95%” of people buying property in South Haven or neighboring St. Joseph are “from the Chicagoland area.”
jackson@atproperties.comal@propertiesMattsonJacksonChristie’sInternationRealEstate
INSIDE AGENT
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“We’ve been coined the riviera of the Midwest,” Mattson said. “There are a lot of attractions, the lakefront sunsets, wineries. There is a lot of fruit. People come here just to pick blueberries.”Asforthe Monroe Boulevard abode, the home was con structed by Mike Schaap Builders, a luxury homebuilder in nearby Holland, Michigan. The 4,479-square-foot home stands along 100 feet of Michigan shoreline. It has floor-to-ceiling windows, and a saltwater swimming pool. The home, Mattson points out, is within walking dis tance to a downtown that has a distinctive vibe from the lake front.“There are usually graduation parties, sports gatherings around here,” he said, adding that he hopes the ebbing COVID-19 pandemic will spark a “wave of activity.” 906 Monroe Boulevard South Haven, Michigan 49090 $4.495 million 5 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms
“In fact, the MBA expects the number of refi loans to drop from 6.4 million in 2021 to under 2.2 million in 2022 and just over 1.6 million in 2023.”
22 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 2022
By Rick Sharga In 2021, it seemed like the biggest problems mortgage lenders faced were how to process the growing backlog of loan applications and how to hire enough people to handle the volume of business coming through the door. But as proof to be careful what you wish for, a simple 2.5% hike in mortgage rates solved those problems completely. In turn, it created a whole different, much more unpleasant set of challenges.Asrates for 30-year fixed-rate loans jumped from sub-3.0% to between 5.0-6.0%, the rate-based refi market unsurprisingly dried up, leading to massive layoffs, industry consolidation and some lenders simply going out of business. In the July mortgage market forecast, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said it anticipated refi volume would drop from $2.345 trillion in 2021 to $706 billion in 2022 and further to $540 billion in 2023. So this isn’t a short-term problem for the industry, and we’ll likely continue to see more layoffs, more consolidation and more lenders in distress. Will other mortgage loans help make up this deficit? While cash-out refi volume will probably increase, the size of these loans is typically much lower than rate-based refis. The number of borrowers taking out these loans is generally much lower too. In fact, the MBA expects the number of refi loans to drop from 6.4 million in 2021 to under 2.2 million in 2022 and just over 1.6 million in 2023. This enormous fall-off in refinance activity will take its greatest toll on independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and non-bank lenders, which have dominated the refi market over the past few years and relied heavily on fine-tuned and aggressive direct-toconsumer business models to drive their sales. Many of these lenders are ill-equipped to shift from refi to purchase loans.
What a difference a year makes The changes to the lending game from 2021 to 2022 and beyond
PURCHASE LOANS ARE NO PANACEA Lenders banking on a move from refinance loans to purchase loans may also be in for an unpleasant surprise. The MBA’s Purchase Loan Application Index hit its lowest levels in over 20 years in late July, and it has been running about 20% below both 2019 and 2021 levels. The MBA forecast calls for purchase loans to be virtually flat on a year-over-year basis between 2021 and 2022, from about $1.65 trillion last year to a little over $1.66 trillion this year. The forecast is only projecting a modest increase to $1.7 trillion in 2023. And the organization is actually forecasting a lower number of total purchase loans — from almost 4.9 million last year to 4.4 million this year and just over 4.3 million next year. So while the dollar volume of loans will edge up slightly due to increasing home prices, the actual number of loans originated will go down a bit. All told, the combination of fewer refi loans and fewer purchase loans will drop overall mortgage origination volume by 40% in 2022 according to the MBA, and the 2023 volume will dip slightly lower still. Profitability will also be challenged — purchase loans take longer and are more complicated to process than refi loans. That 2.5-point jump in mortgage rates has had an extraordinary impact — not just on refinance activity, but on home sales as well. Freddie Mac has pointed out that this increase in rates was the biggest this century, and probably the largest since the early 1980s. It also reversed a 20-year trend where higher home prices were offset by steadily decreasing mortgage interest rates to keep monthly payments relatively affordable. The combination of double-digit home price appreciation and higher interest rates means that prospective homebuyers will expect to pay between 40-50% more in monthly mortgage payments than they would have in 2021. Homes are simply unaffordable for many buyers — especially first-time buyers — and it is difficult for many others to even qualify for a loan.
CHANGE OFTEN LEADS TO OPPORTUNITY
Over the past few years, many mortgage lenders have done very well by offering a small selection of products. With buyers in a near frenzy and rate-based refi borrowers looking to take advantage of historically low rates, there was no reason to get creative. But the changing market may offer opportunities for those lenders who have a different and more varied product offering.Asimple example of this is adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), which fell out of favor during the Great Recession and accounted for less than 4% of purchase loans as recently as December 2021. As homebuyers look for ways to affordably purchase a property, 5/1 and 7/1 ARMs are likely going to become more and more popular among borrowers and a more important tool in lenders’ arsenals. And ARMs won’t be exclusively purchase loans, either; expect cash-out refinance borrowers to also explore ARMs as an option when they’re considering a refi. Lenders shouldn’t overlook opportunities with FHA and VA borrowers as the market shifts. Over the past two years, these borrowers were at an enormous disadvantage — trying to compete with cash buyers and pre-approved conventional loan borrowers who could close a transaction much more quickly than the process allowed with these government loans. An FHA or VA borrower simply had no chance to buy a home when it sold within a week of being listed, as was the case in many markets. But as sales volume has slowed down due to affordability issues, days on market are increasing and buyers aren’t as frequently bidding up and over-paying for properties. We’ll likely see both FHA and VA loan volume moving from unusually low numbers back up to normal levels over the next year or two. Lenders who issue those loans should see an uptick in business. The FHA has also announced plans to more aggressively promote its 203(k) loans, which allow borrowers to add repair costs to their loan amount if they’re buying “fixer-uppers.”
Lenders who survive — and thrive — during this downturn will probably be those with broader product offerings and those who are nimble enough to shift gears and move into other product areas to meet the shifting needs of this changing marketplace. Rick Sharga serves as the executive vice president of Market Intelligence at ATTOM. Prior to this, he was the executive vice president of RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company that publishes the country’s largest database of foreclosure information for real estate agents and investors.
“These reports show sales at 5.12 million existing homes and 590,000 new home sales in 2022.”
23 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022 COMMENTARY
This is a product that hasn’t had much attention in recent years, but it might be a part of the FHA’s efforts to help buyers find more affordable housing.
The bottom line is that the next few years are going to be extraordinarily challenging for mortgage lenders, especially those lenders whose businesses were heavily reliant on refinance loans.Retail lenders, who tend to be less exclusively reliant on mortgages, may find themselves in a position of competitive advantage during this period, as will lenders who manage large mortgage servicing portfolios, where values often rise in concert with interest rates.
Another “back from the dead” product candidate is the home equity line of credit (HELOC). Homeowners today are sitting on a record amount of equity — over $27 trillion. Many of these homeowners have decided to stay where they are (with their comfortable 3.0% mortgages) and wait for market conditions to settle down a bit. These are exactly the kind of homeowners who may be interested in tapping into their bulging equity to make home improvements, pay down more expensive debt or use these funds for college, vacations or other needs. Our data at ATTOM showed an almost 28% increase in HELOC activity in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the prior year.
None of this paints an especially pretty picture for the industry, where many former high flyers are already struggling to right-size operations to meet the reduced loan volume. And the MBA’s July projections may be overly optimistic — they’re based on an economy that grows slowly but doesn’t enter a recession. Their purchase loan volume is based on a housing market where 5.6 million existing homes and 744,000 new homes are sold in 2022, both significantly higher than annualized sales based on June numbers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Census Bureau. These reports show sales at 5.12 million existing homes and 590,000 new home sales in 2022.
Baby Boomers are increasingly aging in place in much higher numbers than prior generations, and are strong candidates for HELOCs as well as for home equity conversion mortgages (HECMs), also known as reverse mortgages. Boomers, as a group, probably have the largest total amount of equity, just based on the size of the cohort, and how long they’ve been accruing equity in their properties. While not as widely offered as other mortgage products, reverse mortgages might just find themselves the new belle of the ball — the right product at just the right time in a shifting marketplace.
24 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 2022
By Scott Olson July 30 marked the 14-year anniversary of President George W. Bush, a Republican president, signing into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA), developed under a Democratic-controlled Congress.
WITHSTANDING THE TEST OF TIME
A 2015 report by the New York Federal Reserve found that “conservatorship achieved its key short-run goals of stabilizing mortgage markets and promoting financial stability during a period of extreme stress.”
FANNIE AND FREDDIE FULFILLING THEIR HOUSING MISSION
At the same time, Fannie and Freddie have hit the sweet spot of both performing well financially and fulfilling their housing mission. Fannie and Freddie were an essential source of
I
Loan portfolios have been dramatically slashed, ending the significant pre-HERA Fannie/Freddie interest rate risk exposure. And, the GSEs have their own version of the Dodd-Frank Qualified Mortgage (QM), which generally outlaws no doc, no income loans, a major contributor to the GSEs’ conservatorship.
“Conservatorship achieved its key short-run goals of stabilizing mortgage markets and promoting financial stability during a period of extreme stress.” - New York Federal Reserve
HERA established a process for conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, situated FHFA as a first-class regulator and codified GSE mission provisions like the Housing Trust Fund, Duty to Serve and Housing Goals.Many are disappointed that Fannie and Freddie are still in conservatorship 14 years later. From my perspective as a House Financial Services Committee housing staffer, who worked on the HERA legislation at that time, I think it is important to remind people how well-crafted HERA was and how well it has served taxpayers, homeowners and our nation’s housing markets.
Longer term, HERA and conservatorship reforms have addressed the major risk characteristics of the pre-2008 version of the GSEs credit risk transfers, which are still being used to transfer risk away from taxpayers and to provide market discipline — a kind of early warning sign if the GSEs are going off the rails.
The GSEs have been under conservatorship for 14 years
s it time to bring Fannie and Freddie out of conservatorship?
When HERA was signed into law, few people envisioned that its conservatorship authority would be invoked just 39 days later — but it was. Fortunately, HERA’s de novo conservatorship provisions have more than withstood the test of time.The immediate impact was to stabilize financial markets in turmoil. The conservatorship facilitated the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) that enabled 645,000 GSE distressed borrowers to save their homes through loan modifications and the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) that enabled 3.5 million underwater borrowers to lower their mortgage rates.
ADDRESSING MAJOR RISK CHARACTERISTICS
Finally, there are GSE housing goals. Housing goals have been criticized from all sides of the political spectrum. But no, though some have claimed, they did not cause the 2008 crisis; every major study has rejected this theory. And, housing goals don’t require the GSEs to buy bad loans or participate in social engineering. They rest on the simple premise that Fannie and Freddie should not use a taxpayer backstop to cherry-pick higher quality, higher income mortgage loans — but instead must predominately carry out their statutory mission requirement to serve low- and moderateincome homebuyers and renters.
25 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022 COMMENTARY
In fact, it is not essential for Congress to enact legislation. HERA includes the tools for the conservator (FHFA) to take Fannie and Freddie out of conservatorship.
The best approach, in my personal opinion, is for Fannie and Freddie to exit conservatorship under a true utility model using the housing mission tools of HERA, a vigilant FHFA that makes sure the GSEs do not take on dangerous levels of risk to maximize shareholder profit and an explicit federal backstop to establish MBS investor confidence.
mortgage credit for the housing recovery after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. Under conservatorship, Fannie and Freddie paid back their Treasury advances and generated an additional $110 billion in profits for American taxpayers. A few years ago, FHFA restarted the process of letting the GSEs retain profits to build up their net worth and provide a buffer against future economic downturns.
So, in the absence of consensus and congressional guidance, it is understandable that no FHFA director over the last 14 years has taken Fannie and Freddie out of conservatorship.
Ideally, Congress would hold extensive hearings to develop a bi partisan consensus on how to move forward — and then have FHFA use its authority under HERA to act.
But there are good faith differences of opinion on many key issues, including how to resolve the government’s preferred stock holding.
The three Duty to Serve market areas are manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation and rural housing. As a result, Fannie and Freddie now pay particular attention to these critical areas — which were often ignored before the adoption of HERA.
Looking forward, the great parlor game in Washington is when, if ever, Fannie and Freddie will exit conservatorship. At the time when they were put in conservatorship, Treasury Secretary Paulson called it a “timeout.” That is one heck of a time-out! And one that apparently will not end soon. The reason is simple. We seem to be waiting on Congress — but Congress is plagued by legislative gridlock — and detailed legislation is not the best way to address the complexities of how Fannie and Freddie should operate and be regulated post-conservatorship.
WILL THE “TIMEOUT” END SOON?
Either way, 14 years later, HERA still provides a sound foundation for making this critical part of our housing finance system work effectively. It would be nice if all federal legislation were that successful. Scott Olson is executive director of the Community Home Lenders Association. Olson has over 20 years of experience on Capitol Hill – including 15 as a top housing staffer on the House Financial Services Committee, working on housing and mortgage finance issues.
An important HERA provision was the creation and funding of the Housing Trust Fund, the first significant affordable housing program since the housing tax credit program was created 22 years earlier. A small portion of GSE profits are allocated by the states for construction or substantial rehabilitation of affordable rental housing for the lowest income earners. Since the program began in 2016, $2.659 billion has been contributed by Fannie and Freddie for the Housing Trust Fund.
Or not. Many in Washington think the conservatorship is working well and believe there is no urgency for Fannie and Freddie to exit conservatorship.
GSE HOUSING GOALS
Another HERA provision was the creation of Duty to Serve. This is based on the reality that the GSEs were able to meet their housing goals while ignoring certain profitable and critically important segments of the market, simply because they are lower volume activities that require the GSEs to roll up their sleeves a bit.
How housing today is different than the Great Recession of 2008 and where it is headed next THE STATE OF MARKETHOUSINGUNHEALTHYSAVAGELYTHESAVAGELYUNHEALTHY 26 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
MohtashamiLoganBy 27 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
T he housing market in 2022 has been savagely unhealthy. It’s not unhealthy like the housing bubble crash of the great financial crisis, but it is frustrating none theless. In my economic work, the years 2020-2024 have always stood out as our most prominent housing demographic group reaches their home-buying years during this period.
EXISTING HOME SALES
I am writing this article at the beginning of August, and with how data moves, a lot of things can change. With that said, we are basically at the halftime show for 2020-2024 and it’s time to assess all the sectors of the U.S. housing market and the general U.S. economy
As always, the marginal homebuyer always gets hit the worst in this situation. Whenever mortgage rates go below f%, housing demand grows. Then when rates get above 4% and head toward 4.5% to 5%, things tend to slow down. We saw this in the previousHowever,expansion.inthesummer of 2020, home prices started their massive acceleration. At this time, I started to raise my concerns about rising home prices, while others were pontificating about the threat of a forbearance home price crash.Even in February of 2021, I warned people that we needed higher rates to cool things down. Back then, people were still talking about a forbearance housing crash. In 2022, rates finally broke over 4%. Strangely, 4-5% mortgage rates weren’t cooling demand as much as I thought they would initially.
Once they rose above 5%, they finally had an effect. Housing followed the traditional trajectory of rising rates, which means a downward shift in the sales trend like we saw in the previous expansion. The rise of ARM loans also mitigated the damage to home sales.
Starting in 2020, I expected to see a solid five years of at least 6.2 million total home sales each year, with enough demand to keep housing construction moving since demographics equal demand. Everyone needs shelter and somewhere to live. Ever since inventory started falling in 2014, you could see a problem brewing for 2020-2024. The only thing that can ruin this house party is too much heat on the dance floor, meaning home prices get out of hand too quickly.
During the housing bubble years, we had more inventory and sales. We also had less price growth. From 2020-2022, we had fewer sales and listings, but the price growth was much hotter. Don’t get me wrong; the demand from the past two years is more than the demand from 2008-2019. However, the too-hot pricing velocity was a function of total inventory hitting all-time lows during this period that had good demographics and lower rates.
During the previous expansion, my token line was that we would have the weakest housing recovery from 2008-2019.
However, mortgage rates between 5-6% changed the housing dynamics too, and the demand decreased more noticeably. In the past, when mortgage rates fell, the market stabilized and sales increased. It will be interesting to see whether recent home price growth will limit that stabilizing factor this time around.
I will be very interested to see as mortgage rates fall, which they typically do going into a recession, how much of a stabilizing effect it will have on the housing market.
NEW HOME SALES
The icing on the cake was the market reaction to the invasion and the push-up in some of the inflationary data. All of this indicated that the Federal Reserve would be aggressive in its response. The 10-year yield and mortgage rates then made a historic rise together, resulting in a 2% increase in mortgage rates in a very short period.
Last but not least, you always want to keep an eye on the mortgage purchase application data on a year-over-year basis when thinking about the future of existing home sales. As long as this data is negative, sales have the ca pacity to fall.
Because of the long wait times on a new build, new home sales get impacted more by higher rates. For the same reason, the new home sales market is also more complex than the existing home sales market. The new home sales sector had to deal with lumber prices and delays in getting products. There are still some new homes that are waiting for their garage door to be delivered or their countertops installed.
T 28 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
Our demographics were too old or too young to get total sales over 6.2 million, meaning total housing starts would not begin a year over 1.5 million until 2020-2024.
So, I set a five-year home-price growth limit: As long as home prices only grew 23% in five years, we would be OK. Well, guess what? In just 2.5 years, home prices grew over 40%. This is genuinely savage. The one thing that I feared the most happened — inventory levels broke to all-time lows and we have not returned to 2019 inventory levels.
New home sales also suffered from massive price growth since 2020, so when rates went higher, demand should have cooled down noticeably. The writing was on the wall for a cool-down in this sector as soon as the business
So what does that mean now?
In the past, when rates fell, we never worked from a pe riod when home prices exploded higher as it has over the past 2.5 years.
The housing market changed the moment the 10-year yield broke over 1.94%. This occurred after Russia invaded Ukraine in March, an event that pushed mortgage rates over 4%. In my 2022 forecast, I discussed how mortgage rates could get above 4%, which required global yields to rise, particularly in Germany and Japan, which they did before the Russian invasion.
• 2.24 months of supply hasn’t even been started yet.
As we can see below, the monthly supply has taken off once again, currently at 9.3 months. The builder’s business model is at risk, of course. The builders are here to make money; this isn’t a charity. They don’t put their head in the sand and build, build and build, waiting for buyers to come around and buy a new home. So, naturally, when the monthly supply data breaks over 6.5 months, the builders pause their construction and make sure they can sell their products. This is how a business works: they create something, sell it and make money from it.
• 6.22 months of supply is under construction.
aggressively.Single-family
However, due to the inability to build homes promptly, most of the active supply is either under construction or not even started yet.
29 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
Housing starts and permits have had a good run since the lows in the previous expansion (from 2012-2022). With the rise in new home sales and the need for rent, hous ing permits kept that uptrend going. However, things have changed for the worse here as mortgage rates rose very
• When supply is 4.4 to 6.4 months, this is an OK mar ket for the builders. They will build as long as new home sales are growing.
My rule of thumb for anticipating builder behavior is based on the average monthly supply of new homes over three months: • When supply is 4.3 months and below, this is an excellent market for the builders.
HOUSING STARTS
• The builders will pull back on construction when the supply is 6.5 months and above.
construction is pretty much done until the builders can get rid of their backlog of homes that are in construction. Once that is taken care of, the builders need to feel comfortable building homes again. As we can see, the builder's confidence has collapsed with higher rates. This collapse in builders' confidence is one of my six recession red flags, and I raised it in June as it was evident that the cycle had ended. The builder's housing completion data has looked terrible for some time, so they will take their time now in building those homes.
model of the builders was at risk.
However, we must be mindful of one current reality that differs from the past: Only 0.83 months of supply is actually finished homes.
The builders also had to deal with delays in construction, which meant that people who had qualified for loans with rates around 3% were now being hit with the reality that by the time they were ready to move in, rates would jump onSo,them.naturally, the cancellation rates were going to rise.
The one big difference between now and the peak of the housing bubble years is that new home sales are currently already low on a historical basis. The peak of the housing bubble had roughly 1.4 million new home sales, which meant that production levels were matched to that sky-rocketing demand. Now, new home sales are at 590,000, so the builders are in a much better spot to manage this downturn.
This was the 2019 inventory level, and although that was a four-decade low in inventory, it was a sane marketplace back then. We want a dull and balanced marketplace.
I will keep an eye out on this data line if mortgage rates fall with more intensity. As I make comp adjustments to this data, I can get a sense of when this line is turning for the positive. For now, this isn’t the case.
At some point, we will find a bottoming-out process with pending home sales. Keep an eye out for how the market reacts to lower mortgage rates. Housing data lags, but purchase application data is forward-looking. With that said, pending home sales and existing home sales have trended well together for many years. We might have a few reports here and there where we encounter a demand mismatch. That does occur from time to time, but keep it simple: As pending home sales rise or fall, existing home sales will follow.
With three different refinancing waves since 2012, the homeowner in America looks better than ever on paper.
PENDING HOME SALES
HOME PRICES
Once the 10-year yield broke over 1.94%, I had anticipated 18-22% year-over-year declines in the purchase application data on a four-week moving average. That didn’t happen with 4-5% mortgage rates, but when rates were between 5-6%, we had enough damage to the data to reach my target level.
The weekly data from Redfin and Realtor.com are still showing double-digit median sales listing prices from a year ago. Ouch! Or shall I say, savage! Savagely Unhealthy. This is because we started the year at all-time lows in inventory, and the housing market takes time to adjust prices versus demand.
Just imagine if mortgage rates didn’t rise — where would housing be this year?
This was the core premise of the savagely unhealthy market and why we needed to break out of the all-time low inventory status because nothing good happens when inventory levels are this low.
The National Association of Realtors claims the median sales price is still up double digits as of the last report.
Now that inventory levels are rising, the growth rate in pricing should cool. My rule of thumb during this period has always been that we want total inventory in America to get back into a range of 1.52-1.93 million and get four months of supply to get back to normal.
As I write this, the four-week moving average decline is at 18%; this looks about right to me, but it needed 5-6% mortgage rates to get there.
Below you can see the NAR total inventory data from 1982 to today. Currently, we are at 1,260,000.
PURCHASE APPLICATION DATA
It is also worth noting that homeowners are staying in
30 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
The number of pending home sales continues to fall these days, and as long as mortgage rates stay this high and forward-looking purchase application data is negative year over year, they have room to fall lower.
CREDIT PROFILE Household balance sheets look great for homeowners. Homeowners have enjoyed a fixed long-term debt product while their wages grew over the years.
They have homes they haven’t even started building, so don’t look for many actions on those sites until the homes under construction have more visibility and can be sold promptly.Thebuilders will finish their multifamily construction projects as rental demand will stay firm because the higher rates will convince more renters to stay in their homes and apartments longer than normal.
One thing about this data line is that the comps will be much harder starting in October, as that was when mortgage demand started to pick up last year.
The most savage aspect of housing is that prices are still up year over year, so not only do we get the hit from higher mortgage rates, we don’t get the benefit of prices falling this year to offset those rates. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller home price index, which lags the market, is still showing near 20% year-over-year growth in prices as of the end of July on transactions from earlier in the year.
We can see possible 25-35% year-over-year declines at that point just by using more challenging comps.
The halftime show is here, and it’s been a crazy first half for the housing market during this period. It would have been much better if home prices grew 3-4% every year during 2020, 2021 and 2022, but that hasn’t been the case.
Chart source in order of appearance: New York Fed, St. Louis Fed, St. Louis Fed, St, Louis Fed, Fred.
With such excellent cash flow, the FICO score looks impressive because we no longer have any exotic loan debt structures in the system. The most significant difference between the 2008 period versus the 2022 period, is that mortgage credit has looked outstanding for over a decade. Credit stress worsened in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Then the job loss recession happened, so don’t expect to see similar credit stress because the loans that created that kind of damage were banned post-2010.
their homes longer and longer. Not only have they built up a lot of nested equity, but their cash flow has gotten much better over time. Also, this type of cash flow data works well in a higher inflationary period as their shelter cost isn’t as impacted as a renter, and their fixed mortgage payment doesn’t change. This is why I have stressed time and time again that the homeowner's financial credit risk isn’t significant unless they lose their job. On paper, they have never looked better. Even if they lost their jobs, they’re in a much better spot than the credit risk profiles of American homeowners from 2002-2008. Have I mentioned how hot their cash flow looks?
The homebuilders also pushed it on pricing during this time because they had pricing power. When rates rose, home affordability faced tough issues. Now, we are in a different stage of economic expansion. My six recession red flags are up, which means that his torically, past 1982, bond yields and mortgage rates have fallen into a recession. My job is to not only track housing economic data but track all economic data. Just like what happened before and after the COVID-19 recession with the America’s Back recovery model, I will do my best to create models and a pathway for you to see what the economic data is saying.
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In this day and age, we have a lot of financial noise, both bullish and bearish. This is why economics done right is spoken by Numbersnumbers.can’tlie; people can, but numbers are golden. The issue is always how the numbers are presented. If done correctly, economics is boring. However, when you do it this way, you become a detective.
2022 AWARDS PROGRAM 32 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
Gavin TheresaLeeAmyGeoffreyNicoleDaveHeikeHeatherChelseaLauraJacobTimLisaTammyJoeLauraBrianTanyaKyleRachelKristiJohnJoJoryAmyJohnMarliseAlesAlkhasAslanianAvery............................35BeechEllenBergstromCadyChristian....................36CunninghamDayDeLiaDevlin........................37DiRienzoDombrowskiFahmiFiondella.....................38FoleyGibbsGivnerGoyer......................39HanwackerHellwigHerbstHerold......................40HickmanHuchthausenJelenicKelems....................41 Sarina Kinder Joy HuruySuzieErickKatieAprilSumantAustinCJRobySharonCraigRishiAmandaCalebDebbieTitoAndrewJordanCarrieKarisKnochKoehnKoester....................42LichtLloydLopezMichel....................43MittelstetPriceRanjanRebmann..................44ReichhardtRobertsonRoseRoss........................45SridharanSteeleVinckWilliams....................46WoodwardYohannes.................47 33 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
The HW Insiders award spotlights the industry professionals who are essential to the performance and success of their organizations but may be lesser known to those on the outside. These industry pros are the engines that keep things running smoothly, the secret sauce to their teams’ success. Some other descriptions in this year’s submissions include “unsung hero,” “secret weapon,” “critical to success” and “visionary,” among a slew of other illustrations used to describe these oper ational all-stars. One honoree, CJ Rose, is senior director of strategic growth and acquisitions for OriginPoint, a new mortgage origination joint venture between Guaranteed Rate and Compass. Rose has acquired and recruited talent who have produced more than $3.6 billion in total loan volume for OriginPoint in less than a year. Under the leadership of Tammy Fahmi, the senior vice president of global ser vicing and strategy, the Sotheby’s International Realty brand launched eight new companies internationally and opened nearly 90 new offices around the world, including opening offices in five new territories, which contributed to an interna tional sales volume growth of nearly 60% year over year.
HomeLight chief operating officer Sumant Sridharan’s leadership has raised $645 million in funding, acquired three companies and currently sits at a $1.7 billion valuation. His contributions played a huge role in closing the company’s first $15 million Series A back in 2015, and the company’s most recent $478 million in Series D. It's clear that this year’s winners are driving big growth within their organiza tions and have the metrics to back their successes. Learn more about these and all the other 2022 honorees in the following pages. Congratulations to the 2022 class of HW Insiders.
34 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
Over the last year, Alkhas has led Project Edge. The goal is to ex pand and fortify eXp Realty’s infrastructure as the company has grown to more than 82,000 real estate agents in 21 countries. Throughout the complexities of Project Edge,Alkhas has kept projects organized and moving forward. Colleagues say that she has an innate ability to stay calm and reassure the team in the chaos.
Avery possesses a rare blend of compliance expertise and technical know-how that has allowed her to support Docutech’s operational compliance needs. Her work has enhanced the mortgage lending process for hundreds of lenders, enabling them to implement regulatory change in an accurate, efficient and timely manner. Her expertise in the intersection between regulation and technology runs deep. Early in her career, she wrote the original code to calculate the Annual Percentage Rate in Docutech’s product suite.
John Aslanian Chief Revenue Officer SimpleNexus
35 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
Leveraging his extensive sales leadership experience, he grew his team from six members to 70, designing it to help SimpleNexus expand while helping connect lenders with the tools they need to achieve their desired business results.
Amy Avery Director of Compliance Implementations Docutech, a First American Company
Gavin Ales Chief Compliance Officer DocMagic
Gavin Ales has spent his career in mortgage compliance, working for both lenders and technology vendors. His experience armed him with a unique understanding of the lending process and the compliance complexities buried within it. As chief compliance officer at DocMagic, his responsibilities include tackling the most arduous industry com pliance challenges, and he’s always at the forefront of effectively addressing ever-changing compliance rules, mandates and procedures. Ales’s rich knowledge of compliance adherence and unyielding passion serves as his internal driver to efficiently lead DocMagic’s compliance department and implement tough compliance projects that ultimately help lenders avoid issues. In the last year, he participated in multiple company- and indus try-based projects, including the development of DocMagic’s e-Eligibility Solution, the implementation of ADA capability to assist the blind, the implementation of the Affordable Housing Initiative and on going efforts to move lenders toward a fully digital mortgage process.
Marlise Alkhas
John Aslanian brings decades of experience building high-performing sales teams and leading mortgage technology firms through M&A transactions to the C-suite of SimpleNexus. As chief revenue officer at SimpleNexus, Aslanian has been central to helping the company earn the business of hundreds of enterprise lenders. In the process, Aslanian has expanded the company’s sales team by 1,067% and achieved revenue growth that has landed the company on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies each year of his tenure.
Senior Finance Project Director eXp Realty Marlise Alkhas joined eXp Realty as a senior finance project director in January 2021. She is an excellent finance technology leader who ex cels at managing business transformations that focus on innovation and automation. She brings 33 years of experience, most recently as a senior manager of global technology solutions for Verizon.
Amy Avery, director of compliance implementations at Docutech, a First American Company, has worked behind the scenes for 22 years to enable mortgage lenders to implement regulatory and industry changes using dynamic document technology. Avery inspires confi dence in Docutech’s internal teams by ensuring they understand the ‘why’ behind compliance changes and how they can be implemented in a way that best serves clients. As a result, her work has enhanced the lending process for hundreds of lenders.
Aslanian joined SimpleNexus three years ago as senior vice president of sales. After just two years in the role, SimpleNexus CEO Cathleen Schreiner-Gates promoted him to CRO, citing his success in expanding SimpleNexus’ user base and aggressive sales growth.
Alkhas is an inspiring and collaborative leader who has been rec ognized for reducing complexity and streamlining data and processes. In addition to overseeing 28 direct reports, she consolidates competing priorities for several departments, including accounting, brokerage operations and technology.
Kristi Christian VP, Legal and Compliance Sourcepoint
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John Cady SVP, Retail Cardinal Financial John Cady has over 30 years of mortgage experience, serving as a leader and mentor to a nationwide team of branch managers. His wisdom and influence have empowered those under his leadership to achieve tremendous growth and offer clients the next-level service that carries forward Cardinal Financial’s record of success.
Jory Beech is a senior operations leader with LERETA, a leading national provider of real estate tax and flood services for mortgage servicers. In this role, Beech is responsible for overseeing LERETA’s tax data procurement and reporting. She oversees a team of 50+ tax specialists nationwide who are responsible for the tactical and strategic process engineering of the company’s principal standard tax products. LERETA’s Standard Tax Service manages escrow and non-escrow portfolios across 24,000 tax agencies. Since moving into her current role with LERETA, Beech has been instrumental in designing procedures, ensuring quality control and streamlining her teams’ workflows. She recently worked with leader ship to restructure the company’s operational teams, increasing the amount of time senior leaders could spend working one-on-one with their managers. This process change led to the team meeting more of their SLAs, better customer service and reduced claims. This year, LERETA has met 99.9% of all SLAs.
Cady joined Cardinal Financial in 2019 as senior vice president of retail. He saw “a challenge and an opportunity” to guide and support the next generation of lending professionals. There’s no doubting that it’s been a remarkable success, with sales teams under his leadership closing over $1.2 billion in loans in 2021. A passionate leader inside and outside the office, Cady is a treasured community volunteer, serving as a youth baseball coach and working with the Rescue Mission.
Jo Ellen Bergstrom VP, Data Acquisitions ATTOM
Kristi Christian, vice president of legal and compliance at Sourcepoint, is a people-centric leader who is focused on helping her team members learn and grow both personally and professionally. She has more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry, includ ing underwriting experience. Her compassionate and collaborative leadership style brings people together and helps the organization overcome challenges, achieve high-impact outcomes and thrive. During the past year, in addition to providing top-notch legal and compliance support for internal clients, she played an instrumental role in Sourcepoint’s acquisition of The StoneHill Group. In her role, Christian is tasked with heading contract and litigation management and ensuring regulatory compliance and licensing. Christian’s industry knowledge allows her to go beyond being a law yer and act as a true business partner to internal clients — understanding their challenges, building trust and creating solutions in a timely manner.
Bergstrom’s valuable contributions to ATTOM — now the parent company of RealtyTrac, Homefacts, Home Disclosure, Home Junction and GeoData Plus — have not only paved the way for the company to continue to deliver new data sets to the market to power innova tion but have helped ensure that the company continues to deliver on its mission of serving as a transformative information and data services organization that fuels innovation, growth and strategy for its customers.
As vice president of data acquisitions for ATTOM, Jo Ellen Bergstrom manages a critical resource team comprised of over 50 entities na tionwide that supply foreclosure, neighborhood and MLS data to the ATTOM data warehouse. With over 35 years of experience, and 18 of those years at ATTOM, Bergstrom’s experience in foreclosures has largely contributed to making ATTOM the go-to source for foreclosure data and her assistance on numerous data acquisitions has further solidified ATTOM as the one-stop shop for premium property data.
Cady has prepared his teams for the shift from refinance to pur chase and enoucraged creativity. Thanks to Cady, technology and innovation are at the forefront of these efforts and Cardinal Financial’s sales teams are prepared to take on the industry’s future challenges.
Jory Beech Senior Operations Leader LERETA
Cunningham’s team focuses their efforts to both grow and retain Sales Boomerang’s customer base. Cunningham is, directly and in directly, responsible for many of Sales Boomerang’s growth metrics. In 2021, Sales Boomerang saw a record 5.1% growth in its customer base while executing 56 customer renewals for millions in contract value. She also created a Planning for Partnership program, resulting in strategic conversations and significant growth of key clients.
Brian Devlin Managing Director, Capital Markets Finance of America Mortgage
Kyle Day VP, Customer Success OJO Labs
Rachel Cunningham Director of Customer Success Sales Boomerang
As vice president of customer success, Kyle Day is fundamentally improving the homeownership journey for consumers. Since joining OJO Labs, Day has developed and scaled four teams within the customer success organization that are responsible for supporting and bettering the performance of OJO’s network of more than 30,000 agents. From recruiting new agents to deploying successful training campaigns, and improving back-end lead processes, Day and his team are instrumental to the success of OJO’s agents and consumers. Since joining OJO, Day has launched and scaled four agent-support teams, ensuring each one works to deliver the best support to agents. To ensure that OJO partners with and matches consumers with the best of the best, Day worked to create a recruitment model focused on finding mission-aligned agents while still empathizing with consumers in today’s complex housing market. As a result, OJO’s exclusive referral network of agents, The OJO Select Network, has grown to more than 30,000 agents across the U.S. since it launched in 2020.
As director of customer success, Rachel Cunningham’s passion for ensuring the long-term success of Sales Boomerang and its customers is evident not only to her team and the company but to its clients as well. Her commitment to the Sales Boomerang ethos “No Borrower Left Behind” is clear as she works diligently day in and day out for the betterment of everyone around her. Cunningham’s influence can be felt by Sales Boomerang’s customers in their pipeline growth and increased customer retention as well as by Sales Boomerang itself in its customer and revenue growth.
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Tanya DeLia Single-Family VP, Automated Underwriting Risk Assessment Freddie Mac Tanya DeLia, single-family vice president of automated underwrit ing risk assessment at Freddie Mac, is an impactful and innovative technology leader serving the housing industry. She leads efforts on a variety of groundbreaking technology solutions that directly benefit lenders by shortening cycle times and reducing costs. Lenders overwhelmingly provide positive feedback because they are success fully leveraging the Freddie Mac technology solutions that DeLia has championed.DeLiaplays an integral role in bringing innovative solutions to market and her tenacity is proving to the industry that Freddie Mac’s data-fueled solutions reduce lender costs and deliver a better borrower experience while effectively managing risk. She oversees the appraisal modernization efforts to create a spectrum of collateral valuation options. This work includes automated collateral evaluation appraisal waivers that help borrowers save money on their appraisals and help lenders save time on their loans.
In his 19 years in the mortgage industry, Brian Devlin has become one of the most connected capital markets leaders — if a person in the mortgage industry is buying or selling a loan, Devlin knows them well. As managing director of capital markets at Finance of America Mortgage (FAM), Devlin’s relationships with Wall Street traders and national and community banks allow him to keep his finger on the pulse of our industry’s recent volatility. His knowledge, expertise and foresight keep FAM ahead of the curve. He keeps its employees informed with total transparency during weekly all-organization town hall meetings. A lot of what Devlin does is behind the scenes, however, as he’s a large part of the rudder that turns the ship. Devlin has been responsible for changing FAM’s lending landscape and capabilities. He created strategic advantages that made FAM more flexible and able to operate independently by bringing all trading and hedging in-house. Devlin also established over 20 new trading counterparties for mortgage-backed securities and whole loans.
Tammy Fahmi is the senior vice president of global servicing and strat egy for the Sotheby’s International Realty brand. She is responsible for all matters related to U.S. and international affiliated companies. Fahmi also managed the brand’s growth internationally, opening offices in five new territories, which contributed to an international sales volume growth of nearly 60% year-over-year. The Sotheby’s International Realty brand launched eight new companies interna tionally and domestically in 2021 and opened nearly 90 new offices around the world.
Tammy Fahmi SVP, Global Servicing and Strategy Sotheby’s International Realty
Fahmi supported affiliated companies as they grew their business es, which achieved a record $204 billion in 2021 global sales volume. The brand’s U.S. sales volume grew by 33.8% year over year, significantly outpacing NAR’s national increase of 20.6% from the prior year. To further grow the brand, Fahmi worked on significant retention efforts of affiliate companies, securing more than $700 million in domestic renewals.
Laura DiRienzo, vice president of origination title and close at ServiceLink, has spent her 20-year career learning the ins and outs of the origination, title and close business. Since starting at ServiceLink, she has held just about every position that touches the life cycle of a loan within the origination group. DiRienzo isn’t comfortable doing the bare minimum of her job function and goes above and beyond gaining a knowledge of ServiceLink’s business. Never one to expect the spotlight, DiRienzo is one of the unsung heroes within the ServiceLink organization. She wears many hats, overseeing the work product of six divisions — operations (Texas location), policy, claims, escalations/risk, doc audit and QARR (quality assurance rejection resolution) — and 33 employees. Components of her role include risk mitigation, process improvement, developing and conducting employee and client training (digital and in-person) and ensuring back-end processes run smoothly for clients and that employees are providing a top-notch customer experience.
Joe Dombrowski
As Senior Director of Product Management at Sagent, Joe Dombrowski is responsible for powering trillions of dollars in loan balances for America’s top mortgage servicers. Dombrowski is highly technical and a translator who leads his team to build great experiences to serve not just homeowners, but lenders, banks, investors, GSEs, reg ulators and ecosystem partners. Dombroski is a key driver and secret weapon in Sagent’s journey to being the housing industry’s most modern, homeowner-first ser vicing fintech. His three decades in the servicing and tech trenches inspires and educates Sagent teams and customers. Thanks to the work of Dombroski and his team, 84% of servicers on Sagent said they can service more loans with Sagent than another platform, 82% of servicers believe Sagent’s real-time data has a material impact on their operations and customer service, and 90% of servicers on Sagent believe LoanServ saves time relative to similar options in the marketplace.
Upon joining ICE Mortgage Technology in 2021, Fiondella had an immediate impact. With over 25 years of leadership experience in B2B and B2C data and analytics, she brought a fresh perspective to the data and analytics business and has since grown its projected revenue by an astounding 50%. Her strategic thinking, combined with a deep knowledge of the consumer data market and data product development, has enabled her to tackle several large projects over the past year. Fiondella worked closely with the MERS team to enhance the quality assurance and risk management services that protect members by ensuring high data quality on the MERS system.
As vice president of product management for data and analytics at ICE Mortgage Technology, Lisa Fiondella is driving innovation with an impact that goes well beyond her product line. She is known for being a gracious and empowering leader by both her team and her peers. Fiondella fosters a culture across her organization that focuses on speed, agility and innovation, while never sacrificing quality.
Senior Director of Product Management Sagent
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Lisa Fiondella VP, Product Management - Data & Analytics ICE Mortgage Technology
Laura DiRienzo VP, Origination Title and Close ServiceLink
Chelsea Goyer National Head of Brokerage Opendoor
Tim Foley EVP Anywhere Real Estate
Tim Foley serves as the executive vice president, brokerage and franchise operations, for Anywhere Real Estate. In his role, he oversees op erations, data insights and lead generation for the company’s owned brokerage and franchise brands. These comprise nearly 21,700 offices and approximately 388,000 independent sales associates around the world. Foley works to implement business strategies and strategic ini tiatives that drive growth and provide innovative services for agents that focus on tool adoption, commission analytics and business in telligence. Foley’s work is the backbone for agent productivity and quality of life throughout the organization. Agent satisfaction and exceptional agent experiences are high pri orities for Foley and have led to the creation of many cutting-edge services to reduce costs and improve productivity among agents.
Over the past 22 years, Givner has been instrumental in leading business initiatives supporting the build of new technology platforms and developing innovative and enhanced products. Most recently, Givner led the expansion of First American’s loss mitigation product suite.
Chelsea Goyer had nearly two decades of real estate experience prior to joining Opendoor in 2021 as its head of national brokerage and leading the company’s transaction management, brokerage oper ations and MLS relationships. Goyer has a strong consumer focus in everything she does, from increasing transparency to increasing affordability and accessibility for the average homebuyer and seller. As the real estate industry continues its digital evolution, Goyer and her team continue to create innovative brokerage and transaction solutions that support everyone in finding their dream home. Goyer has already made an unprecedented impact, assisting in reaching more than 160,000 customer transactions to date. Opendoor doubled its footprint in 2021 from 21 to 44 markets. Goyer has made tremendous strides in improving Opendoor’s hiring efforts and proposed a new iteration to Opendoor’s recruiting process that increased the volume of both licensed and local candidates for the company’s agent experience partner roles.
Jacob Gibbs VP, Technology Mortgage Coach
Laura Givner VP, Division Operations First American Mortgage Solutions
Recently, Foley was a driving force behind the introduction of My Deals which transformed the transaction processing function for Coldwell Banker and the Anywhere company’s brokerage group.
Laura Givner’s leadership and expertise as vice president of division operations show up across First American Mortgage Solutions in the form of effective, tailored solutions for customers. Her strong opera tional background allows her to identify creative solutions that deliver efficiencies, streamline workflows and support cost-saving strategies for customers — all of which are effective across the ever-changing market. Givner is a highly effective operations executive. She leads a team focused on innovative problem-solving that benefits lenders, servicers and investors. Her deep understanding of the loss mitigation and default servicing space allows Givner to customize product and service strategies that support customers’ specific needs.
Since joining Mortgage Coach in 2008, Gibbs has played an important role in nearly every aspect of the company’s technology growth. His milestone achievements over the years include architecting Mortgage Coach’s support team from the ground up, launching the Advice Engine platform, introducing native iOS and Android Mortgage Coach apps and leading the company’s transition to a fully remote workforce in 2020.
One of Mortgage Coach’s longest-tenured and most well-respected employees, Jacob Gibbs has had a hand in nearly every aspect of the company’s technological evolution over the last 15 years. From building the company’s support infrastructure to launching its native mobile apps and administering internal technology and leading prod uct development initiatives, Gibbs has been a driving force behind Mortgage Coach’s market success and continued growth. Gibbs’ servant leadership style is so admired that CEO Dave Savage asks himself “what would Jacob do?” when encountering a difficult challenge.
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Modeling & Analysis Manager Enact Mortgage Insurance Heather Hanwacker serves as the modeling and analysis manager at Enact Mortgage Insurance where she leverages her analytics skills to assist production departments in process optimization and smarter decision-making. Hanwacker continuously ensures that productivity and expenses are in line and shares her knowledge and observations to help various departments improve efficiencies. Hanwacker has been a key contributor to creating efficiencies and improving processes in operations throughout her tenure at Enact. Through her analytics work, Hanwacker has created time savings and process efficiencies that increased production capacity across multiple departments. One of Hanwacker’s key wins in 2021 was for the Investigations team, where she found discrepancies across the team and implemented system improvements and additional training. Her efforts were integral in the team achieving a 26% productivity increase year-over-year and their highest productivity ever, all while maintaining an audit error rate of 0.3%.
Heike Hellwig, executive of customer experience at CoreLogic, has more than 18 years of experience in housing, real estate and finance. Hellwig has proven success in various leadership positions across customer support, account management, business development, sales and operations. As a member of the senior leadership team, Hellwig has been focused on building high-performing client support teams and has established a best practice within CoreLogic for the customer success management function. Hellwig reduced client attrition and drove client experience improvements through launching client lis tening programs and client advocacy. She added modern AI-driven capabilities to the organization to improve employee development and engagement and to capture market insights and competitive intelligence. She introduced and leveraged data-driven BI capabilities to improve client renewal management and associated client metrics, and built tracking, reporting and dashboards for issue management and escalation.
Nicole Herold Market Director First American Data & Analytics
Heather Hanwacker
Executive, Customer Experience CoreLogic
Dave Herbst VP, All In One Loan Finance CMG Financial As Vice President of All In One Loan finance at CMG Financial, Dave Herbst is an invaluable team member. Over the past four years, CMG Financial’s All In One Loan volume has more than doubled; since 2021 it has significantly expanded with the rollout of a new Texas Homestead development. Without Herbst, this growth would not have been possible. Not only does Herbst spearhead AIOLoan expansion efforts, but he goes out of his way to make individual calls to educate potential customers and travels around the country to teach CMG loan officers the best AIO practices.
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Nicole Herold, market director for First American Data & Analytics, is responsible for developing new market opportunities using the company’s expansive data set and patented technology. She has spent almost 10 years working with the company’s public record data sets to help customers to solve their business needs. Herold knows that it’s not just the required data that is important, but how that data is delivered and consumed that adds the most value. Herold combed the law and interviewed counties throughout California to define the product requirements that could be satisfied using both existing and novel First American Data & Analytics technology and data. Herold specializes in creating customized data solutions and products to solve unique business problems. A prime example of this is her recent role in developing CovenantGuard, a first-of-its-kind workflow product built on machine learning, optical character recognition and patented data extraction technology to identify illegal, discriminatory phrases in recorded documents.
Herbst took the helm of AIOLoan in 2018. At that time, the loan was producing $40 million per month. With Herbst’s expansion and development efforts, AIO Loan now produces over $100 million per month. Throughout the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic changes, he was able to promote this nontraditional product in a way that captured the attention of thousands of homeowners, homebuyers and loan officers alike.
Heike Hellwig
As United Wholesale Mortgage’s (UWM) Chief Innovation Officer, Lee Jelenic leads the client experience, government affairs and investor relations teams. His passion for providing exceptional client expe rience is evident throughout the company and has resulted in an elevated NPS (+87), with over 82% of all client requests and inquiries being answered in less than 90 minutes. Leading his teams with a “never relax” mentality, Jelenic has played an instrumental role in the growth of UWM, helping to maintain its rank as the No. 1 wholesale lender in the country. Since joining UWM in 2019, Jelenic has helped the company achieve tremendous growth concerning its CX initiatives, as well as its government affairs and investor relations efforts. When UWM went public, it created an opportunity to build and establish an investor relations arm of the company, as well as a government affairs arm, both of which Jelenic played an instrumental role in creating.
Theresa Kelems VP, homegenius Portfolio Management, Operation and Administration homegenius
Leveraging her background in project management, Kelems has been instrumental in managing complex technology development efforts that have brought the innovative homegenius vision to life. Kelems leads a team of engineers, business analysts and project managers that have created proprietary homegenius technology products. Throughout 2021, Kelems has led the implementation of computer vision-based artificial intelligence technology products, which have the power to transform real estate, geneuity and geniusprice.
As Chief Administrative Officer, Amy Huchthausen has been and continues to be critical to Stavvy’s success. Her background in col lege sports provides a unique perspective in developing a culture of success and driving the company forward. Her passion to always learn and research has helped shape Stavvy’s business culture and build out its organizational structure during years of crucial business development.Huchthausen has been critical to the success of Stavvy and driving the business forward. She has led the development of the company’s culture and building of its business identity. In addition to establishing the company’s culture, Huchthausen has been integral in helping understand what they need to do to continue to build the business and break down the issues facing the overall team. One of her best attributes is her candor and ability to speak up about potentially difficult topics that will ultimately help drive the business forward more effectively.
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Amy Huchthausen
Geoffrey Hickman Executive Manager, Credit & Economic Inclusion Equifax Geoffrey Hickman, executive manager of credit and economic inclusion at Equifax, is a 30-year industry veteran with deep connections and relationships across the mortgage, capital markets, government and consumer advocacy worlds. He works tirelessly to leverage his position inside Equifax and the relationships he has built to help advance mortgage industry efforts to improve credit access and fi nancial inclusion for underserved markets. His particular focus is on finding ways to leverage alternative credit data to ease the path to credit for individuals seeking homeownership.
Lee Jelenic Chief Innovation Officer United Wholesale Mortgage
Hickman is a respected and trusted liaison between Equifax and the many different entities that he works with. The mortgage industry is laser-focused on things like ESG, credit inclusion and cconomic access. Hickman serves as a voice for the industry and the consumer inside of Equifax as the company contemplates how to serve the market and consumers. Based in Washington, D.C., Hickman is a visible presence connecting Equifax with consumer advocacy groups.
Chief Administrative Officer Stavvy
As Vice President of homegenius portfolio management, operation and administration, Theresa Kelems plays a critical role in nearly every project undertaken by the family of homegenius companies. This includes extensive work on homegenius’ impressive SaaS work flow system for brokers and agents, its artificial intelligence-powered property intelligence platform and its website. With Kelems’s support, the homegenius information technology teams are driving the digital transformation of real estate transactions from search to close.
Karis Koehn VP, Partnerships Association of Independent Mortgage Experts
Sarina Kinder, vice president of foreclosure Auction Services, is the operational glue within Auction.com that holds the foreclosure auc tion division together. She has in-depth knowledge and expertise in the foreclosure auction process, front- and back-end operational processes, system functionality, technology and marketing components.
As Vice President of Partnerships, Karis Koehn is inseparable from AIME’s recent success. Koehn comes to AIME with over ten years of experience, including a tenure as vice president of sales at SoftVu (later Volly). She wields extensive industry knowledge and keen tech nical insight with equal aptitude. Koehn has had a massive impact in her brief tenure as vice president of partnerships. She leveraged the close industry relationships she’s built over the last 10 years and is passionate about bringing enterprise-level technologies and processes to the broker community. Koehn works closely with AIME’s annual partners and has expanded providers to include title, credit and AMCs. In addition, she has brought on several new lender partners including AmeriSave Wholesale, Change Wholesale, Citizens Bank and others.
Kinder has been with Auction.com for 15 years. She was one of the original employees who set up operations for the entire foreclosure division and built it up from a three-county, one-state pilot program to the national program known today. Throughout her foreclosure tenure, she has onboarded more than 50 investor and servicer clients as well as more than 300 attorney firm partners.
Recently, Koehn has expanded her role to include overseeing AIME’s technology and data initiatives. Koehn helped grow AIME’s mission to support, protect and grow the broker channel.
Joy Knoch
As Executive Vice President of training and operational support at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, Joy Knoch epitomizes the behind-the-scenes leader in a large corporation who keeps the company moving forward. Knoch oversees a wide range of training initiatives that are nearly always taken for granted until they are desperately needed. Nevertheless, her team is always there, always prepared and always ready to help.
Knoch straddles the corporate and sales sides of Fairway Mortgage by developing and managing training initiatives that help sales pro ducers work more efficiently while staying within parameters required by laws and regulations. She oversees such platforms as Snapcomms and Fairway Now. These sprawling efforts must be managed within a 10,000-employee company, all between people and groups with sometimes divergent interests. Knoch embodies the ideal of the per sistent, efficient, focused manager who also treats people with grace and respect from an at-times overlooked position.
Tavant Head of Product Marketing Strategy Carrie Koester leads marketing for Tavant’s rapidly growing products and has increased brand awareness by 445%. Koester is unwavering as she leads product growth; she has an amazing attitude and continues to tackle challenge after chal lenge through her impenetrably calm demeanor and communication. Throughout 2021, Koester drove two of Tavant’s leading products, Touchless Lending and VELOX NXT, and grew them by over 400%, representing Tavant’s fastest-growing channel. Koester has directly fueled the growth of two new sub-verticals for Tavant: Proptech and Banktech. Koester is at the forefront of Tavant advancements, execut ing critical initiatives in the growth of AI analytics practice in fintech. Koester is passionate about employee engagement and morale, driving most team-building offsites and conferences at Tavant. Beyond her consistent excellence in the workplace, Koester has also been a volunteer with the United Nations Association UNA USA Monterey Bay for over 5 years.
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With her hands-on leadership style and unrivaled desire to help her colleagues, clients and attorney firm partners, she is an invaluable contributor to Auction.com and helped the company navigate one of the most operationally challenging periods of the default servicing business on record.
Sarina Kinder VP, Foreclosure Auction Services Auction.com
EVP, Training and Operational Support Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation
Andrew Lloyd SVP, Infrastructure and Operations Radian
Debbie Michel is the vice president of appraisal production for Amrock. In her more than ten years with Rocket Companies, the parent company of Amrock, her experience has spanned from loan originator to servicing to business strategy. Michel’s passion for leadership and professional development has driven her to invest in team members across the organization, create an empowering environment and promote vulnerability and transparency with the goal of innovation. She has become instrumental across the company — lending her expertise to various teams to elevate their work and deliver a quality experience for clients. Michel transitioned into her current role at the end of 2021 and has been creating a team environment that collectively strives to innovate for the success of the company and the joy of the clients. She has already made a vast impact in a short amount of time. Thanks to the strategic vision led by Michel, she and the team have reshaped the way the appraisal team operates.
Tito Lopez VP, Fulfillment Mr. Cooper Tito Lopez, vice president of fulfillment, has been vital to the success of Mr. Cooper’s direct-to-consumer channel within the company’s originations team for the last five years. Lopez has made continuous behind-the-scenes improvements in the fulfillment channel that have resulted in the DTC team scaling up to assist customers by more than 500% from 2019 to 2021. Lopez has recently taken the lead of Mr. Cooper’s Project Flash, which refers to the overall digitalization of the loan application process for customers. In most instances, Project Flash cuts the amount of time to complete processing tasks by more than 50% and increases efficiencies and processes for the originations team. Project Flash is transforming the way loans are fulfilled with Mr. Cooper, providing a standardized and scalable solution to deliver more consistent re sults for team members and customers. Under Lopez’s leadership, Project Flash is already delivering a 15% reduction in cycle times and customer satisfaction scores are up more than 10% year over year.
Debbie Michel VP, Appraisal Production Amrock
Licht has been at Caliber — now Newrez — for more than five years, driving technology, operations, servicing and data and analytics.
Licht has held various roles across the organization leading efforts in corporate strategy, originations and finance. He has taken the lead in a full-company integration of technology, operations and servicing. As an advocate for culture and inclusion, he was a founder of Newrez’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group and has been involved in the development and growth of the group since its creation.
Jordan Licht Chief Operating Officer Newrez Jordan Licht, chief operating officer at Newrez is an expert strategist when it comes to company direction and execution. He has been a major player in moving the company forward during New Residential Investment Corp.’s recent acquisition of Caliber Home Loans. He takes company integration from start to finish and skillfully worked to combine the best of two teams – integrating sales teams, operations teams and corporate groups – to create a unified group with strategy and vision at the forefront.
Thanks to Andrew Lloyd, Radian’s industry-leading IT infrastructure has performed effectively and advanced significantly in the face of many unique changes. As senior vice president of IT infrastructure and operations, Lloyd manages operations across Radian’s data centers, cloud environments and enterprise IT environments. Over the last year, Lloyd has carried out major operations at Radian while also supporting the company’s COVID-19 pandemic management efforts and transition to a permanently hybrid work environment. Throughout 2021, Lloyd led Radian’s SOC 2 reporting process, rolled out a major IT buildout, modernized the company’s new and existing offices and completed a multi-year data center consolidation initia tive, which reduced the company’s data center footprint by 64%. This work has supported Radian’s top prioritization of the safety of its employees and customers and has helped ensure that employ ees have the tools necessary for success in remote and hybrid work environments.
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Caleb Mittelstet
Craig Rebmann Director of Product, Origination Technologies Black Knight
EVP, National Production Distributed Retail Sales Planet Home Lending
Amanda Price Head of Strategy & Growth Endpoint
In 2021, Mittelstet began emphasizing the need for branches and MLOs to shift their attention to purchase volume even though rates were still at historic lows. Mittelstet pushed for technology investments to improve digital marketing, operational efficiency and customer experience. In June 2022, his efforts resulted in Planet Home Lending’s retail volume running 14% higher than the industry average.
Rishi Ranjan Senior Director, Data Management Common Securitization Solutions
As the Senior Director of Data Management at Common Securitization Solutions, Rishi Ranjan directs and oversees the design and development of systems used for managing data from the Common Securitization platform. Ranjan is an expert in big data, real-time technologies and modern cloud data platforms. He is an innovative leader with a talent for building enterprise-scale data products and services to provide cutting-edge business solutions.
Craig Rebmann is the director of product and origination technologies who leverages his in-depth knowledge and experience in mortgages and technology to lead Black Knight’s development of the next gener ation of correspondent capabilities. With 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, he creates opportunities for lenders to advance their operations, reduce costs and embrace digital technology.
Ranjan’s expertise has led to the introduction of multiple functions that have improved business operations and reduced operating costs. Ranjan led the implementation of an award-winning data analytics platform for CSS. Ranjan also partnered with Qlik and Snowflake to build a modern cloud data enterprise lakehouse with real-time data ingestion and a fully automated data warehouse life cycle to provide rapid business insights and analytics. The ELH has been endorsed by industry insiders and he received the Data Hero award for Best Advanced Analytics Application.
Rebmann is an operational rock star, whose keen insight and un wavering commitment to technology advancements are taking Black Knight to new heights of success. Rebmann was instrumental in integrating advanced correspondent lending capabilities into the Empower loan origination system, as well as developing the Black Knight Seller Digital platform into a user-friendly process for both correspondent sellers and buyers. As part of this correspondent lending integration, Rebmann and his team incorporated what is believed to be the industry’s first exception-based loan processing workflow and incorporated AI to further streamline the loan process.
Head of strategy and growth for Endpoint, Amanda Price, is a jack of all trades. She not only helped to set the company’s growth strategy but also played a key role in its implementation and execution. Her two biggest strengths lie in her ability to communicate and identify problems before they arise. Although Price only joined Endpoint as a full-time employee last fall, she was on the First American team that initially identified the need to leverage people, process and technology to build a digital closing platform from the ground up.
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Planet Home Lending’s Executive Vice President of National Production Distributed Retail Sales, Caleb Mittelstet, has set a visionary course enabling the company to grow amid market and industry challenges. An executive who worked his way to the top during his 20-year career, Mittelstet has seen how great, and not-so-great, leaders have responded to past mortgage cycles. He applied those lessons to build Planet’s retail channel. Mittelstet has become a coach who naturally enjoys deploying his knowledge and Planet Home Lending’s resources to help others grow their volume, teams and territory.
Over the past year, Endpoint’s primary growth strategy has been to build a foundation from which it could serve the needs of proptech companies and investors looking for a scalable digital closing plat form. Today, Endpoint can handle a closing transaction anywhere in the U.S. With title regulations and licensing requirements differing from state to state, the process required a very hands-on approach — something that Price managed with very few resources so it would not interfere with the company’s day-to-day business operations.
Robertson has continued to develop new borrower qualification technologies, including LoanBeam Wage, a tool that enables lenders to calculate a borrower’s wage income quickly and accurately.
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Roby Robertson
With more than 20 years of experience in recruitment, CJ Rose has become a specialist in talent acquisition and a highly valued member of strategic initiatives for Guaranteed Rate Companies. Rose is re sponsible for building successful, top-producing teams. Since joining Guaranteed Rate’s family of companies in 2005, CJ has acquired and recruited talent responsible for more than $15 billion in total volume for the organization. Some of this talent has produced more than $3.6 billion in total loan volume for OriginPoint since August 2021. Since 2005, Rose has played an integral role in supporting Guaranteed Rate Companies’ growth and success by creating effec tive partnerships and planning and executing strategic initiatives. His work helped the family of companies, which includes Guaranteed Rate, Guaranteed Rate Affinity, Proper Rate and OriginPoint, achieve a record-setting year in 2021 with $116 billion in total loan volume, significantly surpassing its $73 billion total loan volume from the year prior.
Sharon Reichhardt EVP, Operations ACES Quality Management Executive Vice President of operations Sharon Reichhardt has leveraged her unique perspective to develop client-centric, scalable solutions that also drive long-term organizational success at ACES.
Head Product Owner, Automation Origination LoanLogics
Reichhardt’s role at ACES centers on solving problems and finding ways for clients to use technology to run their businesses more efficiently. Under her direction, the ACES client success team emphasized client relations via a direct, hands-on approach focused on under standing their unique footprint and target goals. They guide implementations and perform professional service engagements, always maintaining strong bidirectional communication that assures each client is maximizing usage of the ACES platform.
As one of the industry’s preeminent experts on borrower income calculations and automated origination technologies, the contributions of Roby Robertson, head product owner of automation origination at LoanLogics, are outstanding. Robertson was a founding employee of LoanLogics’ recently acquired company, LoanBeam. He played a vital role in the creation of LoanBeam Tax, a groundbreaking income calculation and verification technology for self-employed borrowers endorsed by GSEs. This automated income calculation tool has helped lenders reduce their risk review processes by several days or more.
Working across the company, Ross has quickly collected data from key departments which have been instrumental in making quick business decisions during market fluctuations.
Austin Ross is senior vice president of centralized operations and campaign management at Freedom Mortgage, with a primary focus on portfolio retention. He prioritized advancement within the com pany’s call center, including numerous seven-digit wins in execution which culminated with a division funding record of $26 billion in mortgage loans from February through April of 2021. Ross collabo rated with nearly 3,000 employees to execute and manage 5+ million inbound and outbound interactions with customers throughout 2021. Ross joined Freedom Mortgage in 2015 and has led all facets of call center business operations. Today, he leads his team in end-to-end operations of the business — from acquisition bidding, portfolio retention and marketing, sales, loan processing, pricing, customer service and onboarding of new acquisition customers.
Austin Ross SVP Freedom Mortgage
LoanBeam’s tax transcript service has been endorsed by Freddie Mac for use with its Loan Product Advisor® Asset and Income Modeler, expanding the existing rep and warranty relief eligibility provided by LoanBeam Tax to include IRS-certified data validation.
OriginPoint
CJ Rose Senior Director of Strategic Growth and Acquisitions
Reichhardt is an operational superstar who played a lead role in developing and launching the new Certified ACES Administrator program, and her natural leadership, mentorship and problem-solving abilities have allowed her and her team to maintain near-perfect client retention in the last year.
As Senior Vice President of asset management, Erick Williams has been instrumental in the foundation, quality and performance of CIVIC’s servicing operations. He was critical in transitioning CIVIC from a private company to a wholly owned subsidiary of a large pub licly traded bank, including new compliance requirements, servicing modeling and reporting needs. Taking his expertise to new heights, Williams is most admired for his recent role in the creation, man agement and execution of CIVIC’s very own self-servicing platform — a game changer in the industry that will allow CIVIC to have full control and improve the servicing portion of the customer’s lending experience.Williams has one of the most important and difficult roles in the company, which is servicing oversight and asset management of CIVIC’s entire portfolio of loans — a portfolio that has exceeded $6 billion to date, with $559 million in loan origination volume for Q1 2022 alone. Working tirelessly behind the scenes, Williams and his team are the reason why CIVIC’s files move along.
Throughout Steele’s time with FAR, she has built oversight of mul tiple departments such as secondary delivery, insuring and funding. Now she handles everything after closing — which includes fund ing, scanning, imaging, secondary delivery, insuring, trailing and recording fees. Steele has also contributed to the development of new processes, such as those for compliance and risk. Although a lot of Steele’s work is done behind the scenes, it’s evident through FAR’s continued growth and improvement. Despite challenges, FAR has seen a record volume amount of funding which can be attributed to Steele’s can-do leadership style and the devotion of her team.
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Sumant Sridharan Chief Operating Officer HomeLight Under Sumant Sridharan’s leadership as chief operating officer, HomeLight has raised $645 million in funding, acquired three com panies and currently sits at a $1.7 billion valuation. His contributions played a crucial role in closing the company’s $15 million Series A back in 2015, and the company’s most recent $478 million in Series D. He led HomeLight to scale its operations globally, assisted in powering the businesses of thousands of agents, helped service more than one million clients and enabled HomeLight to facilitate billions of dollars in real estate transactions. As a key decision-maker at HomeLight, Sridharan is analytical in his business leadership. Sridharan confidently led the company during turbulent times by equipping agents with the most innovative technology that scales their personal businesses and assists clients in achieving homeownership. The company saw a 500% year-over-year growth in transaction volume among its most innovative offerings to date — HomeLight Trade-In and HomeLight Cash Offer.
Katie Vinck Senior Underwriter Synergy One Lending Katie Vinck is an instrumental part of the fulfillment team for Synergy One Lending. Vinck is a senior underwriter focused on conventional, FHA, VA and bond transactions. In 2021 she underwrote 2,000 trans actions with zero significant quality defects. While on pace in 2022 for similar production, she finds time to help the team with their development of additional automation tools. Vinck took it upon herself to record training videos that other underwriters could utilize that highlight tips, tricks and shortcuts to streamline the process. She is knowledgeable, makes herself available when needed and strives to go out of her way to help the sales team structure loans for the best possible outcome for borrowers. Vinck embodies Synergy One’s values of honesty, transparency, excellence, innovation and empowerment to her core. She is thought ful and open to innovation and understands that speed, ease and expertise require the entire loan team to have knowledge and skills to get more borrowers into homes.
April Steele VP, Operations Finance of America Reverse
In April Steele’s ten years with Finance of America Reverse (FAR), she has become an invaluable member of the company’s operations team. Steele’s hard work and dedication to FAR have now landed her as vice president of operations. Her vast knowledge from her background in the finance industry has greatly contributed to FAR’s success today.
Erick Williams SVP, Asset Management CIVIC Financial Services
SVP, Operations Academy Mortgage Corporation
SVP, Retail Lending Analytics Manager AmeriHome Mortgage Huruy Yohannes, senior vice president of retail lending analytics, has been in the mortgage industry for more than 15 years. He spent the past four years with AmeriHome Mortgage, where he built the analytics team from scratch and rebuilt the CRM team. Yohannes’s commitment to developing data-based strategies, designing reports and models and communicating results to the business have helped the retail lending division exceed its goal with more than $2.6 billion in 2021 fundings. His drive and passion for excellence in analytics through innovative data strategies make him one of AmeriHome’s outstanding senior leaders with a creative and innovative approach to developing the business from the inside. Yohannes’s team built a holistic reporting suite. It is a repository canal for custom reporting to provide the business with one place to see all the important and critical data needed to make key busi ness decisions, a direct correlation to Retail Lending’s success at AmeriHome.
Suzie Woodward
Senior Vice President of Operations Suzie Woodward is a strong and accomplished operational leader who doesn’t shy away from chal lenges at Academy Mortgage Corporation. She is world-class in her craft and her ability to break down complex situations and make clear decisions is unmatched. Her drive, integrity and level of compassion for others are contagious and directly correlate to the success of her 35-year career in the mortgage industry. Her decades of experience in the mortgage business make her a stand-out operations professional. She is responsible for overseeing the operations teams in nine of Academy’s 14 regions. Her leadership, knowledge and influence have improved the loan officer and customer experience. In the last year, she has been instrumental in building Academy’s operations team to better support various groups throughout the company by providing guidance, enhancing pipeline management and creating consistency throughout the loan process. The regions under her leadership are a testament to her hard work.
Huruy Yohannes
47 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE Get the latest in lending news delivered to your inbox and be the expert in the office and online. GET ON THE LIST: housingwire.com/newsletter
The brokerage has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on technology. But does it really make the brokerage stand out? Can tech point Compass in the right direction? 48 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
By Matthew Blake and Brooklee Han 49 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
INSIDE THE APP “Agents are our customers,” declared Rory Golod, Northeast and West Region presi dent at Compass, while sharing his com puter screen with a reporter. “The tools we’re building are being built and have been built for them.” The “tools” are really one multifaceted tool, an app or online dashboard. Golod first exhibits a part of the platform called Collections, “a visual portfolio of the buy ing process,” in which agents grab data from the local Multiple Listings Service, and listings inter nal to the Compass network, and share properties with homebuyers.“Thinkofthis al most as a Pinterest board for the cli ent,” Golod said. Golod demon strates how agents can manipulate im ages for desired properties, and set up a touring schedule for their clients.
Golod displays data on past sales and current listings that is powered through ar tificial intelligence. Then he walks through the customer relationship manage ment system, or CRM, and the Marketing Center, which allows agents to create email blasts, videos, digital ads, postcards and brochures. “[Compass CEO Robert Refkin] did what Elon Musk did for electric cars.”
- Steve Clark
inCompassjoined2016 and became an instant believer. “Their technology is amazing,” the Pasadena real estate agent said over the phone. “There is a great search tool. It is very collaborative for the client. And the app is a one-stop shop.” “What they set out to do for the most part they accomplished,” Clark added, prais ing Compass co-founder and CEO Robert Reffkin. “He did what Elon Musk did for electric cars. Maybe Tesla is not the best, but it was an industry disruptor. He really pushed the limits with tech.” But the brokerage’s app designed for agents held little sway over Clark’s career path. He joined the white-label brokerage Side in April. “I’m more of a boutique kind of guy. When I started, Compass was a small company, and then it became a very big company because of acquisitions. It was no longer a good fit.” Today, Compass is the biggest U.S. residential broker age by “technology-enabledgyselfhasintovolume,transactionaccordingRealTrends.Sincestarting2012,Compasspresenteditasatechnolocompany.Compassisa brokerage,” per its annualCompassreport.critics pounce on this descrip tion. “They are a disruptor in capital, not in ideas,” real estate appraiser and Compass competitor Jonathan Miller has said. Miller prepares market reports for Compass rival Douglas Elliman. The reality is more complex. Compass’s technology platform is no mere marketing ploy. It is respected, even adored. Compass has raised $1.9 billion, including from its initial public offering. But Wall Street has consistently valued Compass as a pure real estate company with no extraordinary technology offering. And the tech may not be enough to lift the company — which has lost $682 mil lion over the last five quarters and laid off about 450 workers in June — out of finan cial struggle. “They were probably the first movers,” said Ken Johnson, a real estate professor at Florida Atlantic University and former agent. “But there is nothing there that oth ers couldn’t quickly replicate.”
Steve Clark 50 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
“I can share this with my client and in one click create a beautiful PDF that outlines everything we’re going to do that day,” he said. “So you can see we went from search ing properties via Collection and creating a tour without ever leaving the system. It’s all in one place.”
in
“No one else is even trying.” WhatReally?about eXp? The company runs on Virbela, a vir tual work world. And United Real Estate, which has a proprietary, truly cloud-based sys tem? What aoutnouncedkeragefunctions,tionCRM2012.beenitsone-stophasChicago@properties?aboutThecompany@platform,ashopforagentsthathasaroundsinceInadditiontoitsandtransacmanagementthebroMondayantherollofMoveLogic,featuresimilarto Compass’s “likely to sell.” MoveLogic compares contacts in the agent’s CRM to the behavior of past home buyers, sellers and nonmovers to identify contacts possessing a propensity to move. “There are other firms that may have solved one thing you need, But we have solved 10 to 12 things you need.” - Rory Golod 51 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
Golod calls the app “intuitive,” and he ap pears to have a point. There is obvious ease in bouncing around from tasks — import ing Multiple Listings Services information, setting up automated marketing messages, creating the aforementioned home touring plan — that are quite different from one another.Wayne Hitt, a Compass agent in Baltimore, said that at his prior brokerage, WSK Properties, “Everything was siloed,” requiring him to download one app for contract writing, another to construct a listing agreement and another still to check production numbers. Within this singular dashboard are easy-to-assemble rows and columns that provide nuance for agents. “I love the CRM and am very diligent about keeping that up to date,” said Thebe Warren, a Houstonbased Compass agent. “I also love the busi ness tracker. It separates buyers and sellers into those I have made initial contact with, those who I am nurturing and those who I have just worked with.” Separating serious clients from dark horse leads can be particularly ef fective for agent teams. Compass, like many about“principalteamCompass,branding.andamongcoordinatessetup,Dependingaascanthatsimply“teams,”brokerages,otherhaswhichmeansoneagentbeassignedtheleaderforgroupofagents.onthetheleadertasksthegroupcreatesteamWiththeleaderistheagent.”“WhatIlikethebusiness tracker is that it’s a platform that my entire team can be on,” said Dana Green, head of the Lafayette, California-based Dana Green Team. “If we’re listing a house, then we can upload our listing checklist and we can go in to see where we are on that checklist or where conversations last left off with the client.”Another app feature is “likely to sell.” As with categorizing the promise of leads, agents praised how potential clients are ordered. “It tells me who has a high likeli hood of selling, who is medium and who is low,” said Warren, of Houston. With the likely-to-sell component, “I literally sent out a few emails to people on that list and in a two-day span, I got four transactions,” said Todd Armstrong, a Compass agent in San Diego. The Compass app, Armstrong said, echoing most agents interviewed for this story, “has been huge for me.” platform brokerage,” Golod said later interview.
NO ONE ELSE IS EVEN TRYING “We have the only in-house, proprietary
in a
“Maybe KW has an in-house CRM,” Golod conceded. “They do have some engineers.” But Golod argued that Compass has not just the most informative, user-friendly or quick-to-evolve app for its agents, but the only such app in the industry. “There are other firms that may have solved one thing you need,” he said, “but we have solved 10 to 12 things you need.”
It is tantamount to Elon Musk not just saying Tesla has the best electric car or was a pioneer in electric car creation, but Musk accusing all his rivals of still only making the Dodge Challenger and Pontiac Grand Prix with V8 engines. In fact, 54% of real estate agents receive a CRM platform from their brokerage affil iate, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2021 technology survey. 50% are provided with transaction manage ment platforms; 32% have platformstools.lead-generationforms;marketingdigitalplat31%receivePerhapsthesearelo cated in different apps instead of all in one location. Maybe they’re not very good. But the NAR survey suggests sidesbefootbrokeragesotheralsoresourcestosomethingbearchaic.Compasshas probably spent more resources, a point Golod made. “It has required hundreds of millions of dollars in continual capital,” he said. This money has gone to acquire many tech-focused companies, like the CRM platform Contactually Glide, which is used by the California Association of Realtors to digitize the administrative paperwork of home sales, and Modus Technologies, a title platform that Compass shut down last month as part of the company’s sweeping austerity measures. It also went to hire “a team of over 1,500 highly experienced product and engineer ing professionals based out of our innova tion hubs in New York, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and several cities in India,” according to the 2021 annual report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February. The platform requires a “tremendous amount of engineering and capability. The workflow is so nuanced and unique.” Compass spent $273 million in overall research and development expenses for 2021, and $144 million in R&D costs in 2020. The R&D money is a significant outlay for a company not only losing money, but one that sees over 80% of its revenue go out the door in agent commissions. Compass’s 2021 revenue after “commissions and other related expenses” was $1.1 billion. To spend that much money — “Other companies are spending a fraction of us on research and development,” Golod said — Compass is raising the bar to not just have an app agents prefer, but an app agents wildly prefer, an app that will keep produc ers at the firm even after the bonus money and unsustainably favorable commission split runs out. That, industry pros have contended in the past year, is perhaps the company’s chance at turning its financial ship around. “The theory is that the platform will be so good and ‘sticky’ agents won’t be able or won’t want to leave, even when their splits get dialed back,” said Matt McCormick, executive vice president at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty and a former senior managing partner at Compass.
Gary Keller began refashioning Keller Williams as a technology company back in 2015. In December the company launched KW Command, which they claimed is the “first real estate platform to connect agents, cli ents, data and systems.”
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According to @properties, the product was builtAndin-house.whatabout Keller Williams?
Compass must contend with two different “Buying and selling a home is personal and emotional. No amount of technology is going to change that.” - Tracy Do
IS THE JUICE WORTH THE SQUEEZE?
“Given where capital markets are today, where the world is right now,” Golod said, “other companies won’t be able to muster the resources to compete with Compass.”
“The overall look and marketing approach appealed to me,” Do said.But, technology, Do said, is just not very important. “For all this so-called innova tion, residential real estate remains a sitdown, face-to-face job,” she said. “Buying and selling a home is personal and emo tional. No amount of technology is going to change that.” In fact, at a certain point, Do became turned off by Compass’s technology boost erism, a feeling that reached its break ing point during last month’s layoffs at Compass.“That they are downsizing as the market cools, I find it distasteful and un conscionable,” she said. “Lives are being impacted, simply because they thought they could ‘disrupt’ and dominate the real estate industry, which was never going to happen and in my view never will.” In June, Do moved over to Coldwell Banker.Howmany Wexlers and Dos are out there is a critical question to Compass, because agents are the only ones left to buy the tech the brokerage is selling. The other au dience, of course, is investors.
Compass was a darling to the SoftBank Vision Group, and other venture capital firms, but stock investors are unmoved.
“The technology offered by @properties is really an investment in their agents,” Wexler said. “The backend systems, when we are list ing something or putting something under contract is very seamless. And they really listen to our feedback and everything we ask for.”The second kind is typified by Clark: Tracy Do.A high-profile agent in Pasadena, California, Do joined Compass in 2015 and enjoyed using Compass’s technology. She also — like other current and former Compass agents in terviewed — found the branding appealing.
kinds of agents that, for them, are an ob stacle to any turnaround.
“We are still investing significantly more in software than every other real estate brokerage combined.” - Rory Golod
Now, in a bear market, it’s time to move beyond proclamations and see if Compass’s tech can pull the company through hard times. Compass can still prove itself a well-performing tech-enabled brokerage.
53 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
As of July, Compass had a market cap italization of $1.83 billion, or exactly the amount it raised from investors. That’s somewhat better than Anywhere’s $1.25 billion avaluation,marketandlittleworse than eXp’s $2.17 billion market dryyondcompanyandhousingcissitudesscendcouldwhosecompany,itStreetexpectedCompasscap.Walltotreatlikeatechoneapptrantheviofcyclesliftthebethelaunlistofbro kerages. The firm set its stock to trade at $23-$26 a share before it went public last April. The Compass stock today trades at $4.60 per share. “There is nothing that fancy about Compass’s technology,” Johnson of Florida Atlantic University argued. “Others can mimic it in short order.”
The first is a professional like Beth Wexler of @properties, who is perfectly happy with her current brokerage’s technology.
“That’s why we continued to push and continued to innovate,” he later added. “We are still investing significantly more in soft ware than every other real estate brokerage combined.”
Black Knight, TotalTavant..........................................................................66Sagent.........................................................................65Reggora.......................................................................64NTChomegenius...............................................................62Flueid...........................................................................61FirstCubiCasa....................................................................59CreditXpert.................................................................58CoreLogic...................................................................57Inc........................................................56AmericanData&Analytics..........................60-ACoviusSolution...........................................63Expert................................................................67 Fintech ShowcaseProduct 54 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
55 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
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By delivering computational power significantly greater than what most organiza tions have in-house, RAP is democratizing access to big data and analytics — allowing mid-sized and smaller lenders to con tend in a competitive industry. With an array of tailored features and a cutting-edge approach, RAP is truly fin tech at the forefront of digital mortgage transformation.
Black Knight’s Rapid Analytics Platform transforms the way companies leverage data and enable analytics
Since the launch of RAP, client adoption has accelerated quickly. As a result, Black Knight continues to make valuable platform enhancements, such as increasing scalability and adding new data sets.
The assets available within RAP include nationwide public-records property and MLS information, loan-level and histori cal mortgage performance data, daily rate lock data, AVMs, home price indices and more. Users have the choice to build their own analytics or leverage Black Knight’s highly experienced professionals to develop and deliver customized analytics, pro viding an extra level of available support.
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The fintech solutions today may have been unimaginable just a few years ago. But between the shift to an online business landscape brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing de mand for digital-first solutions, the mortgage industry was quick to adapt to the new normal of conducting transactions through the virtual world. Black Knight, a leader in providing innovations that enhance how businesses work with technology, data and analytics, has stayed ahead of the digital mortgage revolution since day one. The company’s Rapid Analytics Platform (RAP), for exam ple, launched in 2019 and simplifies a client’s data and analytics workflow. RAP enables users to easily connect to diverse data assets and run advanced analytics on a single platform with real-time, highspeed processing capabilities to deliver fast results — even in the most complex cases.Described as a “virtual lab,” RAP is being utilized by forward-thinking mortgage, real estate and capital markets profes sionals for the most advanced capabilities. From portfolio retention strategy, equity analysis and valuation to prepayment and default analytics, pre- and post-bid due dil igence, performance benchmarking and more, RAP significantly reduces the time, effort and cost for organizations in the mortgage industry to analyze large data sets and create models. Behind RAP’s distinctive innovation is Black Knight’s team of experienced mortgage professionals who knew that clients could benefit significantly by realizing the business value of the company’s data and analytics. But in order for clients to glean actionable intelligence from that data about customers, prospects, oppor tunities and risk, an innovative tool would have to be built first. This led to the creation of RAP — a single, cloud-based en vironment with massive storage, compute and data science capabilities.
snapshot: The Rapid Analytics Platform (RAP) is a unique, cloud-based data marketplace and decision science studio that transforms the way companies leverage data and enable advanced analytics. With RAP, clients can access Black Knight’s di verse data assets, connect to other data sources and run analytics — all within a single, secure, high-speed platform.
With RAP, clients have a unique tool that arms them with the information needed to better allocate their resources more effectively. From risk management and portfolio research to economic model ing, benchmarking and investor reporting, RAP transforms how companies leverage data and support decision science strate gies in their workflow.
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www.blackknightinc.comINC. Rapid Analytics Platform Product(RAP)
Data is available in 392 core-based statistical areas (CBSAs), all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Market Risk Indicators specifically taps into the economic trends that provide a holistic picture around housing analytics and homeownership affordability within a market. Examples of these are: gross metro product, unemployment, consumer confidence, population, unique housing supply side and distressed market analytics, and many more.
Users of Market Risk Indicators appreci ate that they receive a fully revised set of data every month and the in-depth level of data provided. Those insights are given on a metro level, giving clients the ability to correlate and quantify risk levels so they can plan accordingly.
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CoreLogic has created Market Risk Indicators to help businesses better plan for the future and to help companies avoid some of the missteps that caused so much damage during the previous financial cri sis. Market Risk Indicators also provide mortgage professionals with the tools they need to mitigate their risk in select metro politan areas that may experience home price
Now, when a business is planning for expansion into new markets or looking to buy a pool of loans, they can get reliable market risk information to help them improve their decision-making processes, take advantage of opportunities and avoid the areas of highest risk.
CoreLogic has one of the nation’s most in-depth and comprehensive property databases. The company has combined this information with data from IHSMarkit (now a part of S&P Global), one of the industry leaders in economic forecasting. By analyzing more property data and economic trends, Market Risk Indicators are able to provide better insight into metro-level trends and can provide it in a format that is easily consumable.
Want to know more? Contact CoreLogic at 866-774-3282.
Product snapshot: Market Risk Indicators are designed to predict the probability of a home price decline over a 12-month period. Every month, clients will receive analytics based on the lat est economic and housing data, along with probabilities for two price decline severities.
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The one thing that’s certain in the housing market at this time is un certainty. With rising interest rates, tight inventory and fears of recession, will we see a housing market crash? And if the bubble bursts, will it burst everywhere?
are designed to tell users the chances of a housing price decline within specific metro areas.
CoreLogic provides two separate severity probabilities — more than 10% decline and less than 10% decline. The higher the probability, the higher the risk.
Marketdownturns.RiskIndicators
Previously, clients would need to pur chase and analyze housing and economic data separately — models that analyzed both would need to be built and main tained in-house. That effort represented a massive financial outlay without the same level of Marketcertainty.RiskIndicators took all of those expensive, time-consuming processes and combined them into a single deliver able that’s more cost-effective, easier to understand and backed by the best housing and economic data in the industry. With Market Risk Indicators, clients no longer need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless resources to develop their own models. Instead of taking “shots in the dark,” strategic decisions about investment, risk and policy can be made using reliable, targeted data.
www.corelogic.comCORELOGIC Market Risk Indicators
CoreLogic’s Market Risk Indicators provide mortgage professionals with the tools they need to mitigate risk
The company’s predictive analytics platform not only provides lenders with the benefit of intuitive technology, it also helps more applicants qualify for mortgages — in many cases, applicants who would oth erwise be turned away. Upon identifying an applicant’s credit potential, CreditXpert’s platform then draws upon nearly one billion credit re cords to outline the steps needed to reach the applicant’s target credit score. From there, lenders can work with their clients to increase credit scores and lower longterm financing costs, building trust along theHowever,way. CreditXpert isn’t just helping those with lower scores qualify for mortgages. The company’s platform is used by industry leaders and over 60,000 loan officers to increase credit score transparency, qualify more applicants, increase applicant purchasing power and lower interest rates by identifying near-term credit potential for every client.
Helping clients save big on mortgages isn’t the only reason lenders appreciate partnering with CreditXpert. Precision analytics and easy-to-use solutions that don’t require specialized training are major rea sons why lenders choose CreditXpert’s platform.CreditXpert brings an unparalleled level of transparency and accountability to the only key mortgage determining criteria that can be impacted in the near term: an applicant’s credit score. Mortgage lenders that use CreditXpert qualify more applicants, make more competitive offers and close more loans by helping applicants reach their full credit potential, regardless of their initial score.
www.creditxpert.comCREDITXPERT
There’s no denying that today’s home buying journey is entirely different from a decade ago. Lenders and applicants alike rely on powerful tools and technology that increase transparency and create ease, speed and convenience. With more than 20 years of experience, CreditXpert has rolled with the punches brought on by a turbulent housing market and has excelled at adapting to the industry’s growing digital revolution and shift toward fast fintech solutions.
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ProductCreditXpertsnapshot:
CreditXpert’s predictive analytics platform helps more applicants qualify for mortgages
By offering the most competitive loan programs and rates, CreditXpert users can reduce pipeline fallout from low credit scores and retain more leads, resulting in more closed loans and increased produc tion profit. And there are even more ad vantages from the applicant’s perspective. Applicants can save significantly thanks to CreditXpert. For instance, an applicant with an initial credit score of 640 who is looking to finance $300,000 over 30 years would qualify for an interest rate of 6.13%, making monthly payments $1,823. But if that same applicant could increase their credit score to 700 within 30 days, they could qualify for an interest rate of 5.5%, bringing their monthly payment down to $1,703. That’s a savings of $40,000 over the life of the loan.
CreditXpert’s pre dictive analytics platform helps lenders qualify more applicants, increase ap plicant purchasing power and lower interest rates by identifying near-term credit potential. Once an applicant’s po tential is identified, CreditXpert draws upon the nearly 1 billion credit records analyzed to outline the precise steps needed to reach the target score.
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CubiCasa’s free technology ensures all gross living area (GLA) calculated measurements are aligned with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards and delivered quickly and efficiently, with a turnaround time as little as five minutes.Assuch, the technology supports industry standardization and consistency and fosters compliance as the appraisal process continues to experience modernization.Usershave the ability to leverage CubiCasa’s technology without prior training. All that’s needed is a smartphone to create a digitized floor plan using the app while conducting a walkthrough of a home. Square footage is the second-highest driv er of a home’s value, and CubiCasa’s tech nology helps minimize inconsistencies and variations in the property data collec tion and inspection process. Eliminating costs makes it straightforward for any appraiser to ensure they are giving their client their home’s precise data.
CubiCasa is the leader in delivering fast, adaptable indoor mapping solutions for the real estate industry. Users can complete a schematic 2D floor plan using just a smartphone, with no training or cost required.
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CubiCasa’s compliant technology helps empower this industry shift by allowing anyone with a smartphone to create a digital floor plan in minutes. This gives appraisers more opportunity than ever to focus on the property’s final value, dras tically reducing the time it takes for an appraisal to be completed and reducing appraised value wait times to two to three days, as opposed to weeks.
www.cubi.casa/CUBICASA ProductCubiCasasnapshot: CubiCasa is a glob al market leader in mobile indoor floor plan scanning, providing an easy-touse, fast, free app to real estate industry professionals. To date, CubiCasa’s tech nology is used in 160 countries and has helped create more than 1 million floor plans. CubiCasa is available on the App Store and Google Play.
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CubiCasa’s free SaaS technology has helped create more than 1 million floor plans to date
CubiCasa’s innovative SaaS technology digitally maps out a home’s floor plan in as little as five minutes. This helps eliminate human error, creates digital consistency in the output, and democratizes the creation of accurate property data critical to real estate listings and the appraisal process on a home loan. To continue to modernize the valuation process and achieve its goal of drastically increasing the number of floor plans in the U.S., CubiCasa is now offering their users access to a free version product, as well as more product configuration options so users can select a pricing model that best fits their use case. By reducing product costs, real estate agents, real estate pho tographers, AMCs, appraisers and home owners now have a tool at their fingertips capable of delivering a precise floor plan.
CubiCasa’s technology is used in 160 different countries and has helped create more than 1 million floor plans, in large part based on its ease of use and quick turnaround times. The company wants to drastically increase use of its product in the U.S. to drive the industry toward a new paradigm.Earlierthis year, news of the 1004/70 Desktop Appraisal Guidelines came from government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These new guidelines put an emphasis on the digital floor plan requirement, ensuring thousands of appraisers and appraisal management companies have access to a detailed view of a property and can fully understand the marketability and functionality of the property without having to leave their desks.
First American is continually fine-tuning and customizing FraudGuard to enhance its scalability, and further reduce the need for non-critical reviews. FraudGuard’s latest release includes analytics that simpli fy the review process by streamlining the data collected from the loan application. This update will allow the platform to, over time, produce even deeper insights into the risks associated with the borrowers, subject property and all participants in the transaction.Additional updates to the process work flow incorporate more Uniform Residential Loan Application and loan participant data to produce more insightful analytics. FraudGuard’s flexible configuration op tions allow lenders to tailor channel-specific versions to their specific needs. For example, different levels of reports match the different needs and risk tolerances of purchase mortgage originators, correspondent lenders and home equity originators.In2021,First American also rolled out a new, innovative fraud scoring model, AppIntelligence Score, that can be used in conjunction with FraudGuard to help underwriters spend their time evaluat ing the loans that have the most risk and streamline the evaluation of the loans with the least Clientsrisk.of First American Data & Analytics appreciate the collaborative approach to client relationships, the contin ued investment the company has made in its mortgage analytics products and its commitment to industry leadership in data quality, analytics, customer support and unique product development.
AMERICAN
First American has also partnered with industry leaders, like Equifax, to create more efficient workflows within FraudGuard, such as enhancements to its Undisclosed Debt Monitoring solution, which allows for automatic, ongoing monitoring of the borrower’s credit report during mortgage origination.
FIRST DATA & dna.firstam.comANALYTICS
First American Data & Analytics’ FraudGuard quickly and accurately flags multiple types of risk on loan apps
- SPECIAL REPORTSponsored Content Fraud risk is growing as the market shifts away from traditionally lowrisk refinances and moves toward a purchase and home equity driven market.
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In an environment where lender profit margins are under pressure, FraudGuard enhances efficiency through integrations with leading loan origination software platforms and bolsters analytical accura cy, while reducing alert review rates with out creating greater exposure to fraud risk and buyback demands.
First American Data & Analytics’ FraudGuard solution, a leading fraud, compliance and verification suite, is the right product for these market conditions, as it significantly reduces fraud risk. The industry-leading solution integrates the industry’s largest property ownership and public record data sets, including homeowners’ association contact information, helping lenders accelerate decision-mak ing and increase pull-through rates.
ProductFraudGuardsnapshot: FraudGuard is an industry-leading, comprehensive de cision support tool designed to quickly and accurately flag multiple types of risk on loan applications, including fraud, compliance, identity and mis representation risk. The latest release captures and analyzes more data and offers channel-specific configurations, such as a streamlined home equity solution and a correspondent lending solution, to improve efficiencies and streamline alert reviews.
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• Immediately prioritize a lender’s transactions into a Clear to Schedule Signing pipeline • Illuminate alerts and exceptions to review and assign the right workflow and staffing upfront • Identify loans immediately that would later fallout in the life cycle, saving time and money Already adopted by 50 companies globally, multiple Fortune 500s and five of the top 20 national lenders, it’s no surprise that Flueid Decision has fueled more than 1 million transactions since its launch in 2020 and processed nearly $209 billion in loan volume by the first half of 2022. Contact hi@flueid.com to learn how Flueid can help you enhance current loan underwriting processes by plugging into existing core systems and ultimately, better serve the consumer.
The global collective experienced significant turbulence during the COVID-19 pandemic years. As the world population was forced to press pause on many of life’s biggest milestones, in novation took hold and companies found new ways to conduct business through the digital landscape. For the mortgage indus try, the dash toward virtual solutions and reliable fintech was crucial to reigniting the journey for hopeful homebuyers. For Flueid, the mission to deliver a digitally accelerated real estate life cycle began long before the pandemic push — nearly 30 years ago, in fact. Back then, the tech craze was booming, and the company’s founders recognized an opportu nity to bring data and technology to the industry. Today, the goal of streamlining real estate transactions from start to fin ish remains the same – especially as U.S. homeowners find themselves enjoying approximately $27.8 trillion in home equity. With its innovative SaaS platform, Flueid Decision, Flueid brings robust data and analytics forward to jump-start the loan life cycle, enhance the underwriting pro cess and support a frictionless lender-borrower journey during one of life’s major moments.Designed to fuel lenders’ existing core operating systems and increase pull through in existing pipelines, Flueid Decision aims to provide an exceptional borrower experience every time that can adapt to any cycle — like today’s home equityLendersmarket.canfeel confident knowing that the components of their loan applications are completed correctly thanks to the insights Flueid Decision delivers on both the borrower and the property. This allows lenders to instantly vet the consumer, lock in the a competitive rate and schedule the signing on most loan files with ease. Although legacy platforms typically focus on one decision and one customer type, Flueid’s engine is built to be exten sible to all market cycles and transaction types.This ability to customize means custom ers, including lenders, title agents, under writers, servicers, brokers, investors and more, can seamlessly tackle everything from home equity and refinance to pur chase transactions, as well as support a frictionless loss mitigation process. Flueid’s unique technology enhanc es the loan origination process so every party in the lending transaction has the data and insights needed upfront, remov ing unnecessary surprises that have historically extended the lending process. In fact, Flueid Decision has already reduced cycle times by five to 11 days or 24% within the loan underwriting process. And pull through rates have experienced increases to 80% or more because Flueid Decision helps lenders:
Flueid Decision Product snapshot: Flueid Decision is a SaaS platform that brings powerful data and analytics forward to the start of the loan life cycle to enhance the underwriting process and support a frictionless lender-borrower journey during one of life’s biggest moments. It’s designed to fuel lenders’ existing core operating systems to reduce cycle times, increase pull through in existing pipelines and provide an exceptional borrower experience every time.
Sponsored Content - SPECIAL REPORT -
Flueid Decision brings powerful data and analytics to the start of the loan life cycle to enhance underwriting www.flueid.comFLUEID
- SPECIAL REPORTSponsored Content
geniusprice technology is not a CMA. It’s a transformative advancement in real estate technology that utilizes trusted, ad vanced analytics to generate micro-market analysis based on curated data— resulting in highly personalized, local intelligence that agents and brokers can use to differentiate themselves in an industry that, right now, has more active agents than active local listings. With this property intelligence platform, homegenius is answering a widespread need for a faster, easier and more personalized real estate experience from search to close, powered by modern data science.
This intelligent pricing engine for real es tate allows users to bring these advanced analytics to living room conversations, all in one easy-to-use interface. Agents and brokers no longer need to go through the manual process of finding and evaluating comparables, which often includes using multiple systems and services to get the information they need. Using geniusprice technology, they can easily view their local data, quickly update comps in real-time, as well as view the available transaction history and previous photos of properties in their local areas. geniusprice technolo gy also utilizes photo AI technology to assess the condition of certain rooms in the home, so agents no longer need to “stare and compare” to find homes similar in fin ishes and quality to their subject property.
By reinventing the old traditional CMA with geniusprice technology, homegenius is offering in-depth, personalized property intelligence for real estate professionals to share with their clients and take their business to the next level. For more information on geniusprice technology, please visit homegenius.com.
homegenius Real Estate’s geniusprice allows agents to conduct pricing estimates in as little as five minutes
geniusprice tech nology is a groundbreaking property intelligence platform that provides brokerages and agents with next-level analytics and insights in an interface that’s easy to use and takes home price estimates to a new level.
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Agents and brokers can also create impressive presentations quickly, saving an average of 30 to 45 minutes per presen tation, giving them time back in their day to build relationships with their existing clients and prospect for new ones.
Using this next generation of personalized property intelligence, geniusprice technology from homegenius Real Estate leverages advanced valuation analytics, so agents and brokers can gain a deeper understanding of subject properties and their local real estate markets.
The legacy CMA process is 25 to 30 years old and takes a great deal of time to perform manually. Rather than taking hours, the geniusprice platform is allowing agents to do pricing estimates much more quickly — even in less than five minutes.
HOMEGENIUShomegenius.comINC. Productgeniuspricesnapshot:
So much has evolved in the real estate process — agents and brokers no longer flip through the pages of MLS books, thumb through a Rolodex or fill out carbon copy contracts with their clients. However, one element of the real estate process that hasn’t seemed to progress is the comparative market analysis, or CMA, which is created to establish a price for a property. homegenius recognized the industry’s need for an updated, smarter way to create pricing estimates for homes —one that utilizes cutting-edge technology and machine learning — and developed the geniusprice platform.
Immediate state and county updates, as well as accurate recording fee calcula tions, drive NTC’s reject rate of less than .5%.
• Provides system-of-record for internal and external audits
With NTC’s PerfectDocs, servicers can prepare, execute, notarize and record lien releases directly
NTC A COVIUS nationwidetitleclearing.com/SOLUTIONperfectdocs ProductPerfectDocssnapshot:
PerfectDocs en ables servicers and capital markets asset managers to prepare, execute, notarize and record lien releases and assignment of mortgage documents directly, on-demand, through an online platform that offers the same compli ance and eRecord network of NTC’s full-service solution.
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• Enables operational control to bal ance units, geographies or loan types for in or outsource, without additional contracting
Outsourcing or hiring in-house compliance experts are no lon ger the only options for servicers who need help handling lien releases and assignment of mortgage documents. With the use of PerfectDocs technology, virtually anyone can prepare, validate, execute, notarize and even record these documents within minutes without compromising the integrity or validity of the document. Nationwide Title Clearing has invested more than 31 years of experience, knowledge and technology into creating PerfectDocs, the first complete web-based solution that provides both NTC and users with a “share-the-work” solution. PerfectDocs provides for a completely paperless process anywhere eRecord is available. From when the order opens to the release being recorded, users never have to print a piece of paper or cut a check for recording. Instead, all execution is safely electronic while capturing the notary log for record-keeping and compliance.Benefitsof PerfectDocs include: • Tech-enabled, anywhere, secure, web-based platform Satisfies DRBC requirements Compliant with state/county regulations
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PerfectDocs is the only system backed by the same engine that successfully pro cesses large numbers of releases and as signments by NTC.
• Control and speed for urgent docu ment production needs Data entry is a separate function and can be completed with client staff or offshore partners. All management queues can assign work by hard states versus easy states or what suits the employee. Quality inspection after data entry can be customized to account for new employees or experts with low error rates. Clients using PerfectDocs tend to take advantage of the hybrid model, which al lows them to share the working environment. While clients complete orders from start to finish, they always have a safety net with NTC available to complete orders or pieces of orders with additional services. NTC can do the heavy lifting with record ing paper releases by attaching cover sheets and recording fee checks, mailing recorded releases to borrowers, or han dling the cancellations and mailing the original collateral. The PerfectDocs platform allows for use of NTC’s full-service options, with the ability to transfer work to NTC for any reason the client needs, such as overflow, busi ness continuity or disaster recovery. PerfectDocs is fully compliant with state, county and MERS regulations. NTC manag es state timeframes for lien releases, data requirements, forms and recording fees, so clients no longer have to be experts in that space for over 3,600 recording jurisdictions.Clientscan manage work within the sys tem by compliance deadlines or custom SLA requirements calculated at import. If an increase in volume becomes an issue, they’re able to push orders to NTC to be processed to maintain overall compliance. And to simplify future auditing re quirements, the PerfectDocs system hosts all information to complete the order, including a history of the order and an image of the recorded document.
Sponsored Content - SPECIAL REPORT -
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• Built-in exception-handling for full-service assistance by NTC professionals
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• Operational efficiency • Revenue leakage • Lack of visibility for loan officers and Withborrowersthenumber of professional apprais ers continuing to shrink, having the right appraisal tech solutions in place is crucial to sustained growth and ensuring the ap praisal doesn’t slow the rest of the mortgage journey. According to STRATMOR research, 1 in 8 closings is delayed due to the appraisal, and issues with the appraisal are cited in nearly 6% of cases when the borrower walks away from a loan. And those numbers add up when it comes to profit loss.
• Reducing time in appraisal manual management billing activities • Eliminating revenue leakage from payment collection • Driving down cycle times • Increasing referrals through an im proved borrower experience In short, Reggora offers a cost-saving solution for lenders, no matter their loan volume.Withautomation such as instant file uploads to the GSEs, appraisal quality control and appraisal payment processing, lenders can increase the speed and accuracy of appraisal order management atWhilescale.it’s impossible to know the future of real estate fintech, the professionals at Reggora are perpetually striving to enhance speed and accuracy, reduce cost and upgrade the customer experience. As the world races toward automation in nearly every industry, Reggora aims to remain a leader in mortgage technology. With an inner drive to deliver state-ofthe-art appraisal solutions, the company plans to execute process modernization with agility and respond to the changing needs of its customers with innovative fin tech products that move in step with an ever-changing market.
By automating the manual components of the process and providing a singular source of truth for loan officers and stakeholders, Reggora’s appraisal management platform increases the overall efficiency and value of each loan file, ultimately minimizing the risk of profit loss.
The Reggora Appraisal Management Platform’s cost savings and automation amount to $286 worth of value per loan for lenders across several value drivers:
As more aspects of the mortgage process venture into the online realm, appraisal remains a bottleneck that regularly causes significant delays and loss in profit. With so many costs and slowdowns being attributed to inefficient appraisals, the opportunity that online appraisal presents is enormous, leaving no room for lenders to forsake fintech solutions that focus on this pivotal part of the process.Reggora is facing the issues surrounding modern appraisals head-on with its industry-leading Reggora Appraisal Management Platform. With the help of the company’s innovative appraisal platform, lenders can reduce costs per loan by up to $258 per file by addressing multi ple pain points within a lender’s appraisal operation:•Lengthy cycle times
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Reggora’s platform stands out from lega cy products as an innovative solution that actively invests in solving snags in the appraisalReggora’sprocess.platform simplifies tech adop tion by integrating into a lender’s existing LOS thanks to its open APIs.
Reggora’s mod ern, two-sided platform for mortgage lenders and appraisal vendors solves the appraisal segment of the digital mortgage. Through advanced, custom izable workflows, Reggora streamlines the entire appraisal process, improving the borrower experience. Lenders and appraisers benefit from payment pro cessing, automated order manage ment, rule-based reviews, appraisal delivery, status updates and more.
Lenders can reduce costs per loan by up to $258 per file using the Reggora Appraisal Management Platformreggora.comREGGORA Reggora ProductManagementAppraisalPlatformsnapshot:
- SPECIAL REPORTSponsored Content
3. Lastly, CARE API Marketplace is an API platform that lets servicers incorporate their CARE servicing tools with the rest of the consumer
and mission of CARE are in the name. The platform aims to care for and retain customers through good times and bad, provide real-time views of home equity, make custom loan offers and offer immediate hardship help from any device. Designed for consumers and built for enterprise, CARE is comprised of three essential components.
In an era where the CFPB is pushing for servicers to improve call center response times, increase data on key metrics and proactively promote options to borrowers — especially during hardships — Sagent brings a configurable solution to the table that keeps up with regulatory changes and shifting policy demands in order to remain compliant.Asflexible mortgage fintech grows in im portance, Sagent continues to highlight its ability to combine automation with real-time access to human support with Sagent’s consumer loan servicing platform, CARE.
CARE aims to care for and retain customers through good and bad sagent.comSAGENT ProductCARE
• First, CARE seamlessly links servicers’ customer support teams to the homeowner experience.
• Second, CARE uses bidirectional data sharing between homeown er-facing products (like CARE) and servicing and default systems (like Sagent’s LoanServ and Tempo) so the homeowner and enterprise experiences are always connected — and always informed by each individual homeowner’s data in real-time.
Sagent CARE solves both engagement and retention issues by creating a continuous servicing-to-origination loop through responsibly using borrower data. This game-changing loop works in two essential ways:
Sponsored Content - SPECIAL REPORT -
Sagent’s consumer loan servicing platform
snapshot: CARE is Sagent’s consumer mortgage servicing plat form that links a modern, bank-onyour-phone experience for homeown ers with smart, human advice from servicers. Homeowners can manage all loan and homeownership needs, analyze equity and explore new offers in a single, friendly platform at any time, from any device. Servicers use the same UI/UX as customers and can co-pilot to resolve customer needs with real-time secure messaging and doc/ data sharing.
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2. With CARE Customer Service, ser vicers work within the same UI/ UX as customers and can co-pilot to resolve customer needs with re al-time secure messaging and doc/ data sharing.
As a cloud-native consumer-servicing platform that is continuously updated, CARE is designed to meet the evolving needs of homeowners. The platform also focuses on delivering a configurable interface for servicers, providing them the ability to brand the platform as their own.
While digital-first transformation in the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic years has evolved both business processes and consumer expectations, when it comes to customer experience, most agree that automation can’t replace human connection. In the mortgage industry, where building rela tionships with customers is essential to long-term satisfaction and, by extension, customer retention, the need for a person al touch is vital. Striking the right balance between efficient automation and solid customer service is a challenge throughout the mortgage industry, but this is where Sagent excels. Sagent’s consumer loan servicing platform, CARE (which stands for Customer Attention, Retention and Engagement), couldn’t be named more appropriately.Thepurpose
1. CARE Loan Servicing gives customers the power to self-serve when it comes to managing their mortgage or non-mortgage loans. Borrowers can manage payments and escrows, find savings and engage with servicers on the same device they use for shopping, chatting or playing their favorite game — and with the same ease and simplicity.
Whileexperience.allthree components of CARE have distinct purposes, they combine to bring the same modern experience borrowers get in the origination space to ser vicing, where customer relationships are tactfully managed and grown over the decades-long loan life cycle.
Touchless Lending offers a 77% cost sav ings for underwriting and processing, an increase in underwriting by roughly 4.5 times to handle more mortgages at once and clear-to-close decisions in as little as five to seven days. Lenders have seen an 11% increase in total annual gains from Touchless Lending as well as savings on operational costs.
The Touchless Lending platform uses AI and machine learning techniques to solve the hard problem of using a machine to do the work of a senior processor and an expert underwriter. Tavant has mixed and matched the use of computer vision and natural language processing with proce dural rules processing to provide the best technical solution for straight-through processing and automated underwriting.
Lenders using Touchless Lending appreciate the faster time to product de ployment and the seamless, intuitive integration into their existing workflows and business processes. The ROI is immedi ately realizable and tangible.
- SPECIAL REPORTSponsored Content
The platform is LOS agnostic and will work with any CRM as well as POS plat forms in the mortgage industry. It uses Digital Ledger Technologies so that all operations on a loan are im mutable and can be tracked from its ori gin to it becoming a closed/funded loan, reducing repurchase risk and allowing investors to perform their due diligence when buying the loan.
Touchless Lending from Tavant reduces the processing and underwriting costs of originating a loan by 77%
Touchless Lending
The cost to originate a loan has continuously increased over the years, hitting a peak of over $10,000 despite the injection of multiple technologies into the mortgage origination process.
Touchless Lending by Tavant was developed to directly focus on solving this problem.Thevision for Touchless Lending was to remove the many humans-in-the-loop embedded in the mortgage process, eliminate the amount of paper that flows through each loan in the application intake and decisioning process, and remove the need for multiple iterations between borrower, loan officer, processors and underwriters that lead to an increased cycle time of anywhere from 45 to 60 days to close a Touchlessloan.Lending reduces the process ing and underwriting costs of originating a loan by 77%. The AI-powered lendingas-a-service platform also increases the throughput of the underwriter from three or four loan underwrites a day to more than 12 underwrites per day. The solution pro vides immediate business lift, including full automation of document digitization to data consistency checks, income, credit, asset, collateral, title and fraud checks, automatically fulfilling the conditions on a loan, and multi-investor analysis.
www.tavant.com/fintechTAVANT
The Touchless Lending platform provides an optional Underwriter’s Workstation that is the most user-friendly and advanced workstation available for underwriters in the market today. Data visualization techniques coupled with AI and machine learning-driven insights from the borrower’s and the property’s profile and characteristics provide the fastest path to comprehending the story of a loan, and therefore the fastest pathway to deci sioning the loan. Although the platform focuses initially on automating the mortgage processing and underwriting life cycles of a mortgage, the goal is to automate anything and everything that can be automated.
Product snapshot: Touchless Lending is an AI-powered lending-as-a-service platform that provides end-to-end mortgage manufacturing. Loan offi cers, processors and underwriters utilize Touchless Lending’s Optimized Workflows to engage with data and make decisions faster, instead of re lying on physical documentation and manual data entry.
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Total Expert’s Customer Intelligence drives hundreds of new originations by looking for signals from customers
TOTAL totalexpert.com/EXPERT
Borrowers have a record $11 trillion in “tappable” equity that they could use for a cash-out refinance or home equity line of credit (HELOC). Customer Intelligence allows lenders to engage a customer at a time when they are looking for mortgage credit.Customer Intelligence by Total Expert also features listing insights, which deliv ers an alert when a borrower’s home is put on the MLS. And coming soon, Customer Intelligence will feature Equity and Rate Insights, which alert a lender when a borrower has meaningful equity in their home, or a new rate is available that would be meaningful to a prospective borrower. In today’s market in which every loan counts, it’s vital to have solutions in place to ensure you’re engaging and retaining borrowers. In that regard, Total Expert’s data speaks for itself: For every 50,000 contacts monitored in a mortgage or banking database through Total Expert’s Customer Intelligence functionality, lend ers discover nearly 200 additional mort gages per year, according to lender data. Finally, the biggest payoff experienced by Total Expert customers is the level of service and deeper relationships with customers. A lender that can identify and engage about their most pressing needs is well ahead of peers who are still in passive mode on service. Borrowers will choose lenders who step forward to serve them.
Sponsored Content - SPECIAL REPORT -
Customer Intelligence
Total Expert’s Customer Intelligence drives hundreds of new originations by looking for signals from customers of a need for mortgage financing.
Product snapshot: Customer Intelligence drives growth and retains customers by surfacing borrower in tent for mortgage financing through consumer insights and signals identi fied with the Total Expert platform. The product uses mortgage credit inquiry alerts and listing insights, with more features coming soon, to help lenders find borrowers needing their services.
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Customer Intelligence solves this problem because homebuyers often look at mortgage payments to determine their price range. When they want to know how much house they can afford, they start shopping lenders. Customer Intelligence’s mortgage credit inquiry alerts work to inform its users the moment a credit pull takes place for a mortgage on someone in your Catchingdatabase.acredit pull also opens other avenues for mortgage originations.
As lenders continue to pivot strategies after last year’s record-break ing refinance volume, they’ve quickly found that, in this market, every mortgage counts. To make the most of it, lenders must be able to engage borrowers seeking to refinance cash out of their home, to purchase a new home and even the rare rate refinance.
The good news is that there is a solution that helps lenders do just that. Customer Intelligence from Total Expert drives growth and retains customers by surfacing borrower intent with consumer insights and signals in the Total Expert Platform.
A key feature is its mortgage credit inqui ry alert, which lets you know when a lender pulls credit for a mortgage on someone in your database. This is key to overcom ing borrower retention issues, a common struggle.Manypeople don’t immediately think of a lender when they want to sell or buy a home. They think of contacting a Realtor first. The Realtor then refers to lenders they trust. If you were the lender that pro vided the customer’s last loan, you’re usually out. You wouldn’t know the customer needs credit unless they literally told a loan officer or applied on your website.
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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 NAR........................................73NAMMBA...............................72NAHBMBA.......................................71AIME......................................71today.....................................72 70 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE TRADE DESK SEPTEMBER 2022
Mortgage Bankers Association Robert Broeksmit, CMB President & CEO Mortgage Bankers Association
AIME members, We’re in countdown mode. September is a month that will be impactful for many of us in the mortgage industry. It’s a countdown to the end of purchase season, the end of the fiscal quarter and the final month before we focus on our end-of-year line items.
For AIME, September is also our biggest month of the year as we get ready to connect thousands of independent mortgage brokers at our fifth annual Fuse National Conference in Las Vegas. This timing is not accidental, it is instead very intentional. In a volatile market, with an uncertain economic climate ahead of us, now is the most crucial time to band together and tap into the brightest minds in our industry.Weareready to help brokers succeed regardless of the market conditions we’re facing. In order to achieve our maximum potential, the broker community needs to step up and stake a claim in their future. This is a call to arms for every wholesale mortgage professional, every independent broker and every supporter of our channel — take the time to invest in yourself, your business and your team and join us at Fuse.
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Association of Independent Mortgage Experts Katie AssociationSweeneyPresidentofIndependentMortgageExperts
MBA members, In 2006, before the Great Financial Crisis, private label securitizations (PLS) constituted more than half of all residential mortgage-backed securities issued. By the end of 2021, the PLS share had fallen to just 3.8%.We have seen a renewed interest in this space, sparked by increased loan-level price adjustments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on second homes and high-balance conforming loans, increased jumbo volume driven by home price appreciation and the evolution of the non-QM market. Soon-to-be-released industry standards are critical to the scalability of the PLS market and will help drive automation, efficiency, lower costs and improve data exchange. While the agency market has become highly stan dardized from a data perspective, the PLS market is a different story. Simply replicating the information sent to the GSEs does not work in the PLS market, where there are no standard seller/servicer guides and there is a need to differentiate among a variety of products, including non-QM, jumbo prime, tax return and bank statement loans, to list just a few. As a result, every transaction today remains subject to 100% manual review and due diligence, at a cost one expert estimates to be at approximately $550 per loan. To tackle this challenge, MISMO, the industry’s standards organization, is creating a data exchange for PLS that will allow trusted information to flow directly from originators to credit rating agencies and third-party review firms. MISMO will be releasing the standard for further public comment later this year. I encourage all current and aspiring PLS mar ket participants and their technology partners to review and provide feedback on this standard and adopt it once it is made final. Working together, the real estate finance industry has a great op portunity to realize the benefits of a robust, scalable and efficient PLS market.
Jerry Konter NationalChairmanAssociation of Home Builders
The next two decades of growth in the mortgage industry will come from this mar ket. Companies that don’t adapt to where the growth market is trending won’tDifferentgrow.markets need different tactics. That means the old playbook isn’t going to work in a new growth demographic. The good news is you don’t have to keep banging your head against the wall trying to figure it out. ASIL has you covered.Ihope to see more companies, like yours, like Howard Hanna, step up to the plate. Enroll your team in ASIL and get the tools you will need to make an impact in this often overlooked and underserved market where competition is still low, but growth is happening across the board!
And if you meet with us before the end of November, you can get a free copy of our 2021 Next Gen Homebuyer Survey.
NAMMBA members, At the beginning of this year, NAMMBA launched our Accredited Social Impact Lender (ASIL) program to give lenders, like you, and their teams the tools to make the CRA/LMI market a viable extension of their annual strategy. ASIL not only gives teams the right tools but also a whole mindset shift that will grow CRA/ LMI into a profitable arm of a mortgage company’s lendingHowardmix.Hanna, an early adopter of ASIL, is adapting the training and insight gained during the program into their already extensive offerings in the CRA/LMI market. They are looking to beat other lenders to market with not only products but also education for borrowers who might not know that they are eligible for a mortgage.ASIListhe key to helping our partners understand where they stand today with the CRA/LMI market, en vision where they could be tomorrow and develop a roadmap for future success. That means training, data and marketing advice all wrapped up in one package by a company that specializes in the CRA/LMI mortgage market, NAMMBA.
National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America NAHB members, Each October, NAHB and its mem bers celebrate Careers in Construction Month. The nationwide campaign raises public awareness of the many re warding opportunities in the skilled trades. It also aims to inspire the next generation of professionals that will help build the homes of the future.
Tony Thompson, CMB Founder and CEO National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of AmericaCEO/Founder
BuildersHomeofAssociationNational
A severe skilled labor shortage is impacting our industry’s efforts to address housing affordability and to keep up with growing housing demand. That’s why workforce devel opment remains a top priority for our association.Thisyear, NAHB will participate in Build Across America Day on Oct. 29. The national workforce development program introduces children of all ages to the skilled trades, and it works to debunk common myths about the skilledNAHBtrades.encourages housing profes sionals to seek official recognition of Careers in Construction Month in their respective states. Any resident can file a proclamation for their governor to sign, further raising awareness of the career opportunities in the residential construction trades. But workforce development efforts don’t stop in October. NAHB is work ing year-round to address the industry’s labor shortage by providing skills training and job-placement as sistance. The association also advo cates for more local, state and federal funding for its training arm, the Home Builder Institute. This program offers Job Corps programs and apprenticeship opportunities, training for men and women leaving military service and schools-to-skills programs. I encourage all housing profession als to help spread the word about the great careers available in residential construction and help us build the skilled, capable workforce needed to meet the nation’s housing demand. Find out if your state is already on board or request a proclamation! You can find information on classroom and jobsite visits, social media images and tips to help host in-person events and more at nahb.org/careersmonth.
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National Association of Realtors
HousingWire stories delivered to your inbox every day. Find the right fit for you. GET ON THE www.housingwire.com/newsletterLIST:
Leslie Rouda Smith NationalPresidentAssociation of Realtors
NAR members, In August 2021, tech startup founder Jay Reno stood on stage in Dallas, Texas, to explain how Feather, the company he founded and led as its CEO, had developed a product that would deliver a more sustainable solution for home staging and furniture rental across the United States. Reno was in Dallas to participate in the third-annual iOi Pitch Battle, a competition held annually as part of the National Association of Realtors’ Innovation, Opportunity and Investment (iOi) Summit. Previous year’s winners of the competition include Curbio, pre-listing home improvement and renovation innovators, and BoxBrownie.com, on-demand real estate photo editing and virtual staging standouts. Reno spoke alongside numerous real estate entrepreneurs from top tech markets throughout the country. Feather, thanks to Reno’s compelling argument, bested twelve finalists rep resenting various other real estate tools and platforms that are similarly transforming real estate marketplaces everywhere.Laterthismonth, on September 28-29, the fourth annual iOi Summit will be held in Los Angeles, California. Second Century Ventures, NAR’s strategic investment arm, will again host the Pitch Battle competition, offering an opportunity for real estate technology startups to showcase their innovations live on stage and via Livestream to a worldwide audience. Each of the competitors in the Pitch Battle will conduct a live, 4-minute pitch on their product or service, followed by a 4-minute Q&A session from a panel of judges. Contestants are tasked with making a compelling case about how their technology will transform the global real estate sector. This year’s winner will be awarded $15,000, secure a booth at NAR’s NXT conference in November, and have their company featured in upcoming RISMedia and Realtor Magazine articles. They’ll also have the chance to present the Pitch Battle winner at iOi 2024. Join NAR at iOi or watch on Facebook Livestream later this month.
EstateReal 74 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE REAL ESTATE SEPTEMBER 2022
BY MATTHEW BLAKE 75 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE REAL ESTATE SEPTEMBER 2022
But LoVerde is no Ryan Serhant or Mauricio Umansky, agents to wealthy clients appearing on reality TV. LoVerde and her clients are affected by the national housing inventory crisis, even as Chicago has not quite suffered the housing shortages and skyrocketing prices of other metropolises.
“In the last year, in 2022, there have just been extra layers of emotion. I guess that is the way to say it. It is just a lot of emotional management.”StephanieLoVerde is speaking on the front steps of a home in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood that she is about to put on the market. LoVerde is a real estate agent for Baird & Warner, which is a Chicago-based brokerage founded in 1855. She has been an agent at either Baird & Warner or Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty since 2013. LoVerde is an accomplished agent. Some of her previous sales volume is displayed on LinkedIn: $24.4 million in sales in 2020, and $21.7 million in sales in 2019. LoVerde did around 80 deals in 2021, she said, good for $40 million in sales volume. The average agent, according to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) member survey, completes 10 sales per year. She is part of the 6% agents nationally with a graduate degree, according to a NAR member survey, receiving a master’s in counseling in 2013.
Frazzled but focused, a day in the life of a real estate agent REALTOR DEALS WITH RISING MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES, LOW INVENTORY AND HIGH TRAFFIC
In fact, the veteran agent felt vexed and stressed by rising mortgage interest rates, and a possible economic downturn. “I have just been frazzled,” she admitted over text last week. “Rates are causing panic.” RealTrends spent a day with LoVerde in the middle of June just as the market was turning. The day was a veritable travelogue of Chicagoland, particularly for LoVerde, a resident of Park Ridge in the northwest suburbs.
I
“Rates LoVerde-panic.”causingareStephanie
HOW ONE CHICAGO-BASED
As the father moved down to Florida, the father’s daughter got involved and is working with LoVerde.
“The people we are meeting here,” LoVerde said in front of a three-story home on Central Avenue in the North Shore suburb of Wilmette. “They have "The -wantfiveagentaveragespendsyearsatimeattheirfirm,perNAR.“ButIdon’ttobeajumper."StephanieLoVerde
76 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE REAL ESTATE SEPTEMBER 2022
As LoVerde cleans and attempts to explain how she came to list this house, her phone buzzes with a question from a counterpart agent on a home about to close.“Ihate the stress,” she said while displaying a dense document with written and e-signed information on her tiny phone screen. “I mean, obviously, no one likes the stress but, yeah, I hate to schedule last-minute stuff.” “And then people are always like, ‘Oh, this is time sensitive.’ It’s like, well, what isn’t?LoVerdeRight?”is now putting out an assortment of potted plants that she carries in her Jeep from home to listed home. She is getting the place ready not yet for potential buyers, but a professional photographer.Thephotographer, Jim, was scheduled through a pay-per-service app run by Baird & Warner that looks and operates similar to Task Rabbit. Agents are connected to photographers, cleaners, furniture movers and whatever other assistance they need.
As Jim snaps photographs, LoVerde — a nervous person, by her own admission — deals with a million moving parts. Where does the backyard end and the neighbor’s backyard begin? There is an elevator from the mid-20th century in the house. Is it safe? Should pictures be taken of Whatthat? is the local high school here? Can she say this house is in the somewhat more affluent Sauganash neighborhood? LoVerde converses while picking up feathers floating down to the ground from a taxidermy animal.
“By Thursday,” LoVerde noted. “I am kind of thinking. What am I going to do this weekend? Are we going to go to brunch? So, it is when people start planning, and people could start planning to see a home.”
L Lincolnwood is a straight shot on Lincolnwood Avenue from Chicago’s Lincoln Square — not everything in Chicago is named after Abraham Lincoln, just most things — that traverses through pretty townhouses, auto body shops, cutrate hotels and a gaudy miniature golf course.Itwas late morning and LoVerde was inside cleaning the 91-year-old, 2,815-square-foot home on the pleasant and exceedingly quiet street Sauganash Avenue.“Anelderly man who lives there, he lost his wife, and now there’s just too much house,” LoVerde said.
T
LoVerde spoke effusively of Baird & Warner, and Stephen Baird, the brokerage’s president since 1991. “He is a really smart dude. And his big thing is, like, ‘I want my agents to also have a life.’” At the start of the pandemic, LoVerde returned to Baird & Warner — the perpetual no. 2 in Chicago brokerage (@properties is #1) after a stint as vice president of sales at a regional Sotheby’s. “Agents are so transient,” she said – the average agent spends five years a time at their firm, per NAR. “But I don’t want to be a jumper.”
With the pictures taken, LoVerde will now list the home on the Midwest Real Estate Data multiple listings service. But not until next Thursday, the day of the week she always lists homes.
“The people we are meeting here, they have already made two offers for homes, for $1.1 million and $1.2 million. They have a strong down payment. They are working with a lender. And they are losing to cash.”
“They are smart people, and it’s been tough,” LoVerde said. As the day progresses, LoVerde, already disarming and to the point, discusses the fine line between caring for her clients and getting too involved. “You have to genuinely care,” LoVerde said. “There are a lot of people who don’t and it’s super obvious.” As LoVerde is talking, the seller’s agent from Berkshire Hathaway shows up. The home in question is neither listed on the Midwest Real Estate MLS, per se, nor is it a “pocket listing,” which is unlawful by NAR guidelines. Instead, it was one of the Chicago area homes on the “private listings network,” a nebulous number of homes that listing agents post on the MLS to other agents but have yet to meet MLS listing requirements. Like pictures.“Iasked for photos, and they didn’t have them. My clients have zero idea what they are looking at.” LoVerde and the agent make small talk, until LoVerde’s clients, a couple in their mid-30s, the woman in the early stages of pregnancy, appear. Both prospective buyers appear pensive. It is obvious from the start they are underwhelmed by the house and irritated by having to drive an hour from the Wicker Park neighborhood to view it. Prices in Wilmette are high largely because of the local school district’s reputation. But this particular home seems a reach, listed at over $1 million.
77 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE REAL ESTATE SEPTEMBER 2022
already made two offers for homes, for $1.1 million and $1.2 million. They have a strong down payment. They are working with a lender. And they are losing to cash.”
The roof has leaks, and while the home advertised a fireplace, said fireplace has not been used since literally 1987, the listing agent acknowledged. Dismayed, the husband does not even bother to climb the stairs and look at the 2nd floor. LoVerde and the wife huddle and discuss their disappointment. After a polite but firm exit, LoVerde counsels the couple for 10 minutes. She clearly feels bad. And now she has to drive in rush hour traffic to the city.
- Stephanie LoVerde
It is 5:00 p.m. on a sunny, humid Chicago day and LoVerde has yet to stop for“Itfood.canbe hard to stay healthy,” LoVerde said. “There are a lot of drive-throughs.” Maintaining close friendships and even romantic relationships can also be difficult. Real estate is on the list of professions — entertainment, emergency medical care — that is not just a 9-to-5 job, but an obligation where one must be on“Thiscall. part, I love, just getting to know people,” LoVerde said. She doesn’t love being unable to turn off the nervousness. After crawling down Western Avenue start-and-stop driving, LoVerde stands in front of a recently built condo complex in the Logan Square neighborhood, ground zero for post-Great Recession Chicago condoLoVerde’sdevelopment.clients, a couple moving from Atlanta, meet her and the listing agent in front of the complex. The couple has signed the contract to buy a unit in the complex. This is the “walk-through” before the listing agent hands over the keys.Aquirk is that one of the two buyers has not viewed the condo. The husband-tobe (the couple is engaged to be married) is quiet. He facetiously announces the condo looks Somewhatawful.more seriously, he speaks with the listing agent about Atlanta golf courses and envisions a place to put the condo’s TV.
I
The couple seems ready to settle down. “We sold our house in Atlanta in March and have been staying in Airbnbs since looking for a place,” the wife-tobe explained. They both work remotely for the same company and wanted to move to Chicago because of its public transportation.For30minutes, the respective agents and couple mix small talk more on Atlanta area golf, various tourist destinations, places to eat nearby — with 11th-hour discussions about the security of the windows, what switch goes to which light, and whether a cleaner can come down before tomorrow. Eventually, the walk-through is complete. LoVerde is free to celebrate with the couple, check for more messages, prepare for tomorrow’s meetings and drive 44 minutes back to Park Ridge.
MortgageReverse 78 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE REVERSE MORTGAGE SEPTEMBER 2022
BYMORTGAGECHRISCLOW 79 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE REVERSE MORTGAGE SEPTEMBER 2022
With the traditional mortgage business under a kind of stress that is not currently present on the reverse side, much of the principles that she speaks about relate to her interactions with the industry as a mother.Particularly in terms of professional latitude and the ability to balance different personal and professional priorities which could have the potential to entice new professionals into reverse.
The stresses that she sees from professionals in the forward/traditional mortgage broker and originator communities are not restricted only to the young mother’s demographic. Still, for many who might be predisposed to seeking out a career change, reverse mortgages don’t often come to mind.
While her own experience is understandably shaped by parenthood, Harmes Hika still sees many of the professionals in the communities she is involved with go through a lot of issues that make
That’s why Harmes Hika has taken it upon herself to try and introduce job hunters to the possibilities of a reverse mortgage career through a new business endeavor. One involved in coaching professionals and educating them about how they can find a rewarding career in a business they may not have considered before.
CReverse
hristina Harmes Hika of Amerifund Home Loans in San Diego, Calif, has previously spoken with MortgageReverseDailyontheless-often-discussedbenefitsofthereverse mortgage business, specifically for younger mothers.
W
Mortgage pro starts a coaching business to enlist new blood
THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES IN REVERSE
"Reverse is a challenge to get into, I’m not going to say it’s as easy as turning your reverse talent on one day. But if you start now, you can build a business so that you have the time and flexibility you want.”While her children are still very young, looking ahead and thinking about how present she wants to be with her own kids is something she believes reverse is good for, and she doesn’t see the need for that kind of flexibility going away as her kids get older.
“I started a master-class series for forward loan officers to learn reverse,” she“It’ssays.more than the lender courses. I love lender courses, but what I found is those loan officers on the forward side don’t understand what they have to do as an “Reverse is a challenge to get into, I’m not going to say it’s as easy as turning your reverse talent on one day. But if you start now, you can build a business so that you have the time and flexibility you -Christinawant.”Harmes Hika
When it is coupled with her shared anecdotes, a flood of inbound calls and emails began, asking her to walk them through what it takes to get up to speed on reverse. The correspondences became so regular, in fact, that she didn’t think she could handle them casually anymore.“Thedemand for education, training and coaching that people were asking for took me too far away from my own work,” she says. “This literally started because I couldn’t take one more 15-minute phone call just to pick my brain about reverse.
“It’s more than the lender courses. I love lender courses, but what I found is those loan officers on the forward side -Christinaontheyunderstanddon’twhathavetodoasanoriginatorthereverseside.“HarmesHika
"I had already taken a ton one week, and I was kind of running over my income because I’d spent so much time on the phone for free just giving people advice, and I didn’t get enough of my loans done.”
her thankful to be in the reverse business.
“Aren’t I going to want that type of flexibility when they’re five, six, 12 and 18?” she asks rhetorically. “It’s not like that need for flexibility goes away when they’re older. And that’s what I’ve been telling people.” In the professional circles she travels in, Harmes Hika says that people are very aware of her reverse advocacy.
I Immediately, Harmes Hika identified a gap in a very unique market that could also go on to serve a longtime reverse mortgage industry goal: bringing more new professionals into the fold. That endeavor has also helped people to realize exactly what they know — and don’t know—about getting up to speed with the nuances of the reverse mortgage sales cycle.
“I’m seeing young mothers in the broker and loan officer communities that are just totally stressed out,” she says. “Whether it’s young mothers or anyone else, they’re very stressed out.
80 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE REVERSE MORTGAGE SEPTEMBER 2022
O
Some of the content and discussions her course introduces include the first steps to take upon receiving a product inquiry from an interested senior. There are step-by-step guides that can move someone progressively through to a loan being placed in the process.
One of the keys for the future, Harmes Hika says, is for newly initiated reverse mortgage professionals to speak up about what sets the reverse mortgage apart and to become visible in their local communities.“I’mcoaching these loan officers to speak up and out, and to get out there to become the face of reverse in their local market,” she says. “That way, people can ask questions and get straightforward, real answers. I think that’s really the biggest problem: really experienced reverse mortgage loan officers don’t need to market that much. But then, the big companies market in a very generic way which doesn’t really help address a lot of the education issues.” Other adjacent professionals like financial planners, attorneys, forward mortgage loan officers and others simply don’t understand reverse mortgages, and the needle of education may not be moving fast enough in that respect. “There’s just this disconnect where education is the key,” she says. “And I know we say that all the time, but it’s not just educating in a one-onone format. You’ve got to get out there and talk about your reverse stories. Storytelling has led to a lot of success for me personally because people can see themselves in those real stories. We all know how life-changing reverses can be, but nobody else knows that.
originator on the reverse side because it’s different. There are more steps.” There are also a lot of other specific differences and scenarios that a forwardonly professional may not anticipate having to deal with, particularly when it comes to the more consultative nature of the reverse mortgage industry.
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“I’m coaching these loan officers to speak up and out, and to get out there to become the face of reverse in their local market.” -Christina Harmes Hika
"A part of my mission with this coaching company is to stop [reverse mortgages from] being the best-kept secret.”
Some client particulars also need to be taken into account, such as the health of the borrower, she says. Still, traditional lender courses are certainly valuable in teaching about loan details.“Alot of lender courses are very topical, and we’ve ended up with a lot of people that went through the lender courses and became knowledgeable about the details of that specific loan,” she says. “But these same people are sitting there frozen in fear as to what to do with that prospect who just called asking about a loan. And so, that was a gap in the market that I saw that I wanted to fill.”
Mortgage MORTGAGE 82 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
MORTGAGE 83 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
BY CONNIE
B
ased on the headlines, one might assume the mortgage business is a year,50%isdisaster.completeOriginationvolumedownaboutfromlastthousands of layoffs are reported each week, and gloomy prognosticators say the recession will make for a longSomewinter.mortgage companies will merge to stay afloat, and many others will go under. Despite the worst business climate in over a decade, there are mortgage companies hiring workers and thinking opportunistically about the cycle.Purchase-focused lenders that didn’t balloon in size to capture refinancing business during the boom, in particular, are looking to hire loan officers (LOs). And mortgage brokerages, which don’t have the burden of high overhead, are heavily recruiting retail LOs whose pipelines have thinned in recent months.Though purchase volume across the industry is down from 2020 and 2021, it’s among the only source of business out there for lenders.
LENDERS
And it’s still very much a relationship-driven business: borrowers want to speak to local loan officers when starting the process of getting a loan, which is why firms are hiring LOs, recruiters and mortgage lending executives said. Even traditional depository lenders are keen to bring aboard LOs from coast to coast.
A quick scan of job boards shows depositories such as U.S. Bank, Citi and Bank of America are looking to expand their ranks of LOs.
"We -Rickapart."setisandyears,severalthebilityourtainedmain-sta-overlastthatwhatusTrew
Despite headwinds, these mortgage companieshiringare THAT DIDN’T OVERHIRE IN THE REFI BOOM ARE NOW HIRING KIM
WesBanco Bank, the second-largest bank headquartered in West Virginia, plans to hire about 12 loan originators in 20 major markets this year. Founded in 1870, the bank has about 65 LOs. It has patiently prepared for a downturn and didn’t
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Anthony Casa-helmed UMortgage, headquartered in Philadelphia, is recruiting from large retail lenders across theHe’scountry.also bringing in brokers, quite a few of them. For example, Sean Grapevine, who led ATL Mortgage in Georgia, recently joined UMortgage. Casa also plans to hire loan officers, sales, operations and technology roles.
“The broker channel is growing so quickly [that] we can’t hire fast enough,” said Russell Petty, owner of Grow Mortgage, which has offices in the Carolinas, Florida and Indiana.
Smaller operations are also looking to fill their ranks, including Motto Mortgage and Grow Mortgage. Motto, which added 60 franchises in 2022, is looking for seven business development consultants who will be tasked with selling franchises of Motto.
He plans to hire up to 20 brokers by the end of the year, including junior LOs. wemlo, a platform connecting mortgage brokers and loan originators to a processing network, is looking to expand. The firm is looking to hire account executives to sell the firm’s processing software. Demand for wemlo is being driven by brokerages that don’t have in-house processors, Butterfield said.
lay off a single employee in the past two years, said Rick Trew, vice president and regional sales manager at WesBanco. “We didn’t go out and hire everybody we possibly could,” Trew said. “We maintained our stability during the last several years, that’s what set us apart.” With over 200 branches in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana, Trew said the bank is focused on purchase loans and the construction business.
R Recruiting battles for LOs remain fierce, mortgage executives and LOs told HousingWire. Though signing bonuses aren’t as generous as they were during the boom, many LOs making a move are receiving better compensation at their newButfirm.itcould take a few months to land that new role, especially through outbound recruiting. “Our industry knows that the process of going into a marketplace, trying to find experienced originators, is a very competitive and somewhat of a lengthy process,” Paul Buege, CEO of Inlanta Mortgage, told HousingWire. Several large mortgage brokerages see the market-wide volatility as a recruiting tool.Mike Kortas-led NEXA Mortgage, a high-volume brokerage, is looking to grow to 2,000 brokers by the end of the year, pitching what he called the best pricing in the industry and 100% splits.
Faster return times, often sameday underwriting approvals and less overhead are all factors that drive business for Grow, Petty said.
"Our -whatfindknowsindustrythattheprocessofgoingintoamarket-place,tryingtoexperiencedoriginators,isaverycompet-itiveandsome-ofalengthyprocess."PaulBuege
The number of brokerages submitting loans to wemlo for processing rose 74% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, the company said.Acquired by real estate firm RE/MAX
Real estate firm RE/MAX acquired Motto Mortgage in 2016 to create a “one-stop shop” in which homebuyers can work with both a real estate agent to find a home and a Motto Mortgage loan originator to secure financing. “As rates have gone up and the refi volume has gone down, [rates] pushed origination back to purchase money,” said Bob Butterfield, vice president of franchise sales at Motto Mortgage. “Purchase applications are where brokerages really shine in the first place.”
“A lot of people don’t get into underwriting until later in life. I am a quick learner. I’ve worn a lot of hats. I’ve done a little bit of everything. I’m not too set in my own ways, I love learning and being in the industry.”
and Motto Mortgage in 2020 after two firms struggled to hire experienced processors, wemlo added three account executives with experience at wholesale lenders this year. “Interest rates have knocked out homebuyers but we still have more qualified buyers who saved up a lot of money and have been trying to get into the market,” Buege said. “As we see a cooling in the housing market, it’s almost bringing a balance back. We look at the market as a glass half full.” I It’s a better job market for LOs than processors and underwriters as they are the “revenue generators,” said Mandy Garfield, head of talent acquisition at independent mortgage bank Norcom Mortgage, which is looking for LOs in multiple“Duringmarkets.theheavy refi years, companies really bulked up with processors, underwriters and support staff,” Garfield said.“When the refis went away, you are seeing a lot of these layoffs. In order for a company to grow, loan originators are the ones bringing in the loans and revenue to the mortgage company.” “We had more than 300 people apply for a loan originator assistant position in 24 hours so we had to close that posting,” Garfield said. It’s an extremely competitive job market for operations professionals. Over a dozen out-of-work operations workers told HousingWire they’ve applied to hundreds of jobs, and rarely receive more than a few interviews for positions they’re highly qualified for. Janille Dimaguipo knows that firsthand. She has nearly a decade’s worth of experience as a funder, processor and underwriter.Shewaslaid off from her underwriting job by Change Home Mortgage in May 2022.“Iknew it was a bad job market but I didn’t know it was this bad,” she said. “Layoffs are cyclical but I’m not used to there being nothing. This layoff season has been different for me. It’s scary. Some people have been out of work since January.”Dimaguipo said she’s received only a few responses from the hundreds of jobs she’s applied to, but she isn’t deterred. “The industry hasn’t beaten me down,” she said.
“We had more than 300 people apply for a loan originator assistant position in 24 hours so we had to close that
-Mandyposting.“Garfield MORTGAGE 85 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
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❱ HOUSINGWIRE KUDOS SEPTEMBER 2022
MBA Opens Doors sets donation records amid the changing housing market Opens Doors is dedicated to keeping families in their homes.
HW: HOW CAN HOUSING INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS GET INVOLVED WITH OPENS DD:DOORS?
kudos With all the talk about a hot housing market and changes on the horizon thanks to increasing mortgage rates, it can be hard to forget that these market-wide chang es have a real effect on real people, especially those dealing with loss or health problems in their families. Mortgage Bankers Association’s charity, Opens Doors Foundation, recognizes the individuals who make up our housing market and the struggles they go through. Deborah Dubois, president of Opens Doors, sat down with HousingWire to discuss the increasing impact Opens Doors has made in the lives of families who risk losing their homes while they care for their loved ones. Here, Dubois shares her plans for the very near future of the foundation, like the Annual Appeal, and celebrates the big wins of the past few years.
By LeeAudrey 88
DEBORAH DUBOIS: Wow … where to begin! I’d say we’ve had big wins in so many areas of the Foundation. We have gone from providing 37 mortgage grants to families in 2012 to more than 3,000 mortgage and rental grants in 2022. We’ve provided more than 12,000 rental assistance and mortgage grants to nearly 10,000 families that hail from every state in the country. In December 2021, we provided more grants to families in that single month than we did in all of 2016. And we’ve nearly tripled our fundraising in the last 5 years — a testament to the MBA members who have adopted our mission and nurtured our Foundation.
HOUSINGWIRE: IN THE ROUGHLY TEN YEARS SINCE OPENS DOORS WAS ESTABLISHED, WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST WINS FOR THE ORGANIZATION?
HW: THE LIST OF COMPANIES THAT DONATE THEIR TIME AND MONEY TO OPENS DOORS IS VAST AND INCLUDES WELLKNOWN NAMES IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY LIKE RADIAN. WHAT HOUSING INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS WOULD OPENS DOORS LIKE TO PARTNER WITH NEXT?
There is a multitude of ways that housing industry professionals can get involved. The best way is to make a commitment to support the Foundation with an annual gift, which in and of itself can be done in a variety of ways. A number of companies and individuals donate during our annual appeal in early September or at the end of the calendar year. Some companies want to get more actively involved, so they engage their whole team through corporate campaigns that energize and rally employees around our cause. One great example is Lennar Mortgage’s Annual Derby Campaign, which last year raised more than $93,000 in a span of 30 days from hundreds of Lennar Mortgage employees across the country. Still, other companies choose Opens Doors as their charity of choice for fundraising at their annual meetings or conferences. In addition, we’ve had companies host events specifically for the purpose of raising funds for Opens Doors. But the very best way to get involved with Opens Doors is to simply reach out to me at ddubois@mba.org.
How
DD: Honestly, we’d like to partner with everyone! Our mission is grounded in what housing professionals do every day. That said, there are a number of big companies in the industry — both on the commercial and the residential side — that I think would be ideal partners, not just because they have the funds to give, but because Opens Doors offers company leaders an opportunity to show the community at large that they care about people and the double bottom line, and that giving back is not just a line in the budget, but part of the holistic backbone of a company.
HW: ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
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DD: Our biggest “event” of the year is our upcoming 2022 annual appeal. It is not your typical “event” but rather a one-day email campaign that brings together the leaders of the MBA membership, including those on the MBA Board, RESBOG, COMBOG, industry titans at Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Rocket Mortgage and so many more. We’ll launch on Tuesday, September 6, and welcome all members of the housing finance industry to participate! In addition to our annual appeal, we’re looking forward to one of the most important events of the year — the Annual Con vention Reception in Nashville on Monday, October 24 — which is open to all donors and friends of Opens Doors. We’re also excited that in September, the law firm Morris, Manning & Martin will host a fundraiser on behalf of Opens Doors at District Winery in DC. We would love to have members of the industry at that event.
We are certainly fortunate to count a number of big names — Radian, Wells Fargo, Rocket Mortgage, Mr. Cooper, PennyMac, CBRE, Grandbridge, CMG Financial and so many more — as prominent supporters, but we are equally grateful for support from companies like SWBC Mortgage, Essent Guaranty, Ocwen Financial, Amerifirst Home Mortgage, Lennar Mortgage and so many others. Every single dollar we get makes a difference for a family with a critically ill or injured child who needs a little help to stay in their homes.
HW: IN 2021, OPENS DOORS RAISED MORE THAN $4 MILLION FOR FAMILIES TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES WHILE THEIR CHILDREN WERE RECEIVING LIFE-SAVING MEDICAL CARE. WHAT ARE THE GOALS FOR 2022?
DD: We were gifted with a $1 million donation from a wonderful individual at the end of 2020. That donation allowed us to create the Pandemic Relief Fund, which doubled our support to families impacted by the pandemic. In 2022, we set an ambitious $3.2 million goal, but as of July, we’ve bested that goal by about $1 million. We’ll be equally ambitious in 2023!
kudos
DD: I think the most important thing to un derscore is that when members of the hous ing finance community give to Opens Doors, they make a real, tangible difference for families with critically ill or injured children who are living on the fault line between housing security and eviction/homelessness. The best way to reflect that impact is in the words of an actual Opens Doors family: “Thank you very much for your generosity and compassion. I can’t even begin to ar ticulate how much of a relief it was to have a month of rent covered while my son was fighting for his life in the Children’s Hospital ICU. I appreciate you being there in our time of need. Thank you.” – An Opens Doors Family
HW: ARE THERE ANY UPCOMING EVENTS OPENS DOORS WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN OR HOSTING? WHAT DETAILS CAN YOU GIVE US ABOUT THOSE?
❱ PARTING SHOT: LOOKING FORWARD TO HW ANNUAL This year’s HousingWire Annual Conference is October 3-5 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The confer ence will be hosted at the beautiful Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort. Attendees will learn from industry leaders, engage with a community of like-minded professionals and experiment with the latest technology and tools from our vendors. It is going to be a week like no other. The agenda is packed with a Marketing Leaders Suc cess Summit, Women of Influence Forum and a keynote by Ryan Ser Don’thant. miss out on all the knowledge to be gained at HW Annual and regis ter soon. We can’t wait to see you.
90 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE SEPTEMBER 2022
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© Whether you’re just entering the correspondent business or growing your current one, we’ve got you covered with our newly enhanced Correspondent Program. Choose from two correspondent experiences to give you more choice and control: Flex and Assist. Either way, we deliver industry-leading Rocket technology, processes and training, along with best-in-class document fulfillment services. You’ll also save time with our average 3 – 5 day purchase times. With more partner benefits, like PathfinderSM by Rocket and SOS Scenario Desk, you get a complete, cost-effective way to grow your correspondent business. To learn more, visit RocketProTPO.com/partner-with-us-assisted-corr Gettoday. more Correspondentnon-delegatedflexibilitycontrolchoice,andwithourenhancedProgram.AssistFlexFulfillment Services We generate initial disclosures and loan estimates, closing disclosure and closing documents Doc Draw You have control to generate and send disclosures Correspondent Crews Your own dedicated team Correspondent Training Sales Training, Platform Training, All Access in-person training
