July 2020 Issue

HOUSINGWIRE MAGAZINE ❱ JULY 2020

HOUSINGWIRE MAGAZINE ❱ JULY 2020

The Wholesale Takeover: How one company captured the market

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YOU + UWM = YOUNITED | 800.981.8898 | UWM.COM This information is provided to mortgage and real estate professionals only and is not intended nor is it authorized for consumer distribution. NMLS #3038. *The principal and interest payment on a $200,000 30-year Fixed-Rate Loan at 2.875% and 80% loan-to-value (LTV) is $829.78. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 3.097% with estimated finance charges of $5,600. The principal and interest payment does not include taxes and home insurance premiums, which will result in a higher actual monthly payment. Rates current as of 05/20/2020. The APR is calculated using the Actuarial Method. Restrictions may apply.

HOUSINGWIRE JULY 2020

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sarah Wheeler NEWSROOM EDITOR-AT-LARGE Kathleen Howley FINTECH EDITOR Mary Ann Azevedo REAL ESTATE REPORTER Julia Falcon REPORTER Alex Roha DIGITAL PRODUCER Alcynna Lloyd COLUMNISTS Dustin Brohm, Mary Frances Coleman, Julian Hebron, Kristin Messerli, Logan Mohtashami CONTRIBUTORS Daren Blomquist, Richard Cordray, Bill Dallas HW+ HW+ MANAGING EDITOR Brena Nath MAGAZINE EDITOR Kelsey Ramírez COLUMNIST Scott Petronis CONTENT SOLUTIONS ASSOCIATE CONTENT EDITOR Jessica Davis AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIGITAL EDITOR Maleesa Smith

SALES VICE PRESIDENT, SALES Jennifer Watson Laws jlaws@HousingWire.com NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR, REAL ESTATE Mark Adams, madams@HousingWire.com CALIFORNIA Christi Humphries chumphries@HousingWire.com CENTRAL Chris Anderson canderson@HousingWire.com SOUTHEAST Tamara Wren twren@HousingWire.com GREAT LAKES Lorena Leggett lleggett@HousingWire.com NORTHEAST Vernesa Merdanovic vmerdanovic@HousingWire.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Lindsley Harris lharris@HousingWire.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, REAL ESTATE Amanda Luzsicza, aluzsicza@HousingWire.com

DIGITAL CONTENT STRATEGIST Alyssa Stringer CREATIVE MAGAZINE DESIGNER Emily Carpenter

CORPORATE PRESIDENT AND CEO Clayton Collins

MARKETING MANAGER Caren Karris

CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER Diego Sanchez

MARKETING COORDINATORS

CONTROLLER, Andrew Key

Katie Galbraith, Brooke Combs

CLIENT SUCCESS MANAGER Haley Hess clientsuccess@HousingWire.com AD OPERATIONS COORDINATOR Matthew Stafford CLIENT SUCCESS COORDINATORS Talia Quigley, Layne Powers

4 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE

Adapting in disruption WHAT a wild time it has been since COVID-19 disrupted so

local level, and they have stepped up in amazing fashion. You

many aspects of how we live and work. HousingWire has

can read some of those stories in our Kudos section on pages

strived to be as adaptable as the industries we cover, adjust-

72-73.

ing workflows, locations, and whole events (like our engage. marketing summit!) to accommodate the new reality.

In the midst of it all, we continue to be inspired by the

Lastly, we have been cooking up some exciting things for our next print issue, when we will launch the newly redesigned HousingWire Magazine with a whole new vibe. The

people and companies in real estate, lending and fintech who,

magazine is part of our HW+ premium content membership,

in addition to carrying out their essential missions to help

and we can’t wait to show you how we’ve revamped the

people achieve the American dream, have worked tirelessly

design to meet the level of the amazing content we feature

in their communities to help first-responders, those newly

every month!!

unemployed, school children, seniors, and so many more as

Warmly,

they deal with physical, social and economic issues.

Our homes are more central to our lives and well-being than ever, and the pandemic has highlighted all the ways we live and move within them. In addition, we understand the importance of the location of those homes within larger communities — as well as the communities we build for ourselves online. Just like in natural disasters, the professionals in mortgage and real estate are uniquely positioned to help at a

Sarah Wheeler Editor-in-Chief @swheelerHW

Tweets From The Streets Laws alone do not make change. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 made it illegal to deny home ownership to black people. Since then, the homeownership gap between white and black people has actually *grown.* The homeowner rate among black people hasn’t budged.

7 85 193 @DanPriceSeattle

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. © 2020 by HW Media, LLC • All rights reserved

Correction: In the June issue, Rising Star Rola Gurrieri’s profile quote was inncorrect. This is the correct quote: “The habit that has most helped me succeed is my resourcefulness, which I’ve built through years of extensive research and a commitment to learning. I have also benefited from strong business relationships within the industry, which are based on a high level of trust, integrity and service.”

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 5

JULY ‘20 JULY

26

THE WHOLESALE TAKEOVER The rise of the mortgage wholesale industry and how one company captured the market.

By Kelsey Ramírez

34

40

POWER OF THE PAUSE

WHOLESALE LENDERS

As the housing industry was forced into a temporary pause due to the pandemic, housing professionals can take the time to reflect on their approach and business model.

As mortgage broker market share continues to rise, we provide an inside look at the specialties, tools and solutions eight wholesale lenders have to offer brokers.

By Bill Dallas

By HW Content Solutions

6 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

CONTENTS JULY

22

14 THE LINEUP 10 PEOPLE MOVERS Kate Fulton joined the Federal Housing Finance Agency as its chief operating officer.

11

TAKE 5

If he wasn’t in housing, Unison’s Brodie Gay would have been an NHL hockey player.

13 UNIQUE SOLUTION Here’s how LemonBrew Lending is taking its partnerships to the next level.

14 LOCAL INTEL High demand is keeping Dallas’ housing market strong through the pandemic.

16 HOT SEAT CRS Data’s Matt Casey on how real estate professionals can best leverage technology.

18 STARTUP PROFILE Homie is pulling back the curtain on what it calls a stagnant industry - real estate.

19 HOT OR NOT Just after fading out, non-QM offerings are making their way back.

VIEWPOINTS 20 INVESTORS Individual investors are showing surprising strength during the pandemic.

22 FORECLOSURES Former CFPB Director Cordray tells housing professionals how they should view foreclosures.

11 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 7

CONTENTS JULY

BACK DEPARTMENTS

66

50 TRADE DESK AIME invites the housing industry to celebrate National Mortgage Brokers Day on July 18.

54 MORTGAGE Interest rates are lower than ever, but millions of borrowers can’t get a loan.

58 REAL ESTATE Is now a good time to buy a home? The spring homebuying season moves to summer.

62 FINTECH Real estate professionals must understand the possibilities of lead generation.

66 POLITICS & MONEY What Fed Chairman Powell hath wrought: Interest rates continue to hit new lows.

70 Q&A FGMC’s Sarah Gonzalez on effective leadership in challenging times.

71 Q&A Truist’s Sherry Graziano on the pivotal moment in the housing industry.

72 KUDOS Trade associations are working with communities to provide COVID-19 relief.

58

74 PARTING SHOT

62 8 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

54

74

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Kate Fulton Federal Housing Finance Agency

10 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

SHACK

MEERSON OLIN

KELLY-LARA LOMBARDI

E

XP REALTY appointed Michael Valdes to the role of executive vice president of international expansion. Valdes holds more than 25 years of experience in global real estate and finance. Prior to joining eXp, Valdes was the senior vice president of global servicing for all Realogy Corp. brands, including Better Homes & Gardens, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA and Sotheby’s International Realty.

A n g e l i q u e K e l l y- L a r a j o i n e d Enterprise Community Partners as its chief people officer. Kelly-Lara was the vice president of global talent acquisition at Choice Hotels International.

From 2005 to 2014 at McDonald’s USA, she worked her way up to director of U.S. HR and employee relations. Earlier in her career, she held similar positions at Aramark Corp., Bankers Life and Casualty Company.

In addition to Kelly-Lara, Enterprise Community Partners also recently appointed Stephanie Shack as the company's first chief legal officer. Shack started in 2017 as senior vice president and gen-

HUGHES

VALDES DECKER

The Federal Housing Finance Agency hired Katie Fulton as its chief operating officer. Previously, Fulton was the chief operating officer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fulton held various roles there under Director Richard Cordray and Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.

eral counsel for Enterprise Community Investment.

Orchard hired industry veteran Phil Felice as its chief revenue officer. Felice has nearly 20 years of experience in the industry, most recently as the U.S. CEO for Purplebricks. Prior to joining Purplebricks, he was a vice president of sales for NRG and spent over a decade working in real estate where he served in leadership roles for Realogy, Altisource and Foxtons.

Orchard also hired Elijah Meerson as its chief technology officer. Meerson was most recently the vice president of engineering at Flatiron Health, and held an engineering leadership role at AppNexus.

Sagent appointed David Doyle as executive vice president of business development. Doyle joined Sagent after a 24year career at Bank of America, where he held the titles of national sales executive, consumer lending’s chief operating officer, products and pricing executive for consumer lending and home loans underwriting and fulfillment executive.

Sagent also announced the appointment

of Jesse Decker as executive vice president of customer success. Decker joined Sagent with 20 years of experience in the housing industry. Prior to her appointment at Sagent, Decker worked at Roostify and Cloudvirga, and spent 15 years in tech strategy for America’s largest consulting firms, as well as many years in a boutique firm.

Black Knight announced industry veteran Richard Lombardi will serve as senior vice president for data strategy and innovation. Prior to joining Black Knight, Lombardi served as chief operating officer of ATTOM Data Solutions, and before that, he was vice president of data solutions and licensing at CoreLogic.

Black Knight also brought on industry veteran Kevin Hughes as its senior vice president of sales and business development for Black Knight’s Multiple Listing Services technology business. Hughes is a recognized industry innovator, having most recently served as CEO of the technology start-up BoxMLS. A cofounder of Clareity Security, Hughes is also a featured speaker at numerous industry conferences.

Notarize named Kate Brigham vice president of product. Previously, Brigham was the vice president of product, design and research at ezCater. Before that, Brigham was the design director for ezCater, and has many years of experience with design in the industry.

Home Point Financial named Delane Olin as its first chief learning officer. Olin has more than 15 years of experience developing and managing corporate training programs for Planet Home Lending, Stearns Lending, Caliber Home Loans and Nationstar Mortgage.

Brodie Gay Unison Vice President of Research

Brodie Gay has been at the center of building Unison’s data-driven approach to th ereal estate industry. Since joining Unison three years ago, Gay’s role has been split between conducting research and developing software that the company can use to engage with investors and households. He worked closely with a colleague to develop Greenlight, a quantitative investment tool that automatically identifies which homes in the U.S. can be potential Unison customers, according to predetermined criteria, and those that are ineligible. The tool is continuously trained against the 350 million individual transactions of the over 100 million homes in America.

1. If I had picked a different career path, I would have been…

A professor of applied statistics, or maybe an NHL hockey player if I had been good enough.

2. People would be surprised to know that…

I’ve played over 10,000 rounds of online bullet (2min) chess.

3. I would tell my younger self…

You’re doing the right thing, keep it up!

4. I felt like a success at my job…

When we learned that 50% of our customers used proceeds from Unison to pay down debt and to save for retirement, building healthier financial portfolios.

5. My biggest learning opportunity…

Was being a summer lecturer for Eric Reiner’s notoriously challenging “Quantitative Financial Derivatives Pricing” course for the Master of Financial Engineering program at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 11

Things may have changed, but our focus remains the same: being responsive when our partners need it most.

We’re here for you so you can be there for them.

Discover More QLMortgageServices.com NMLS #3030

How LemonBrew Lending is taking partnerships to the next level When LemonBrew Lending (formerly SD Capital Funding) was founded 11 years ago in New Jersey, its team was laser-focused on client service and satisfaction because referrals were the main driver of its business.

JASON DOSHI

President, LemonBrew Lending

SAMIR DEDHIA

Principal, LemonBrew Lending

Now, after expanding to 13 other states and cementing its place as Quicken Loans Mortgage Services’ top broker partner, the company has not changed its strategy. The team discovered as long as it treats clients as partners, there will be more positive interactions, which will lead to more referrals.

“You hear horror stories, whether from banks or brokers, of terms and conditions changing at the last minute, not delivering on what was promised or not being able to close at all,” LemonBrew Lending President Jason Doshi said. “Our philosophies of being transparent, putting the client first and communicating throughout the process have helped build a lot of trust in our community.”

After a decade of being open and honest with clients, LemonBrew Lending found the horror stories cease to exist if team members go into transactions being transparent and holding themselves accountable.

When brokers are not buying leads, building relationships is the best way to generate business and treating clients right is the best way to retain them, Doshi explained. Whether the referrals were from family members, friends or even professional relationships with real estate agents, attorneys and accountants – from day one the primary way LemonBrew Lending continued to source referrals was by maintaining their reputation of being brokers who do the right thing.

“We like to make ourselves accessible to help others,” LemonBrew Lending Principal Samir Dedhia said.

“It is part of relationship building – that is the longterm strategy to growth – creating connections so you have a million well-wishers around you.”

As LemonBrew Lending was starting to grow, a new lender stepped into the broker space that was emphasizing a similar message around partnerships.

QLMS, Dedhia said, was one of the first lenders they interacted with who referred to them as “partners.”

This allowed for a unique meshing of company cultures and led to both parties growing exponentially together. The idea of a broker-lender partnership was

a change of pace from how the two parties interacted in the past.

“Back in the day, when you would talk to other lenders, they would never refer to you as a partner. They would call you the broker and they were the lender, and that caused some personality clashes because there was no goal for mutual success,” Dedhia said.

“Will two partners always see eye to eye?” he continued. “No, but at the end of the day the true meaning of partnership, especially with QLMS, evolved to a point where we could get onto a phone call and disagree with each other but, since we are partners, we don’t yell and scream. We are going to understand both sides of the issue and try to figure out a solution rather than focus on a problem.”

This type of reciprocal partnership is essential to the mutual success of both lenders and brokers.

There needs to be a good amount of give and take, and with that comes a greater understanding of each other. That is something that every broker should be translating to their client interactions.

“We take that same approach with our clients,” Dedhia said. “They are not just clients, there is a partnership there. They came to us because they value our knowledge, experience and the information we provide, but we also value them because they are coming to us with their business and trusting us with one of the largest purchases of their life. We always want the client to know we are on their team. If we have to lose a little bit of money to get the deal done or if we have to work some extra hours, we’re going to do it.”

What LemonBrew Lending has clearly displayed over the last 11 years of experience is that partnerships, whether between brokers and lenders or brokers and clients, should be deeply valued as an integral part of anyone’s success. They should be handled in the same way, with care, honesty and transparency, so all parties know what to expect and how to succeed. By treating both lenders and clients as partners, brokers can build lasting relationships and generate referrals with partners they know they can trust.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 13

LOCAL INTEL

By Brena Nath

Kansas City, Missouri

Similar to many other markets across the nation, housing inventory is tight in Kansas City, Missouri. Paul Marquis, Mortgage Solutions Financial branch manager in Kansas City, said, “This year with unprecedented challenges facing all aspects of real-estate transactions, the quantity of homes on the market will play in the favor of the brave.” He added that most buyers will be well rewarded by finding the house that they want if they out-hustle those who wait for calmer times.

Ironbound, New Jersey As other states decided to start opening in May, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy decided to extend his state’s public health emergency edict for another 30 days until June 22. While housing and mortgage industry professionals weren’t particularly excited about the implications the decision would have on the housing market, they were still hopeful for the rest of the year.

Frederico Viegas, founder and Realtor at Sky Realty Associates in Ironbound, New Jersey, said that virtual showings aren’t “the same as somebody walking in, going room by room and getting a feel of the home size and where the sunlight is coming in.” He added that New Jersey still has plenty of buyers, but most are waiting until the impact of the virus starts to pass before they see more homes.

14 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

California California, which is infamous for its jumbo loan market, was forced to quickly pivot as the pandemic shifted lender operations across the country and significantly halted jumbo mortgage origination. California Association of Realtors Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young predicts that pent-up demand will uncork when the pandemic abates, but she doesn’t think that every market is going to be swept up with a new tide of buying and selling. “There is an argument that people are going to be more interested in less dense housing and be more able to work remotely. The far-flung suburbs will become more attractive and more doable for them because they won’t have to do the grinding commute, and housing is more affordable,” she said.

Phoenix Based in one of the hottest markets in the country, Dan Noma, designated broker/ owner of Venture REI, said, “As technology continues to spread, there will be an inflection point in consumer adoption. I think we are perfectly positioned in Phoenix to see more technology and more options for our consumers than ever before.” He explained that strategy and solving for various consumer needs will be key as those needs will continue to change over time in the Phoenix market. Looking ahead, he added, “Technology will be a major driver in how the market responds, as consumer needs are identified, injecting the right tools will lead to more transactional volume for real estate agents in Phoenix.”

Dallas

Location is a key factor when it comes to the path to recovery.

Michael Cooksey, executive managing director of production for Addison, Texas-based Mid America Mortgage, said, “As far as how this outlook changes based on location, I would say markets always matter. Take Dallas, or Texas in general, for example. We’ve had businesses moving into Texas for the last several years so our local economy is very strong.” As a result, he said that even with all the things going on right now, they’re still seeing a boom in real estate, with a significant amount of purchase contracts coming into his branch.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 15

HOTSEAT

SPONSORED CONTENT

Matt Casey CEO and President

H

CRS Data

ousingWire spoke to Matt Casey, CEO and president of CRS Data, about the ways real estate agents can best leverage technology like the MLS Tax Suite to personalize the virtual sales experience.

HousingWire: How does the mix of tax and property data features and tools in the MLS Tax Suite help agents deliver a smarter virtual sales experience?

Matt Casey: Our MLS Tax Suite product has always been one of the most highly used tools for real estate agents.

By nature, it’s an online accessible platform offering everything from property reports and prospecting tools to comparable reporting and neighborhood statistics. The data and tools are positioned perfectly to help agents optimize within the virtual sales environment we find ourselves in.

We’ve been sharing a variety of webinars to help agents leverage these tools in smart ways and we’ve always prioritized personable customer support, which is arguably more important now than ever before. Agents are turning to their property data and mapping tools to help clients better visualize homes and surrounding environments.

Q&A

HW: How can agents use the MLS Tax Suite to optimize their time while maintaining a personalized experience for their clients?

MS: Our product and development team has introduced a series of webinars that focus on how to make the digital sales experience more personable while face time together is so limited. It doesn’t take a lot of time to go into their MLS Tax Suite and add a headshot or logo and a note to customize their property reports.

For example, they can note that a home meets a specific request, such as number of bedrooms or location in a desirable neighborhood. This gives agents a chance to personally acknowledge their client’s interests.

16 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

HW: What are the benefits of the suite’s mapping tools?

MC: Mapping tools in our MLS Tax Suite are so important right now, and one of the best ways to bring a community to life. Agents can search for properties, explore comps and take advantage of our updated mapping tools.

Agents often use our map layers to show the distance between a home and a local pool house or community center. And various map views give buyers a better sense of their community and neighborhood.

Agents can easily turn layers on to search for homes that meet specific criteria, like square footage, number of bedrooms or bathrooms or a recent sales date. Our mapping tools are almost endless and right now these tools are proving to be more helpful than ever.

HW: How is your team equipped to handle issues with data accuracy?

MC: Our CRS data team has been dedicated to data accuracy and accessibility for more than thirty years.

We’re basically a bunch of data nerds at heart and love what we do.

We have almost zero down time and any issue with data can be adjusted by calling or emailing our Help Desk, which are real team members who are passionate about our product.

HW: What is the process like for an MLS system integrating with the MLS Tax Suite?

MC: Our MLS Tax Suite integrates seamlessly with any MLS system. It’s been a priority for our team that upselling be removed from the equation. Our system is incredibly robust, but we also enjoy customizing to integrate specific data needs.

For example, we worked closely with Georgia MLS to showcase a list of most recently searched properties within their dashboard display. With RealTracs, we launched a new history section within their listing report together, which pulls in sales history using an API developed by CRS Data.

There’s really nothing that can’t be done for our customers. Our team welcomes questions and we are available at getinfo@crsdata.com.

Find out the why behind the daily news cycle.

HW+ members get exclusive access to: Premium Digital Content Deeper dives into the why behind the housing industry’s most impactful stories

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HOUSINGWIRE â?ą JULY 2020 17

STARTUP PROFILE

Homie is pulling back the curtain on what it calls a stagnant industry and is disrupting the way homes are bought and sold by bundling real estate, financing, insurance and closing services.

Homie provides a one-stop real estate experience. Homie Chief Financial Officer and Cofounder Mike Peregrina was blown away by what he describes as an overly complex process. Peregrina felt first-hand the pain of losing his equity overnight. So in 2015, Homie’s founders, including Peregrina, Johnny Hanna and Mike Trionfo launched the company.

Homie operates on a flat-fee model, charging homeowners $1,500 to sell their home. Since launching, it added Homie Loans, Homie Title and Homie Insurance.

Things To Know Attempting to Disrupt: The real estate transaction model Launch Date: 2015 Funding: Investors since the company’s launch include Kickstart Seed Fund, Album VC, Wasatch Ventures, AIM VC, Valar Ventures, BRV and Epic Ventures. The most recent series B funding round brings the company's total funding raised to $33 million.

Location: Utah, the Phoenix area and Las Vegas homie.com

Saves home sellers an average of $10,000

Claims to offer lowest interest rates in Utah

150% revenue growth in 2019

The disruptor score, unique score and launch size were determined through interviews with and editorial research on the company.

8 9

UNIQUE SCORE:

3

LAUNCH SIZE: FUNDING: 18 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

$23 million Pre-Seed

Seed

A

B

C

HIGH

LOW

DISRUPTOR SCORE:

Hot SIZZLE? Not FIZZLE? 1 1 WHY THE

WHY THE

NON-QM



Just after fading out, non Qualified Mortgage offerings are making their way back into the market.

Sprout Mortgage recently announced it is rolling out four non-QM offerings. The new loan programs are “engineered to meet the needs of non-QM borrowers, and the mortgage professionals who serve them, in the current challenging markets.” Sprout was among several companies that froze their non-QM lending activities in March as COVID-19 began shutting down the U.S. economy. But by May, the company was lending again.



2



3

GSE CONSERVATORSHIP





2



3

IBUYERS Zillow’s iBuying service, Zillow Offers, resumed purchasing homes. The iBuyer paused its services on March 23 due to COVID-19, but resumed homebuying in several markets in the middle of May. As Zillow slowly re-enters the market during the pandemic, it said it is also launching health and safety initiatives.

There will be no open houses, the company said. Zillow said that prospective homebuyers can virtually walk through homes with its 3D home tours, request a virtual tour or consultation, and in some markets, can use self-tour technology to visit a home unassisted.

MORTGAGE HIRING At a time when unemployment levels are rising to heights the U.S. hasn't seen since the Great Depression, the mortgage industry is among the relatively few sectors outside of the frontline workforce that is actively seeking out new employees. “We’re hiring and we’re expanding,” said Paul Buege, president of Pewaukee, Wisconsin-based Inlanta Mortgage.

“And that’s happening on top of record volume for a company that’s nearly 100% virtual.” One driving force is that the mortgage industry was in a strong position before the pandemic’s economic paralysis took effect.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moved closer to ending their conservatorship when they hired financial advisors to assist in a stock offering that removes the companies from government control. Fannie Mae chose Morgan Stanley and Freddic Mac chose JPMorgan Chase as their advisors. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is also proposing a new rule to allow the GSEs to rebuild their capital bases in advance of leaving conservatorship. This is actually the second time the FHFA has issued new capital rules for the GSEs in the last two years.

FORBEARANCE Nearly two months after mortgage forbearances began spiking due to coronavirus shutdowns, the forbearance curve began flattening. Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that the overall rate of forbearance was still rising at the end of May, but the rate at which that figure is increasing slowed to the lowest level since the crisis began. According to the MBA, forbearance requests as a percentage of servicing portfolio volume declined across all investor types for five consecutive weeks through April and May.

2020 MORTGAGE RATES The cheapest mortgage rates on record are heading lower, Fannie Mae said in a recent forecast. According to Fannie Mae, the annual average rate for 2020 will be 3.2%, down from 2019’s 3.9%. This would beat the record of 3.65% set in 2016, according to Freddie Mac data. Fannie Mae expects rates to drop to 2.9% in 2021. The mortgage-rate forecast bodes well for housing demand and for refinancing volume, said Doug Ducan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist. The low rates probably will boost refi volume to $1.78 trillion this year, according to the forecast, which would be the highest level since 2003, when it was $2.5 trillion.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 19

VIEWPOINTS

By Daren Blomquist

Individual investors versus institutions Investors show surprising strength during pandemic Large institutional investors like Invitation Homes, American Homes 4 Rent and Amherst are poised to pounce on distressed property purchase opportunities in the aftermath of the coronavirus-induced economic downturn, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.

But those mammoth institutional investors may be outflanked by an army of individual real estate investors willing to buy earlier in the cycle at prices closer to full market value.

“We have had twice the number of new members in March and April than we had in prior months. Our sales have not slowed down. Prices have not come down,” said Kathy Fettke, Co-CEO at Real Wealth Network, a company that connects passive individual investors — most holding full time day jobs — with turnkey rental properties. “Our teams do not have enough inventory to meet demand.”

In the decade since the last downturn, Real Wealth Network and other companies like it have armed individual real estate investors with direct access to nationwide inventory along with services such as tenant placement, property management and maintenance.

“I see no reason to stop investing, and I think most investors out there, the majority of those people still feel bullish,” said Marco Santarelli, founder of Norada Real Estate Investments, another provider of turnkey investment properties to passive individual investors.

Santarelli noted that his buyers aren’t holding out for deep discounts.

“Nobody is asking us, waiting for or expecting big discounts because of what is going on,” he said. “That expectation is not there. Nobody is talking about housing prices crashing. All our product is turnkey and newly renovated and new construction. We’re not after distressed properties.”

Santarelli noted that the property providers he relies on for turnkey investment 20 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

inventory are often purchasing distressed properties at foreclosure auction and then rehabbing those properties into rent-ready condition. He believes the strong demand from individual turnkey buyers will ripple out to those distressed property buyers as well.

REBOUNDING DISTRESSED DEMAND Demand from distressed property buyers qu ick ly rebounded in April after d ip p i ng i n l ate M a rc h immediately following the pandemic and national emergency declarations, according to data from the Auction. com on l i ne marketplace.

T he sa les rate for real estate-owned properties sold via online auction dropped to a year-to-date low in the week starting March 22. The sales rate represents the percentage of available REO auction inventory that sold in a given week. The average price per square foot for REOs sold via online auction also dropped to a yearto-date low in the week of March 22.

But beginning in the week of March 29, the REO sales rate increased for six consecutive weeks, reaching a 10-week high in the week of May 3. The average price per square foot for REOs sold via online auc-

tion hit a new year-to-date high that same week, according to the Auction.com data. “(The pandemic) hasn’t stopped me,” said one distressed property investor who said he had already purchased more than 75 properties through Auction.com in 2020 as of mid-May. “I’ve been buying and buying and buying. I’m probably doing more than I did last year, and I had a big year last year.”

SMALLER-VOLUME INVESTORS MORE CONFIDENT That sentiment aligns with more than half of all investors purchasing via online REO auction, according to an Auction.com survey of more than 400 buyers conducted between April 3 and April 10.

Among buyers whose preferred acquisition method was online REO auction, 52% said they plan to increase or keep the same their volume of property acquisitions despite the coronavirus crisis.

Daren Blomquist is vice president of market economics at Auction.com In this role, Blomquist analyzes and forecasts complex macro and microeconomic data trends within the marketplace and industry to provide value to both buyers and sellers using the Auction.com platform.

Smaller-volume REO auction buyers were more likely to express confidence in the post-crisis market, with 55% of those who purchased 10 or fewer properties in 2019 saying they planned to increase or keep their property acquisitions the same in 2020.

Hold-for-rent investors purchasing via online REO auction were even more confident, with 67% saying they planned to increase or keep property acquisitions the same in 2020.

“We have seen rents hold better than we thought, thanks to my managers,” said a Portland, Oregonbased investor who noted that he and his wife have gradually built up a portfolio of about 30 rental properties in the Portland, A lbuquerque a nd L a s Vegas markets over the last decade.

“The people I know are optimistic but cautious. …

For us accumulating and those flipping, I see the demand picking up once the virus is seriously subsiding,” he said.

L A R G ER-VO LUME BU Y ERS M O RE CAUTIOUS Larger-volume investors purchasing at least 10 properties a year scooped up a high share of distressed property sales during the last downturn, according to an analysis of public record data from ATTOM Data Solutions.

Those 10-plus property investors accounted for 61% of all third-party sales at foreclosure auction in 2008 and 2009.

Since 2009, the percentage of foreclosure auction sales to these larger-volume investors has gradually decreased, dropping to a 20-year low of 19% in 2019.

Investors purchasing 10-plus properties a year accounted for 14% of all REO sales — including both online auctions and REOs sold via the Multiple Listing

Service in 2013, but the share had dropped to 9% by 2019, according to the ATTOM data.

While many higher-volume investors, including mammoth institutional investors like Invitation Homes, American Homes 4 Rent and Amherst, are preparing for a large-scale buying opportunity in the aftermath of the coronavirus-induced economic downturn, those buyers will

most likely wait for a downturn in home prices before dramatically scaling up their acquisitions.

“It’s an artificial high right now,” said Lee Kearney, CEO of Spin Companies, a group of real estate investing businesses that has completed more than 6,000 real estate transactions since 2008. “In the background the next wave is coming. I’m definitely in wait-and-see mode.”

“Real estate is not the stock market… real estate moves in quarters,” Kearney said. “We may actually have another quarter where prices rise in certain markets… but at some point, it’s going to slip the other way.”

Kearney continues to acquire properties for his investing business, but with conservative exit pricing, maximum rehab cost estimates and higher profit targets in order to convert to more conservative purchase prices.

“Those three variables give me an increased margin of error,” he said, noting

that if he does start buying at higher volume, it will be outside of the large institutional investors’ buy box. “The biggest opportunity is going to be where the institutions won’t buy.”

WILL DEFERRED FORECLOSURE INVENTORY HURT OR HELP? The strength of the market since the pandemic declaration has been surprising, according to a spokesman for a New York-based institutional buyer that renovates and resells 1,500 to 2,000 distressed homes a year, mostly reselling to owner-occupants.

“We didn’t want to go out there, guns a-blazing,” he said, referring to his company’s acquisition strategy in the aftermath of the pandemic declaration. “We took a step back to see how the market would shake out. And the market hasn’t shaken out. Which is somewhat disconcerting.”

This institutional buyer has continued to acquire properties, but more cautiously given the uncertainty of when pent-up distressed inventory caused by the foreclosure moratoriums and mortgage forbearance programs will hit the market.

But Santarelli, with Norada Real Estate, views any influx of deferred foreclosure inventory as providing welcome relief for his individual investors in a supply-constrained market.

“It will help with the tight supply in these markets … because the providers we work with are going to see more distressed inventory they can pick up at a discount, whether at auction or wherever, and turn into a turnkey product,” he said.

“We’re still in a seller’s market,” Santarelli continued. “The sustained demand for property, whether homes or rentals, has not waned a lot. It has paused a bit, but people are coming back.”

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 21

VIEWPOINTS

By Richard Cordray

How should we think about foreclosures Carrying lessons forward from the last crisis The current economic collapse raises pressing questions about what lessons we learned from the last one. No two crises are ever the same. Although they have many common elements, which flow directly from an extended plunge in economic activity, they have distinct causes and hence different trajectories. At a minimum, the reform measures that were put in place to address aspects of the prior crises will alter the course of the next one.

The Great Recession, which lasted from December of 2007 to June of 2009, is of special interest here because it was an economic collapse brought about specifically by failures in the housing and mortgage markets. Some blame government policy for those failures, and it bears some share of the responsibility.

Yet the greater weight of the evidence has shown that rampant Wall Street financial speculation was the core of the problem.

The traditional approach to housing and mortgage financing became distorted by new mortgage-based investment instruments, leveraged lending and lax underwriting, all of which turned out to be grounded in ill-founded assumptions.

Two of those assumptions were especially problematic in leading to the Great Recession. The first was the glib view that residential property values would always hold steady or rise over time, as had been largely the case since World War II. Putting aside the isolated tragedy of setbacks for individual families, or localized conditions of economic weakness, the “national” market for residential real estate was regarded as steady and enduring.

When we first began to see elevated levels of foreclosures in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana in 2004, 2005 and 2006, they were initially written off as a “Rust Belt” phenomenon. In the rest of the country, the home itself, which serves as the essential collateral for a mortgage loan, contin22 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

ued to be regarded as the solid keystone of the entire edifice.

This assumption, in turn, led to dangerous developments in mortgage underwriting practices. Those seeking to expand the market were not content to make safe, conventional loans; they wanted to widen the pool by bringing in new swathes of customers. And many shared what they saw as a key insight – that looser underwriting to a wider pool of individuals was not overly risky because the underlying collateral

could always be counted on to rescue even a failed loan.

Although government policy played some role in these developments, the unshackled creativity that spawned exotic new mortgage instruments was astounding. No-documentation loans, underwriting that was deceptively pegged to teaser rates, and broader use of negatively amortizing loans were just some of the novel approaches that many lenders adopted to qualify borrowers from outside

Richard Cordray was the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. His new book Watchdog discusses the importance of protecting people in the financial marketplace.

the traditional mainstream. These innovations were met with little resistance, and even open encouragement, from most regulators.

In all these instances, lenders (and those who bought or financed their loans) were able to tell themselves that the financial condition of the borrower didn’t really matter, because the ultimately surety for the loan was the residential property itself.

And with the assumption that the value of this collateral would be unfailingly sound, more venturesome loans could be made.

The problem with this approach is a basic common-sense point: any economic axiom that contains the word “always” is inherently unreliable and, at some point, will be proved wrong. When real estate values plummeted across many geographic markets at once, dragged down by irresponsible lending that disregarded the borrower’s ability to repay, the transmission of this cataclysm through new and sophisticated financial channels led to the credit freeze and the financial crisis.

One central reform that Congress and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put in place in the wake of this disaster is that nobody can now make a home loan without first making a reasonable assessment of whether the borrower will be able to repay the loan.

cess as the ultimate means of recovering the loan-holder’s collateral, and those involved in the market were willing simply to assume that the process would function capably to backstop their investments. This too was an error, and the reasons why are worthy of further consideration.

M

arkets are shaped by the forces of supply and demand, buying and selling, and how they come into some sort of balance.

Markets that operate properly tend toward a discernable equilibrium that is predictable and sustainable. But many things can disturb this equilibrium. We might say, paradoxically, that market forces are fragile in being liable to disturbances, but once disturbed they have a powerful tendency to recover an eventual balance.

But economic markets differ in the mechanisms that restore them to equilibrium after any notable disturbance. Some markets experience greater frictions that slow their recovery. In the pure models of academic economists, prices immediately (or at least quickly) adjust to achieve balance among buyers and sellers, the mathematics take their own course and equilibrium is restored as the natural and seemingly inevitable state of the market.

lateral—the home—is recovered can the loan-holder try to make itself whole by selling the home to someone else. That requires ousting the homeowner and getting back the legal title to the residence.

So, foreclosure is a legal process, subject to the frictions created by legal procedures.

In this market, equilibrium is not produced by simply adjusting prices among buyers and sellers, which is a purely economic process. Instead, it is produced by a non-economic process involving courts, judges, laws, rules, attorneys, evidence, proof and even appeals. All these processes are reasonably complex, and they take time to sort out.

Even in normal conditions, therefore, foreclosure is a cumbersome solution to the problem of the defaulting borrower. It can produce vacant and abandoned properties, because as soon as the residents receive notice that the house will be going into foreclosure, they face uncertainty about when they will be ousted, which prompts many to vacate the premises before getting thrown out.

Even with nobody in the home, it takes time to secure a court ruling and ultimately a sheriff’s sale. During this period, the property may be deteriorating, and its value is diminishing accordingly. In a normal economic cycle, therefore, this

The problem with this approach is a basic common-sense point: any economic axiom that contains the word “always” is inherently unreliable and, at some point, will be proved wrong But the second casual assumption that helped precipitate the Great Recession was the related notion that the process for realizing the collateral that underpins a home loan, to recapture its market value, can be counted on to work effectively. The assumption had less to do with the sustainability of home values, and more to do with the nuts-and-bolts functionality of how a jilted loan-holder can go about getting its money back. The mortgage market relies on the foreclosure pro-

As the Great Recession showed, however, that does not happen in any serious dislocation of the housing market. When a borrower falls behind on the mortgage, there is one ultimate method for collecting on the unpaid debt: foreclosure. For as long as the borrower stays in the home without making the required payments, in violation of the mortgage contract, the loan-holder does not have the benefit of the bargain it has made. Not until the col-

method of resolving the situation can be sub-optimal, but it works adequately if properties can be managed and the legal system can bear the workload.

But when the housing and mortgage markets collapsed on a greater scale a decade ago, the foreclosure process did not work at all as intended. The sheer number of defaulting borrowers led to a legal pileup. In some states, it took years to process the volume of cases. Even those states that HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 23

allow foreclosures to proceed outside of the courts (about half of them) experienced delays in their legal processes. The costs of foreclosures rose with the extended time frames, and the problem of many vacant and abandoned properties producing permanent damage to untended structures.

Any concentration of foreclosures also produces another externality, by driving down property values in surrounding areas. A half-dozen foreclosures can drag down the whole neighborhood—even for those current on their mortgages with sensible terms—damaging their finances as well.

This creates a spiral of instability, with underwater mortgages impeding the sale of homes and refinancing of loans, causing even more economic hardship. Short sales became an improvised means to make the best of some bad situations. But many communities languished in these ways during the Great Recession.

One lesson we learned from the last crisis, therefore, is that in hard times it is especially important to view foreclosure as a last resort. As the ultimate collection tool, it is easily blunted. If properties get tangled for years in prolonged legal disputes, the drawbacks of foreclosure proceedings become magnified, which greatly hinders recovery of the underlying value of the collateral—and economic recovery overall.

ly. So, we need to think further about how the dynamics of mortgage servicing can affect our conscious nationwide effort to minimize foreclosures.

H

ow can we best achieve our goal of minimizing foreclosures in an economic downturn? Traditional mortgage lenders like community banks that maintain loans in their own portfolios have long seen foreclosure as a last resort; loan modifications (including refinancing) are their preferred options.

Community norms also pressure local lenders to use gentler methods to resolve problem loans rather than moving immediately to oust people from their homes.

Over decades of experience, they learned to use this tool only when truly necessary.

In the 2008 crisis, this traditional response broke down spectacularly. Major changes in the market, especially mortgage securitization and greater specialization, severed the ownership and servicing of many loans from their originators.

Confused customers suffered a “disconnect” in communicating with their servicers, and the paperwork to qualify for loan modifications became more burdensome. Sloppy corporate records produced frequent gaps in mortgage files.

Incomplete files were costly to handle, and

One lesson we learned from the last crisis, therefore, is that in hard times it is especially important to view foreclosure as a last resort.

The CARES Act reflects this shift in thinking by offering streamlined mortgage forbearance on all government-backed mortgages (almost two-thirds of the market) to anyone suffering hardship from the COVID crisis. Other loan-holders are being urged to do the same. But to succeed, this new approach must be executed effective24 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

servicers faced huge fines for “fixing” the gaps by fraudulently fabricating the documents they needed to secure foreclosure.

Processes were a mess, with huge volumes of defaults. Some companies went out of business and stranded servicing rights; others merged and ran into balky technology adjustments. All of this fur-

ther strained the creaky mechanisms of the foreclosure process. The story of the sluggish economic recovery after 2009 is a story marked by malignant tumors throughout the housing market that were extremely slow to heal.

Do we need to worry about those same problems in the current economic crisis?

Much has changed in the last decade.

New regulations and requirements for mortgage servicers, and closer supervisory oversight, have delivered some improvements.

The CARES Act also largely streamlined the mortgage forbearance process, cutting the Gordian knot of paperwork fiascos that marred mortgage servicing in the last crisis.

We are approaching 5 million mortgages on forbearance plans, with increases likely at the beginning of each subsequent month for as long as unemployment stays elevated. Moratoriums are “flattening the curve” of foreclosures to ease the pressure on the legal system, at least temporarily.

But many servicers face another problem we have not yet addressed. Banks are diversified financial companies, with capital cushions mandated by their prudential regulators and ample financial backstops available from the Federal Reserve. Forgoing mortgage payments is costly, but they can weather the storm.

For specialized companies that focus on mortgage servicing as a separate business line, however, the economic incentives are different.

They now make up close to half the market. They are not diversified, with less capital and fewer liquidity options than the banks, leaving them less able to support workout plans that forgo payments for any extended period. Their very survival is threatened when large numbers of expected payments are not received. Both the GAO and the FSOC have highlighted this regulatory gap, which poses increased risks to the overall financial system.

Although servicing specialty businesses operate efficiently during most of the business cycle, they become terribly inefficient in the trough, as non-performing loans

Servicers tend to under-invest in the personnel and technologies needed to cope with downturns. demand costly personal attention that is not easily automated. Servicers tend to under-invest in the personnel and technologies needed to cope with downturns.

They may be unprepared to deal with a cascade of borrowers falling behind on their payments. Call volumes spike, resolutions are more complex and processes are elongated. The estimated average cost to service non-performing loans is now about 15 times the cost for performing loans. In tough times, the capacity to assist borrowers with alternatives to avoid foreclosure is severely strained.

These internal dynamics of non-bank servicers pose two specific threats to implementing an effective “foreclosure minimization” strategy. First, these companies feel the urgency to get paid by their customers; facing uncertainty about their liquidity, they know that substantial non-performance could spell bankruptcy. They thus may resist the forbearance promised under the CARES Act. Some falter in processing borrower requests (as happened routinely during the last crisis when many servicers ignored calls and lost paperwork), though regulatory reforms and the newly streamlined approach are helping so far.

Others seek to discourage non-payment by imposing onerous conditions, such as eventual lump-sum repayment of all arrears, which will inevitably produce deferred foreclosures. The FHFA and others have condemned this approach when it has been exposed, but servicers have many ways of managing those conversations to put off those seeking approval to skip their regular payments.

Second, without a sufficient financial

backstop, some servicers are likely to go out of business. Their demise would create further legal tangles. The process for transferring servicing rights is not nimble even in consensual transactions. The collision of different IT systems trying to manage delinquent accounts can stymie consumers from securing relief. And when coupled with the complications of a bankruptcy, servicing transfers will generate even more frustration and futility for consumers seeking payment accommodations.

These two threats underscore the need for a vigorous regulatory response. The problem of servicers seeking to evade the CARES Act requirements can be addressed by close oversight from the CFPB and state officials, who can monitor how the companies process forbearance requests. By examining the scripts used on such calls, and listening to the audiotapes of sample calls, the regulators can ensure that consumers are being treated fairly under the new law. For servicers in danger of bankruptcy, the FHFA and Treasury can work

with state officials to make sure troubled servicers have sufficient financial backing to avoid going out of business during the current crisis.

It may stick in their craw to have to provide the capital buffer these companies should have provided for themselves, but that can be sorted out later, when a more rationale safety-and-soundness regime for non-bank mortgage servicers can be devised as part of the reforms this new economic crisis will inevitably produce.

In the meantime, the ultimate magnitude of the economic downturn will dictate whether this strategy of “flattening the foreclosure curve” can succeed in averting another housing crisis. The streamlined forbearance process has introduced new risks of moral hazard, and the bump this spring in household income from federal infusions has masked an accurate assessment of the extent of the current economic distress. But the essential policy approach to infirmities in the housing market seems much clearer now than it did 10 years ago.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 25

26 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

The Wholesale Takeove r: Howonecompanycapturedthemarket ByKelseyRameriz

“There will be no layoffs,” United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia said on a call in early April with his team.

“I will sleep on your couch before I lay anyone off. We’re going to do this together. If this month sucks, and next month sucks, I don’t care. No one is losing their job. No one on this call is losing their job.”

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 27

i

Ishbia spoke these words during the middle of some of the most volatile months that the housing industry has ever seen – months that threatened the jobs of more than 36 million Americans, and turned the lights out at some companies for good.

Layoffs became commonplace and furloughs were expected. But not at UWM. Ishbia promised the economic crisis would not touch the company and its employees, saying, “They’re part of my family. You can’t cut family.”

“Could we have saved money? Yes,” Ishbia said. “Could we have made more money? Yes. Could we have made different changes? Yes – we could have done a lot of things.

But that’s not who we are.”

Ishbia explained that as a CEO and owner, he can take a cut to his income or even take no income at all with more ease than members of his team working at an hourly wage.

The UWM team, even through the crisis, remained focused on its mission. And its secret to success rang out from every team member as they emphasized the company’s focus on culture and people, technology and its partnership with brokers.

THE JOURNEY TO THE TOP Before the pandemic hit, operations were running full speed ahead at the nation’s largest wholesale lender. In the second quarter of 2019, UWM became the No. 2 lender in purchase volume in the country. During the second quarter, the nonbank lender produced $8.3 billion in purchase loan volume, surpassing Bank of America’s $7.9 billion, JPMorgan Chase’s $7.86 billion and Quicken Loans’ $7.8 billion. Only Wells Fargo had a higher purchase volume at $15.4 billion.

28 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

But purchase originations weren’t the only sector that grew. UWM also became the No. 2 overall lender, surpassing Wells Fargo, and held its spot as the largest wholesale lender. Numbers from Inside Mortgage Finance show the company more than doubled its 2018 production of $41.5 billion to a new company record of $107.7 billion in 2019.

And the nonbank recently relocated, adding 900,000 square feet when it moved to its 150 acre, 1.5 million square feet campus in 2018.

UWM Chief Strategy Officer Alex Elezaj explained that when he joined the company, he talked to Ishbia about a plan to more than double the company. And that’s exactly what they did.

Now, much of UWM’s growth comes as a result of focusing on its internal team members and its brokers.

“This is definitely a company where we are solely focused on what’s best, not only for our team members first and foremost, but what’s best for our clients,” said Sarah DeCiantis, UWM chief marketing officer and 2019 HousingWire Vanguard.

The company helps its broker community, especially during tough times, by offering free tools that would traditionally cost brokers thousands of dollars a month to help them grow. These tools include initiatives like social media campaigns and branding platforms.

For example, UWM recently launched Brand360, which is a system that allows its clients to not only market themselves but also stay in touch with past clients. Brokers can also use this tool by branding it with their own marketing.

DeCiantis said that this helped put brokers on a level playing field with retail, which often has teams of marketers for its branding.

“At the end of the day, if they [brokers] don’t win, if they don’t grow and they don’t succeed, we don’t stand a chance,” DeCiantis said.

Ishbia told HousingWire that even through the pandemic, UWM has three main buckets that it focuses on: its people and culture, technology and its partnership with brokers. The second bucket, its technology, has seen major growth over the past few years as Jason Bressler, the company’s first chief technology officer, grew the technology team to more than 800 members.

All of UWM’s technology is done in-house, which has been a major factor of the growth at the company, Bressler explained.

“If you build everything yourself, then you can be agile and make changes on a dime, so that’s what we do,” he said.

Bressler said that keeping its technology in house also spurs UWM to continue improving on it and making it a better experience for its team internally and for brokers.

“The more that you feel invested in what in what you’re helping bring to creation or helping to make better, the

“Could we have made different changes? Yes – we could have done a lot of things. But that’s not who we are.” - UWM CEO Mat Ishbia

more invested you are in using it all the time and giving more feedback and making sure that it gets better and better and better – because you feel heard,” he said. “And you can see when those changes are being made; the only way to do that is if you actually created the system yourself and can make all those changes.”

Through initiatives such as beamortgagebroker.com, UWM worked to transition originators from retail to independent channels. After fielding multiple calls from retail LOs asking how to transition to the broker channel, UWM decided to create an informational website that had all the information, tools and resources in one place, explained Kristina Bennet, UWM vice president of corporate development.

“People didn’t realize how easy it is to become a mortgage broker and to join wholesale and the benefits to clients and consumers to be a mortgage broker versus in the retail channel,” Bennet said.

Bennett first joined UWM when it was a 12-person company. Since then she has seen and been at the forefront of growth on every front – seeing UWM itself grow to 5,800 employees and take over about 33% market share within the wholesale channel.

Through the website and other initiatives, Bennet led the way to about 1,000 LOs converting to brokers in 2019.

CHANGING DIRECTION Just as the company was experiencing some of its strongest growth, the surge in COVID-19 cases forced lenders to take a new direction. At UWM, that meant slowing down.

“We’ve actually strategically slowed things down, not because of our inability to handle it, just more because of the macro economic environment that we’re in,” Elezaj said.

In late March, UWM tightened its underwriting standards on verifying income and employment, requiring re-verification of employment status on the day of closing.

“We’re doing them again right before closing to make sure that people still have jobs, because people are losing

jobs at such an alarming rate right now,” Ishbia said at the time. “And so we put an extra process in place, which most people actually appreciate and recognize, but some people probably don’t love it.”

UWM was one of the first to tighten their underwriting standards, but they were far from the last. Many other lenders including Caliber Home Loans, Parkside Lending, U.S. Bank, First Community Mortgage and many others tightened their underwriting standards in the wake of the economic crisis brought on by COVID-19.

“We were the first one to the marketplace to do sameday verification of employment and that was a difficult decision to make, but these were things that we wanted to do to make sure that we were protecting the integrity of our business and lending people money who have jobs,” Elezaj said.

UWM moved an extra 400 people to the task of verbally verifying employment on the day of closing to ensure that the closing process continued as smoothly as possible.

“We don’t want to put anybody in a home or a mortgage that they can’t afford, even if it’s during a temporary time, so that’s why we jumped in so quickly,” UWM Chief Operating Officer Melinda Wilner said.

There are many unknowns right now about the virus and just how long it will take the economy to get back to normal.

But once everything does pass, Wilner said UWM’s clients can expect all operations to look exactly like they did before the start of COVID-19.

As executive vice president of sales, Allen Beydoun normally travels across each state, stopping at broker shops across the U.S. to create connections. Beydoun estimates he has visited from 3,000 to 4,000 shops as he sought to learn more about the broker community and what they were facing.

“We want to hear about how they’re growing their business and how we can help them grow their business at the same time,” he said.

When travel restrictions set in, all of that changed.

But Beydoun said that what helped everyone through this time was the relationships they had already developed over his past 13 years with the company.

“It’s easy for me to call them because I’ve been to their HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 29

“At the end of the day, if they [brokers] don’t win, if they don’t grow and they don’t succeed, we don’t stand a chance.”

ing literally over the weekend – set up in their houses, all their phones were sent off and we started reaching back out to the broker community immediately.”

The company that would never work from home had just gone -UWM Chief Marketing Officer Sarah DeCiantis remote.

Bressler explained that this transition was vital not only for the UWM team, but also for brokers who needed to understand that their loans were still going to close. offices,” Beydoun said. “I’ve had lunches with them; I’ve “Within a weekend we went from a company that never had dinners with them; I’ve talked to them about how allowed anybody to work from home, to all 6,000 people to help them grow their business. So it’s a pretty good have to work from home to make sure that you’re safe, and relationship.” your families are safe,” he said. “And so our role in doing Beydoun now uses Zoom, emails and phone calls to take that was huge to the broker community to be able to make the place of the face-to-face meetings he is accustomed to. sure that they understood that they still have stability.”

The way loans are being originated wasn’t the only thing “Now if I walk out of my office, I can’t see anyone for 100 to change when COVID-19 hit. Where the work was being feet,” Ishbia said, describing the earie quietness that has done also changed. set in at UWM headquarters.

UWM has long held the stance that it has no formal work-from-home policy. Ishbia was clear that he wanted his nearly 6,000 employees working at the office.

In fact, Bressler, who lives in Chicago, flies into Michigan A FOCUS ON FUTURE each week and stays at a local hotel as he works out of the office before flying back home to his family on the Before the quarantine started, eight UWM employees sat weekends. down at one table to eat their lunch before continuing on There were no exceptions. with their day. One man walked over confidently, grabbed Until there were. a chair, and sat down among them.

When COVID-19 hit, everything changed. And it hapSeveral of the employees exchanged a confused look. pened overnight.

Who was this guy?

“On a Friday, we decided that everybody was going to The table was a group of employees on their first day. have to work from home and we would have to start that And the man who so presumptuously sat down with them Monday,” Bressler recounted. “And so we did. We had was Mat Ishbia.

6,000 team members at UWM, and we got all of them work-

“People didn’t realize how easy it is to become a mortgage broker and to join wholesale and the benefits to clients and consumers to be a mortgage broker versus in the retail channel.” -Kristina Bennet, UWM vice president of corporate development

30 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

“I think everything will go back to where it was, obviously with people being just a little bit more cautious. Human interaction is key, and in any business that you’re in, trade shows will come back. Brokers are already back in their communities.” -Allen Beydoun, UWM Executive Vice President of Sales

This was Ishbia’s normal routine before quarantine started. Each day he would walk down to the cafeteria for lunch and sit at a new, random table. He would get to know employees, talk and foster those relationships that you can’t get from sitting in the c-suite.

And it’s a routine Ishbia has plans to return to. He explained that despite some companies changing their stance and moving to a permanent work-from-home option, he has no such plans.

“If it takes another month or three months or six months, who knows, but it will get back to normal,” Ishbia said.

He explained that the stay-at-home orders made him

back to normal as soon as everyone’s safe and healthy and we’re able to do that.”

“I wouldn’t want to be the CEO if we couldn’t have our team and our culture, and our family feel here.”

The UWM team is optimistic that human interaction will prevail throughout the industry as well, saying even major events and trade shows will pick back up where they left off.

“I think everything will go back to where it was, obviously with people being just a little bit more cautious,” Beydoun said. “Human interaction is key, and in any business that you’re in, trade shows will come back. Brokers are already back in their communities.”

Beydoun explained that even in Michigan, one of the strictest states when it came to stay-at-home orders, brokers and agents were already back to work as early as May.

“We’ve actually strategically slowed things down, not because of our inability to handle it, just more because of the macro economic environment that we’re in.”

-UWM Chief Strategy Officer Alex Elezaj

realize that UWM is capable of moving its nearly 6,000 employees remote on a whim – and that he will never voluntarily do it again.

“That’s just not who we are here, and that’s not what we’re going to ever do,” Ishbia said. “And so unless this pandemic lasts for the next five years, we’re going to get

Moving forward, Ishbia explained his goal is still to pass up Wells Fargo in overall volume for 2020, and he plans to hit that goal.

“Our job is to focus on safety, doing right loans, having the lowest delinquency rates, taking care of our brokers, taking care of our team members, and we’re No. 1 at all of HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 31

“If you build everything yourself, then you can be agile and make changes on a dime, so that’s what we do.” -UWM Chief Technology Officer Jason Bressler

those things,” he said. “The volume side: will Wells Fargo beat us as the No. 2 lender in 2020? Absolutely not.”

While it’s possible that Wells Fargo could surpass UWM in monthly volume during some months, or have better weeks, Ishbia said he has no intentions of falling behind in annual origination volume.

UWM is still on track to grow its team by about 2,500 employees in 2020, according to its executive team.

“We want to be No. 1,” Elezaj said. “And that’s No. 1 in overall lending, so right now we’re No. 2. And we’re fine with being No. 2 as long as we know that broker channels are growing and things are good; we’re not going to make silly choices, but our goal is to be No. 1, and we will become No. 1, it’s just a matter of when, not if.”

him (or for his employees?) that wasn’t necessary.

“The vision is tied to my extreme and maybe maniacal mindset on the best place for a consumer to get a loan is through a mortgage broker, and the best place for a loan officer to originate loans is as a mortgage broker,” Ishbia said. “And because I believe those are both facts and not opinion, we went all-in on making the wholesale channel and the broker channel bigger, stronger, better.”

A CLEAR MISSION It would be out of place to say that UWM has been facing unprecedented times. Not because they haven’t, but because it’s more appropriate to say the entire world has. There is not a single continent that COVID-19 hasn’t affected, and countries across the globe are doing what they think is best for their citizens.

From closing down borders to stay-at-home orders to increased testing and the race to find a vaccine “We don’t want to put anybody in a – everyone is doing what home or a mortgage that they can’t they can to stop the spread. afford, even if it’s during a tempoFor Ishbia, his part in rary time.” -UWM Chief Operating Officer Melinda Wilner this crisis was clear. He announced that not one employee would be laid off and that he would sleep on their couch before he let that happen. Luckily for 32 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

The Return to Brokers B y Mark Watson,

iE m e rg e nt C h ie f o f Fo re c a s t ing Before the Financial Crisis of 2007, the Mortgage broker origination channel accounted for about one third of first lien mortgage originations, according to reporting from Inside Mortgage Finance. Since that time, the share of broker originations has been substantially reduced.

A significant portion of the bad loans that triggered the Financial Crisis were originated through that channel. In the wake of the crisis, several large-volume lenders sharply reduced or eliminated their broker-originated divisions to better control loan quality.

Since then, however, the broker channel survived by better serving niche segments in the mortgage market such as ethnic segments or high loan amount borrowers and by being more nimble than pure retail operations in times of rapid market shifts. In the last few years, broker share began to rise once again. It saw significat increase in 2018 and 2019, which may also be explained by the rapid shift from a purchase-dominated market to a larger refinance-dominated market.

HOUSINGWIRE â?ą JULY 2020 33

THE

P OW ER

pause

OFTHE

How COVID-19 will forever change the housing industry B y B ill Da lla s

34 HOUSINGWIRE â?ą JULY 2020

Things are changing at such a rapid pace that our perspectives change by the day, if not by the hour or the minute. The COVID-19 infection gave us back time. Time to think, and time to reset. But, before we got back to business and back to our fast-paced lives, we needed to pause, check for a fever and make sure this isn’t a dream.

Many people are comparing the housing crisis and the Great Recession with today’s coronavirus crisis.

Black-swan events like these can change the trajectory of economies and alter the course of business.

For leaders, this crisis offers extra power to make positive changes, but crises are different. There is value in understanding differences so you can assess the dangers and capitalize on opportunities that lie ahead.

HOUSINGWIRE â?ą JULY 2020 35

Nobody plans their m istak es In December of 2006, my leadership team at Ownit Mortgage Solutions made the very controversial decision to close our “ wholesale-only” mortgage business.

Why? Our customers, almost entirely buyers, began to miss their first mortgage payment, which was highly unusual.

Despite objections, we began digging into the data and found that the default spike was caused by fraud.

Looking back, our House of Cards was built on a porous foundation of run-away home prices, insatiable investor demand for assets and yield, and lax regulations, coupled with greedy homeowners. Many lenders failed to survive, while others spent the next decade playing 52-card pick up. Either way, I think George Bernard Shaw may have captured it best, “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful...”

All in all, I thought I’d seen it all.

Earthquakes, fires, floods, droughts, booms, busts, bubbles, double-digit interest rates, single-digit interest rates, cyber security, AI, blockchain, cyber fraud, recessions, elections, bailouts, stimulus, government shutdowns, 9/11, War on Terror, fall of the wall and the rise of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

I was wrong.

The crisis experienced by Ownit was a financial implosion sparked by the bust in U.S. home prices. The crisis we are experiencing now is a financial explosion triggered by a global pandemic, COVID-19.

On the surface, there appears to be many similarities, however, diving deeper, the differences are stark and transformational.

While there are many aspects worth examining, let’s focus on the cause and scope of these two crises and a few opportunities if we play our cards right.

Cause . Scope . Opportunities .

The causes of the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009 included a combustible combination of vulnerabilities that crept 36 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

into the financial system, coupled with the collapse of home prices, followed by homeowners walking away from their obligations.

What followed was catastrophic. Home prices fell by 30% and did not rebound.

B e f o r e t he c ris is , w o rk in g f r o m h o m e w a s d is c o u r a g e d . To d a y , r e m o t e w o r k in g a n d Z o o m m e e t in g s a r e b e in g e n c o u ra g e d , o n lin e n o t a r ie s a n d e C lo s in g s a r e b e c o m in g n e c e s s it ie s , v e r b a l v e r if ic a t io n o f in c o m e s , d r iv e b y A V M s a n d p o r c h c lo s ing s a re b e c o m ing t he norm .

Millions of foreclosures instigated widespread banking failures followed by, at the time, a series of unprecedented U.S. government bailouts. First, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, provided $450 billion to large financial institutions. Some banks, insurance companies and Wall Street firms failed, but many were saved by the bailouts. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both government-backed agencies, were pushed into conservatorship, survived, paid back their bailout money and remain owned by the government today.

Consumers weren’t so lucky.

Quant i t at i ve E as i ng , t he Federal Reserve’s systematic push to lower interest rates, stem unemployment and inflation, came slowly to Joe Q. Public, and was not enough to turn around home

prices. Moreover, HAMP, HARP and other forbearance measures designed to keep homeowners in their homes failed miserably. For a long time, there was pent-up anger directed at big banks which evolved into a full-scale protest called Occupy Wall Street. Demonstrators gathered to share their disgust and rally against corporate influence on democracy and the growing disparity in wealth.

The protestors’ slogan, “ We are the 99%” captured the attitudes and perceptions of income disparity and economic inequality stemming from the crisis. The “1%” referred to the people who own the top 1% of the wealth in America. The feeling that government covers the rich banker ahead of the poor borrower dominated the headlines then and still resonates with politicians, regulators and some consumers today. Owning a home was no longer an American dream, it had become a nightmare. The trauma almost single-handedly destroyed the industry’s reputation while government tried to redeem itself with an avalanche of new laws designed to protect this injustice from ever happening again.

Interestingly, the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble was not felt equally around the world. While many countries felt the pain, others, like China, Russia and India, were asymptomatic and their economies actually prospered during America’s downturn. However, the worldwide rise in home prices followed by the price decrease felt around the world changed the psyche of many homeowners, perhaps forever.

Hom e sw eet hom e By contrast, the COVID-19 pandemic is a global natural disaster, not a financial housing bust. This crisis is unlike any we’ve seen before. Its outcome, far from over, will depend on the disease’s trajectory and efficacy. The severity and final economic impact will be contingent upon policy intervention and medical inventions

T h e ho u s in g c ris is la b e le d m o r tg a g e b r o k e r s , b a n k s a n d b ig W a ll S t r e e t f ir m s “ t h e p e r p s ” w h o s t o le H o m e S w e e t H o m e a n d r e n o v a t e d it in t o H o m e A lo n e . C OV I D -1 9 p r e s e n t s a n o p e n in g f o r le n d e r s a n d a d v is o r s t o r e p a ir r e p u t a t io n s .

that flatten, fight and defeat the coronavirus. In response, governments around the world have purposely stopped all economic activity until they see a meaningful “inflection of the infection.”

First China, then Italy, then the United States. Every country learning from the other, making fast decisions to save lives and get the disease to plateau. The world’s sophisticated financial systems have been tested and their fragile infrastructures appear to be in danger of being overloaded. The monetary stimulus by the U.S. Government alone is $3 trillion and there is certainly more to come.

The enormity of the problem is matched only by the immensity of the changes necessary to deal with it. Businesses worldwide have been forced to close and citizens have been asked to shelter-in-place, practice social distancing or simply stay

notaries and eClosings are becoming necessities, verbal verification of incomes, drive-by AVMs and porch closings are becoming the norm. No one knows how long this pandemic will last or the ultimate damage it will cause.

That said, this new “abnormal” will surely provide countless opportunities for mortgage companies who can deploy fast organizational decision-making to get out ahead. What will the application process look like once the pandemic is over?

Will home sales snap back quickly? Will interest rates continue to go lower? Will borrowers buy homes online? What about pre-qualification? Is a complete digital mortgage experience closer to becoming a reality? Will people return to the routines and business practices they had before, or stick with the new ones developed during lockdown? Will we need offices, or can we

sionally leaving the borrower dazed and confused.

Retain the servicing! Why would we invest the time and effort to develop a relationship, then abruptly transfer the loan and orphan the customer?

This is our opportunity to step up and help homeowners circumnavigate that arrangement. In the past quarter, Finance of America extended close to $10 billion of new loans to 20,000 customers and, for the first time, retained the relationship.

Simultaneously, we mobilized advisors in communities throughout America to reach out and help clients assess forbearance so they can take advantage of the lowest interest rates in history.

The housing crisis labeled mortgage brokers, banks and big Wall Street firms “the perps” who stole Home Sweet Home and renovated it into Home Alone. COVID-19 presents an opening for lenders and advisors to repair reputations. A good first step is to see yourself as a first responder.

Why not? You are on the front lines, handin-hand with borrowers who are trying to make smart decisions to navigate this crisis. Whether it is a simple refinance, tuition for college, a loan to buy a new home or forbearance advice, we are essential, and we deliver advice the borrower can depend on.

T h e e n o r m it y o f t h e p r o b le m is m a t c h e d o n ly b y t h e im m e n s it y o f t h e c h a n g e s n e c e s s a r y t o d e a l w it h it .

home. The confusion of how to “reopen” attracted widespread attention and become a symbol of how the public, once again, is losing patience, confidence and belief in its leaders. The size and scope of this pandemic, alongside the financial shut-down of the world economy, made this crisis a unicorn.

T h e p o s t -p a n d e m i c p a u s e We saw early signs of a shift in how consumers and lenders behave. Before the crisis, working from home was discouraged. Today, remote working and Zoom meetings are being encouraged, online

continue to improve the experience working remotely?

Planning ahead means assessing these questions, learning from our mistakes and predicting how consumers, employees and employers intend to behave once social distancing is over and stay-at-home orders have been lifted.

Here are a few ideas...for borrowers, advisors, lenders, capital market investors, our industry and each of you.

Even in normal economic times, the U.S. housing market is a complex place for patrons to pilot. Loans are routinely sold from one entity to another occa-

Stay six feet apart and wear a mask.

Sounds simple. So did the government’s offer to skip a payment.

Under the CARES Act, the government says you can skip payments without proving any hardship. We call it forbearance; the customer hears forgiveness. The devil is in the details. We know you will still have to pay back skipped payments, but unfortunately, like many regulations, they are short on the specifics. Advisors must take great care to communicate all options and coordinate discussions with loan servicers who actually control the process.

Complaints from distressed consumers HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 37

“ E nt e rin g a c ris is is n o t t h e t im e t o f ig u r e o u t w h a t y o u w a nt t o b e . . . ra p id ly m o b ili z e y o u r r e s o u r c e s , t a k e y o u r lo s s e s , a n d s u r v iv e a n o t h e r d a y . . . ”

to the CFPB hit a record in April and will continue to rise. Consumers need help as many are living on the edge. Even before the pandemic, more than half of U.S households said they would not be able to cover expenses more than two months if they lost their main source of income.

So, details matter. Reputations are at stake here. If the consumer gets this wrong, defaults ensue, homes go into

temporary changes to policies, investor guidelines, lock periods, underwriting overlays, products and loan eligibility, have been too many to count.

And we all know we will be reversing course once the capital markets fully reopen.

Where would we be without Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, HUD and VA? Without any investors, that’s where!

Villains in the housing bust and heroes during COVID-19, the GSE’s and Ginnie Mae have been lifesavers. The government’s commitment to housing and the American dream of homeownership is critical to the long-term success of our nation. We need markets to always be open, but especially in times of crisis.

Winston Churchill once said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Churchill was referring to Yalta and the alliance forged between himself, Stalin and Roosevelt, an unlikely trio that would lead to the formation of the United Nations, creating oppor-

Counter to the September 2019 Housing Reform plan from the U. S. Treasury, the CFPB is expected to propose an extension of the QM Patch until the alternative rule becomes effective or until one of the GSEs exits conservatorship, whichever comes first. This means the GSEs will probably be around for a while longer, and non-agency loans could be made a bit easier.

From the outset, it was easy to predict this catastrophe might change the customer experience. The shocker has been how seamless and productive the housing industry has been while working from home.

As we finally head back to our cubicles, they won’t be as you remember them. It is likely this shift will impact morale, productivity and what it means to be a loan officer in a branch office. Mortgage loan officers need to expect the office will be a different place for the foreseeable future.

Virtual home loan consultations, sales huddles, regional and national meetings

G e t it r ig h t a n d m a y b e w e c a n s a v e t h e c u s t o m e r ’ s f in a n c ia l lif e a n d e a r n b a c k t h e ir t r u s t .

foreclosure, house prices plummet, causing another housing crisis, and we take the blame. Get it right and maybe we can save the customer’s financial life and earn back their trust.

We will need help to make this happen.

We need an industry-wide call-to-action from our association partners – MBA, CMBA, NAMB, AIME, CHLA, NAR, CAR, ABA, SBA, CBA, CUNA, NCUFA – to name a few. These associations need to use their membership clout to help us craft the right solutions, especially when it comes to the impact of CARES Act forbearance, and speak with one voice.

Market participants must seek guidance and harmonization on policy changes enabling us to deliver products and services in a holistic way. The number of 38 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

tunities in the midst of a crisis.

We too need to form an alliance with the CFPB, MIs, rating agencies, GSEs, banks and Wall Street investors to bring back both the agency and non-agency markets. It is critical that we agree on how to underwrite the borrower in this time of uncertainty. Investors have tightened their credit box already. Lenders need to agree on credit overlays or documentation requirements that are safe but can help the homeowner sustain their home.

The CFPB is currently working on a notice of proposed rule-making that it expects to release soon. The NPRM is expected to include amendments to the bureau’s Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Rule, likely proposing an alternative to the current 43% DTI thresholds.

probably will be brought to you virtually.

The pause has changed us.

Before the crisis, Finance of America rebranded its advisors as chief experience officers. Data told us that our homeowners yearn for three things: control, human touch, and access to a digital platform.

Late last year we began experimenting with Zoom sales consultations and it has really paid dividends during the crisis.

Customers love it, loan officers love it and the company can deliver its products and services virtually.

Outside of sales, unfortunately, this crisis revealed our over-reliance on analog processes when circumstances require digital solutions. We must continue to digitize the entire loan process, but we still have some gaps and tough questions

to answer. The challenges with title companies, porch closings and notarization of documents has been eye-opening.

Completing the appraisal has been difficult when the appraiser can’t gain access to the subject property. Verifications of employment are not possible when businesses are closed. It is impossible to get a 4506 to reverify a tax return when the Internal Revenue Service is closed. How about all the product changes to investor guidelines and rules? We are vulnerable.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus globally has led to volatility across equity and debt markets, culminating in one of the most volatile months in the history of mortgage lending – March 2020. The Fed took numerous steps to lower rates and buy agency MBS. However, market participants have been pressured by rapid asset price deterioration and constrained liquidity, most notably in the non-agency segment of the market. The mortgage payment deferral programs also raised liquidity concerns across the servicing space as forbearance levels continue to rise. This led to longer term deterioration in MSR values.

The contagion caused private investors, REITs, banks and hedge funds to eliminate a host of products. Gone are HELOCs, seconds, hard-money loans, fix and flips, jumbo, high-balance, interest-only and non-agency loan alternatives. In a banking world accustomed to options, we are relegated to one choice – an agency 30year fixed-rate loan. The 30-year fixedrate loan in all its glory, is long overdue for an overhaul. Customers love its safety, full amortization and ability to prepay without a cost. However, many of the loan covenants need to be more flexible to balance the needs of both the borrower and the investor.

Finally, I love what JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said ver y publicly during the early stages of the pandemic: “Entering a crisis is not the time to figure out what you want to be...rapidly mobilize your resources, take your losses and sur-

vive another day,” Dimon said.

Once we survive this crisis, we can use the power of this pause to adjust the settings on the thermostat and figure out a better way. Many continued blessings and prayers.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 39

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Wholesale Lenders Special Reports

Mortgage broker market share is increasing, and support from their wholesale lending partners is a key factor. As the channel continues to grow, wholesale lenders are stepping up to provide the tech and expertise mortgage brokers are looking for in their lender relationship.

In this section, we focus on what the following eight wholesale lenders do best and what specialties, tools and solutions they have to offer brokers.

Flagstar Bank.......................................................42 Home Point Financial..........................................43 loanDepot Wholesale/Correspondent.............44 PennyMac.............................................................45 Plaza Home Mortgage.........................................46 Paramount Residential Mortgage Group...........47 Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company.......................48 Stearns Lending....................................................49 40 HOUSINGWIRE â?ą JULY 2020

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HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 41

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FLAGSTAR BANK Flagstar.com/why

THE EXECUTIVES:

KRISTY FERCHO, PRESIDENT OF MORTGAGE Kristy Fercho joined Flagstar Bank in 2017 as executive vice president and president of mortgage. In this capacity, she is responsible for the direction and oversight of all aspects of mortgage and secondary marketing for Flagstar and for the continued expansion of Flagstar’s mortgage business.

Flagstar is the nation’s sixth largest bank mortgage originator.

JOHN GIBSON, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR OF WHOLESALE AND TPO LENDING John Gibson is responsible for the strategic direction, growth and profitability of Flagstar’s broker and correspondent channels. He has 26 years of experience in the mortgage industry, most recently with Caliber Home Loans, where he spent eight years and ultimately led wholesale mortgage production. Gibson joined Flagstar Bank in October 2019.

42 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

Flagstar bank focuses on helping its broker partners grow their businesses and build strong relationships

T

he mortgage business is in Flagstar Flagstar National Sales Director John Gibson Bank’s DNA. The bank began working said. “The motto we live and build our busiwith brokers more than 30 years ago and ness plan around is ‘fewest clicks to close’ besoon expanded into correspondent lending, all cause we understand that our brokers’ time is while staying focused on helping its partners valuable.”

Brokers who work with Flagstar appreciate be successful.

As a well-capitalized federal savings bank, its experienced, knowledgeable account exFlagstar is able to offer its partners and clients ecutives, who average at least 10 years with stability and transparency that provides peace Flagstar and more than 20 years of industry of mind. Today, the bank is building out its experience. And they’re backed up by an equaltechnology, service and product infrastructure ly strong support staff.

Flagstar’s dedicated team of account executives to have the best-in-class offerings for its clients. take a consul“Our focus tative approach is – and always with their cusha s b e en – tomers. Its AEs helping brokers coach brokers on grow their busi“Brokers recognize that we are how to grow their ness,” Flagstar with them for the long haul. We’re business, formuPresident invested in the success of each of late successful of Mor tgage our broker customers, and they business stratKristy Fercho are at the heart of every business egies and build said. “Many decision we make…” strong, lasting of our clients relationships. started as small Flagstar also mom-and-pop offers its brokers shops and have since grown to large, successful bankers. We exclusive training and support opportunities. have excelled at making this happen and are These include webinars with guidance from industry experts, discounts on continued edproud of that.”

A priority for Flagstar is enhancing the tech- ucation and a trigger lead pass-back program.

Because Flagstar has been in the mortgage nology it offers its broker partners by giving them more control of the process and making business for over three decades, it has experiit easier for them to conduct their business. ence managing through all economic scenarRecently, the bank rolled out DIY disclosures ios. This stability is a unique benefit Flagstar and improved its accelerated broker closing can extend to the broker community.

“We are here to help brokers navigate program. Both initiatives give brokers more through these challenging times, just like we control over the loan process.

Flagstar has also invested in platforms like were in 2008 and 2012,” Gibson said. “Brokers AIME ARIVE and Calyx All-In to provide bro- recognize that we are with them for the long haul. We’re invested in the success of each of kers more options to conduct their business.

“Our platform is scalable; brokers can work our broker customers, and they are at the heart with us the way that works best for them,” of every business decision we make.”

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Home Point Financial partners exclusively with third-party originators, offering white-glove service

H

ome Point Financial works exclusive- partner for brokers because it does not have a ly with third-party originators and traditional retail footprint or operate in the diis laser-focused on helping brokers rectly competitive retail space.

Instead, Home Point partners exclusively succeed.

Home Point is now the second largest and with third-party originators to offer partners fastest-growing wholesale mortgage lender a service that is completely optimized for their for residential loans in the U.S. in Q1 2020, ac- business. Brokers who work with Home Point cording to Inside Mortgage Finance. Since its can consistently provide borrowers value launch in 2015, the company’s year-over-year through better pricing and product execution loan volume has nearly doubled each calendar than their retail counterparts while delivering year and is expected to more than double to the service needed to compete with retail.

Home Point’s skilled account executives proover $50 billion in 2020.

“Home Point has established itself as a top vide deep mortgage and local market expertise, and the company lender through offers a streamdoing business “We take a modern approach lined loan process d i f f e r e nt l y i n to lending, combining technolwith experienced the traditional ogy with smart, compassionate origination staff to and competitive people to deliver a boutique exhelp navigate even mortgage indusperience for our partners and the most complex try,” said Willie borrowers—every time…” closings.

Newman, pres“It’s the care we ident and CEO. offer to every cus“We take a modern approach to lending, combining technolo- tomer for every loan that sets us apart,” Chief gy with smart, compassionate people to deliv- Originations Officer Lisa Patterson said. “We er a boutique experience for our partners and empower our in-house experts to solve problems and offer white-glove service – something borrowers—every time.”

By partnering with brokers and customers rarely offered in a wholesale environment.”

In 2019, Home Point debuted its Customer over the life of their loan, Home Point helps brokers deliver a great experience to their bor- for Life initiative, designed to help brokers stay rowers and agents and win more customers and connected with their borrowers. Home Point is one of the few wholesale lenders that retains loans.

“Our mission is to support borrowers’ fi- 95% of loans for servicing, positioning them nancial health and happiness, and when bor- to offer brokers this benefit. The company uses rowers are ready to refinance or make a move, a combination of data insight, marketing autoHome Point connects those customers to our mation and branding opportunities within its partners,” said Phil Shoemaker, president of home ownership platform to deliver this ongooriginations. “We don’t just focus on getting ing value to broker partners.

By helping brokers provide exceptional serthe loan closed – we help our partners build vice upfront to their customers and agents, as long-term sustainable businesses.”

As wholesale lending continues to grow, a well as providing consistent value to homekey issue for brokers is their ability to maintain owners after the loan closes, Home Point helps their customers and not compete with lenders brokers grow and scale their business to win for their borrowers. Home Point makes a great referrals and satisfied repeat customers.

HOME POINT FINANCIAL homepointfinancial.com

THE EXECUTIVES:

WILLIAM NEWMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO William Newman is an acknowledged expert and innovator in the mortgage industry with over 25 years of experience.

PHIL SHOEMAKER, PRESIDENT OF ORIGINATIONS Phil Shoemaker brings over 20 years of experience and a diverse background in technology, operations and sales to building the nation’s largest mortgage companies.

LISA PATTERSON, CHIEF ORIGINATIONS OFFICER Lisa Patterson leads the high-performing team responsible for the impressive growth of Home Point’s wholesale channel. Patterson has over 25 years of experience.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 43

- SPECIAL REPORT -

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LOANDEPOT WHOLESALE/ CORRESPONDENT ldwholesale.com

THE EXECUTIVES:

JEFF WALSH, SENIOR EVP/CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER Under Jeff Walsh’s leadership, the company’s wholesale channel has become the broker partner of choice for independent licensed loan officers.

MIKE KLOTZ, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, SALES Mike Klotz leads the wholesale division’s strategic growth initiatives and is responsible for key initiatives spanning sales and operations.

MISTI SNOW, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Misti Snow leads the long-term strategic vision for wholesale, overseeing the growth and production of the division’s origination branches.

44 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

loanDepot wholesale’s mello broker portal enables brokers to deliver a seamless lending experience

D

rawing on a team of seasoned mort- underwriting and support, with a particular gage professionals with more than 25 focus on its government and renovation loans. loanDepot Wholesale’s origination partners years of lending experience and the financial strength of its parent company, loan- benefit from the following communications Depot, LLC, loanDepot Wholesale supports and support features: • Weekly newsletters to keep brokers its partners with industry-leading tools, loan informed products, and competitive rates and resourc• Training support in the form of vides that allow them to successfully serve their eos, webinars, job aids and reference borrowers. documents “Our advanced technology enables us to • An extensive library of white label fliers provide the seamless lending experience that and social assets to give brokers markettoday’s customers expect, and our high-touch ing support to reach Realtors and brocustomer service provides peace of mind kers alike throughout the loan process,” said Jeff Walsh, In addition, loanDepot Wholesale recently senior EVP and CRO. “Beyond our competitive programs and pricing, we believe that building rolled out its mello Broker Portal, which leverstrong long-term relationships with our part- ages loanDepot’s over $100 million investment in technology to deliver a seamless lending ners is of utmost importance.” loanDepot Wholesale strives to build suc- experience. loanDepot’s mello platform enables brokers cessful long-term relationships with its originato generate and tion partners. email full iniThe company tial disclosures a i m s to b e packages to a le nde r of “Our advanced technology enables us their borrowers choice by proto provide the seamless lending expefor eSignature, viding an outrience that today’s customers expect, and also enables standing lendand our high-touch customer service loan officers to ing experience provides peace of mind throughout create multiple that includes the loan process.” scena r io a nd dedicated and comparison responsive serdocuments. The vice, advanced plat for m ha s and integrated editable 1003 technological solutions, competitive price and product offer- functionality and the ability to run dual AUS. “We believe that our combination of cutings, and responsible lending practices.

As an agency direct lender, loanDepot ting-edge mortgage technology and high-touch Wholesale offers a full suite of products, in- customer service will enable our wholesale cluding Fannie, Freddie, FHA, VA and reno- partners to exceed their borrowers’ expectavation loans. The company handles each of tions today and well into the future,” said Mike its loan products with exceptional execution, Klotz, SVP of Sales.

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Sponsored Content

PennyMac’s proprietary pricing engine gives brokers flexibility with pricing options

A

s one of America’s largest mortgage lenders and servicers, PennyMac is bringing new energy to the wholesale channel.

PennyMac Broker Direct is one of the fastest growing wholesale lenders in the country – recently moving into the top 10 rank in wholesale, according to IMF. PennyMac is committed to the wholesale channel and to the long-term success of the broker community.

Broker partners find a competitive advantage working with PennyMac – from pricing and innovative products that meet their borrower’s needs, to custom technology and services that accelerate their business.

Plus, as one of the largest servicers in America with more than 1.8 million loans, PennyMac commits permanent investment capital into retained mortgage servicing rights.

“It’s exciting to think that we can take the power of everything we’ve built to become an industry leader and put that into the hands of our broker partners, enabling them to succeed and build a strong referral base within their local communities,” said Kimberly Nichols, managing director, PennyMac Broker Direct.

The company is known for its high-touch customer service for its broker partners. Each of PennyMac’s broker partners is assigned their own Broker Operations Manager (BOM) to serve as a dedicated point of contact from beginning to end.

BOMs are highly trained allies and technical mortgage experts. Each BOM has 5-7 years of mortgage experience, leveraging their knowledge to help broker partners with the entire loan process. Their role is to help proactively address any issues that may come up with a loan, allowing broker partners to focus on closing more loans in the most efficient way

possible.

PennyMac has spent years on its proprietary pricing engine, which takes complex secondary market execution algorithms and pushes the results into its POWER portal, where a broker partner has nearly infinite pricing options made available within seconds.

POWER’s robust pricing engine includes Perfect Rate and Perfect Term capabilities. With Perfect Rate, broker partners can offer borrowers rates tailored down to the thousandth.

Perfect Term allows brokers to customize terms down to the exact month. This level of flexibility results in more successful solutions.

POWER gives broker partners a better view of their entire loan pipeline. With real-time updates, notifications, action items and tracking abilities, broker partners are able to provide their borrowers and real estate clients accurate information with a single click.

“We are focused on building and delivering a seamless experience for brokers,” said Doug Ingalls, EVP of Mortgage Fulfillment – Client Engagement.

In addition, PennyMac’s OPTIMIZE solution helps broker partners deliver the best possible mortgage insurance pricing for borrowers.

OPTIMIZE includes industry-leading MI rates with a best-x search between all borrower-paid mortgage insurance options as well as lender-paid mortgage insurance options.

“As one of the largest non-bank lenders in the nation, we are firmly committed to this channel,” said Jeff Keeland, EVP of Mortgage Fulfillment for Broker Direct Lending Channel.

“We are making the investment in technology to deliver against what we believe is our core competency operationally, providing consistency in the loan experience by providing a repeatable process that is accurate and on-time, every time for our customers.”

PENNYMAC Pennymacbrokerdirect.com

THE EXECUTIVES:

KIM NICHOLS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PENNYMAC BROKER DIRECT, PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES With an extensive 30+ year career in the mortgage industry, Kim Nichols has a track record of building teams.

JEFF KEELAND, EVP OF MORTGAGE FULFILLMENT FOR BROKER DIRECT LENDING CHANNEL, PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES An accomplished leader, Jeff Keeland has over 32 years of mortgage lending experience. He joined PennyMac in December 2015.

DOUG INGALLS, EVP OF MORTGAGE FULFILLMENT – CLIENT ENGAGEMENT FOR BROKER DIRECT LENDING CHANNEL, PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES Doug Ingalls’ team performs key client facing engagement functions for PennyMac’s Broker Direct channel. He has 25 years of experience.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 45

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PLAZA HOME MORTGAGE plazahomemortgage.com

THE EXECUTIVES:

KEVIN PARRA, CO-FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO An industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience in all facets of mortgage banking, Kevin Parra co-founded Plaza in 2000.

MICHAEL FONTAINE, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER & CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Over the past 16 years, Mike Fontaine has played an instrumental role in the growth of the company.

JEFF LEINAN, EVP, NATIONAL WHOLESALE PRODUCTION Jeff Leinan is responsible for leading and driving the growth of Plaza Home Mortgage’s wholesale and reverse lending businesses.

46 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

Plaza Home Mortgage remains committed to brokers throughout shifts in the market

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ith a 20-year track record of suc- sales management in major markets. This concessfully serving brokers, Plaza nection to local markets helps Plaza experts Home Mortgage offers brokers the understand them at a deeper level.

Broker clients appreciate the expertise and expertise and experience to help them get the job done, no matter how complex the loan may insight offered by Plaza’s team members. The be. Throughout shifts in the market, Plaza has average sales associate with Plaza has more remained sustainable by staying committed to than 15 years of experience, with at least 5 years of experience working at Plaza itself. its broker clients.

As the effects of COVID-19 ripple throughPlaza examines each business decision from a “here for you” mindset, putting clients first. out the market, some lenders may reconsider The company understands that mortgages are their commitment to wholesale channels, but not a one-size-fits-all business – and its client Plaza remains dedicated to its broker clients. relationships reflect that, as 94% of its broker Regardless of whether Plaza’s staff has been clients rate Plaza with the highest satisfaction working remote or in the office during the pandemic, it continues to be dedicated to client levels.* Instead of trying to fit every broker’s work and service and satisfaction.

“We believe that brokers will continue to play borrowers into the same business model and tech platforms, its staff takes the time to get to a critical role in the mortgage industry: servknow its clients, their work and their markets. ing first-time buyers and finding solutions for hard-to-fit borAnd Plaza ofrowers,” said Jeff fers the latest Leinan, executechnolog y tive vice presito its broker dent, national clients but al“We believe that brokers will conwholesale prolows them the tinue to play a critical role in the duction. “In the choice of how mortgage industry: serving firstfuture, brokers – or if – they time buyers and finding solutions will need what want to imfor hard-to-fit borrowers.” they needed in plement those the past: sersolutions. vice, technology, Brokers who product options work w ith and financially Plaza benefit from a variety of programs and products to strong wholesale lenders. We intend to be one serve the needs of their borrowers, including of them.” *Results based on 2,005 Plaza Home conforming and government loans, refinance Mortgage surveys of its wholesale broker clioptions and reverse mortgages.

Plaza Home Mortgage is decentralized, with ents, conducted from July 2019 to February regional loan centers and underwriters and 2020.

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PRMG strikes the balance between technology and service in supporting its broker clients

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uilt by originators for originators, whelmed, and PRMG leadership has worked Paramount Residential Mortgage to help sort through the news and provide Group, Inc. (PRMG) has demonstrated guidance.

For example, Chief Lending Officer Kevin for almost two decades that it’s an organization that cares about the wellbeing of its brokers. Peranio has put together a series of daily video PRMG and its leadership not only understand updates to keep all employees and third-parthe struggles of brokers and originators but re- ty originator business partners apprised of what’s going on and how it directly affects the main focused on serving their needs.

PRMG aims to provide Better Technology, mortgage industry. Peranio shares his vidBetter Products and Better Services. The con- eos on LinkedIn and the national marketing department sistency of its sha re s it to actions and its “We recently held our annual sales the company’s valued employrally, which focused on the theme of vast broker ees have helped ‘Hard Work meets Digital Disruption.’ database. establish trust It emphasized the fact that we must In addition, in the industry. not lead with technology but rather Chief Strategy PR MG has leverage it to obtain new business a n d C ap it a l cultivated loyal and stay in touch with past clients, Markets Officer pa r t nerships all while never forgetting the value Gary Malis has over the years of human interaction and the impormade guest apand works tance of providing superior service.” pearances on w it h associaMortgage News tions such as the Association of Independent Mortgage Network and AIME to discuss several topics, Experts (AIME) and the National Association including forbearance and the CARES Act. of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) to champion, pro- Malis’ insight helps shed light on the effects of the pandemic on individual brokers and wholetect and serve the broker community.

As the COVID-19 state of pandemic has creat- sale lenders.

In supporting broker clients, PRMG works ed drastic changes in the industry, PRMG has continued to support brokers. The pandemic to strike the balance between technology and has seen several product areas constrict, but service.

“We recently held our annual sales rally, PRMG is committed to helping borrowers get which focused on the theme of ‘Hard Work the home loans that work best for them.

In addition to the standard conventional and meets Digital Disruption.’ It emphasized the government products it offers, brokers that fact that we must not lead with technology but work with PRMG are also interested in products rather leverage it to obtain new business and like Chenoa, which provides down payment as- stay in touch with past clients, all while never sistance, and products designed to assist low forgetting the value of human interaction and to moderate-income borrowers with financing, the importance of providing superior service,” such as HomeReady by Fannie Mae or Freddie said Paul Rozo, CEO and founder.

“At the end of the day, it is these consistent Mac’s Home Possible.

The recent information overload due to behaviors that will keep our business more COVID-19 has left many in the industry over- personable.”

PARAMOUNT RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE GROUP (PRMG) PRMG.net

THE EXECUTIVES:

PAUL ROZO, CEO AND FOUNDER Paul Rozo’s diverse expertise extends over 25 years in the mortgage banking space. He provides exceptional leadership, overseeing all facets of PRMG.

ROBERT HOLLIDAY, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, COFOUNDER Robert Holliday has over 25 years of experience in the mortgage banking industry. Holliday has helped PRMG build a strong operational structure.

KEVIN PERANIO, CHIEF LENDING OFFICER, PARTNER Kevin Peranio has over 19 years of experience in the mortgage industry, especially on the front lines of wholesale.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 47

- SPECIAL REPORT -

Sponsored Content

SIERRA PACIFIC MORTGAGE COMPANY spmc.com sierrapacificmortgage.com

THE EXECUTIVES:

JIM COFFRINI, PRESIDENT AND CEO Jim Coffrini oversees all company operations with his clear vision and well-defined strategies. He has 30+ years of experience in the industry.

JAY PROMISCO, CHIEF PRODUCTION OFFICER Currently, Jay Promisco is creating and implementing strategies for growing Sierra Pacific’s market share for the retail, consumer direct and wholesale channels.

AMY MAHAR, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, THIRD PARTY ORIGINATIONS Amy Mahar leads Sierra Pacific’s TPO channel. She joined Sierra Pacific Mortgage in 2019.

48 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

Sierra Pacific Wholesale provides collaboration and technology to help brokers increase market share

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Within the ExpressLoan platform, Sierra ierra Pacific was one of the original lenders to support mortgage brokers on a na- Pacific recently introduced its DUAL Automated tional scale. In its 34 years of business, Underwriting System. The DUAL AUS feature Sierra Pacific has persevered through many gives brokers the ability to simultaneously changing industry landscapes and challeng- submit to both Desktop Underwriter and Loan es – a level of experience that is crucial in sup- Prospector and then display them in a side-byporting its partners through uncharted terri- side comparison. This feature helps brokers make a more informed selection about which tory like the impact of COVID-19 on business.

Sierra Pacific Wholesale aims to help the bro- product is best suited to a borrower’s needs ker community continue to thrive by providing earlier in the process and aids in a streamlined a collaborative lender relationship to allow bro- approach to documentation.

Sierra Pacific is also rolling out its Fast Track kers the opportunity to increase market share process to help improve broker efficiencies at by upwards of 25% in 2020.

“At Sierra, we’ve always taken an extreme- the point of sale. Fast Track allows brokers to instantly validate ly m i nd f u l the borrower’s emapproach to “At Sierra, we’ve always taken an exployment, income, our product tremely mindful approach to our prodand assets prior to offerings uct offerings and value, so many of the submitting the loan and value, so more conventional loan product types to Sierra Pacific. This many of the have proven to be extremely fruitful for gives them a more more conour broker partner.” robust pre-approvventional al that can compete loan product types have proven to be extremely fruitful for with cash offers and even shorten the processour broker partner,” said Jim Coffrini, president ing and underwriting cycle times by almost and CEO. “Combined with today’s continued – half.

While Sierra Pacific is always looking for and possibly historic – low-rate environment through 2020, we believe our brokers will have solutions to help brokers optimize their busia significant opportunity to continue growing ness from a technology standpoint, it also their market share with Sierra products and draws on more than 30 years of experience to bring a deep skill set and broad perspective to services into the foreseeable future.”

To accomplish this, Sierra Pacific Wholesale files every day.

“At the foundation of our storied legacy of is focused on multiple initiatives to bring additional value to its partners. The company is supporting brokers is a culture that undermaking significant investments in its technolo- stands that a human approach is still critically gy, processes, people and company infrastruc- important in this business. It strengthens our relationships because we believe that care, conture to support that growth.

In 2020, Sierra Pacific has focused on deploy- cern and connectivity cannot be automated,” ing its proprietary broker portal, ExpressLoan. said Amy Mahar, EVP of third-party originaExpressLoan features an array of customized tions. “To us, being the best means being there tools that provide third-party originator part- every step of the way for our broker partners; we ners with a more intuitive and modern technol- have done that consistently over decades and we’re just getting started!” ogy experience.

- SPECIAL REPORT -

Sponsored Content

Stearns Lending’s Snap2.0 mobile app allows brokers to access their pipeline from anywhere

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tearns Lending has supported the mortgage community for more than 30 years, providing lenders with partnership and tools throughout a variety of market conditions, including the 2008 financial crisis, changes in QM and TRID regulations, and the current COVID-19 pandemic.

With the capital backing of Blackstone, the largest private equity firm worldwide, Stearns continues to invest in the people and technology that allow it to be a stable partner regardless of industry changes. Stearns’ clients appreciate its strong foundation as a lending partner.

Stearns is focused on its “we can help you” culture, meaning everyone on its staff is there to help get answers quickly. Each loan originator has their own dedicated account executive and account manager teams. LOs are backed by underwriters, CD preparers and closers that are committed to closing their loan on time and winning more business from their referral partners.

Account executives assist in onboarding, loan scenarios and loan pricing, serving as advocates and advisers for business growth.

Account managers are an LO’s internal point of contact for all transactions, including coordination of files, scheduling closings and identifying items needed to get loans closed on time.

With direct access to underwriters, LOs can discuss conditions, resolve issues and gain loan approvals. CD preparers and closers help review accuracy and deliver funds on time to ensure a smooth transaction.

Stearns continues to evolve its tech offerings to meet the needs of its broker customers, based on roundtable feedback and account executive advisory panels. Ease of use is the top driving factor for its technology options, with speed a close second.

Its SNAP2.0 solution is a broker and non-del-

egated portal, built with the loan originator in mind. The SNAP2.0 portal makes it simple for brokers to get up and running quickly, and its mobile app allows brokers to access their pipeline, manage documents and access tools from anywhere.

SNAP2.0 includes the following features: • Ability to forward lock with five pieces of information • Calculate My Income tool that allows you to prequalify income • Instant income verification through the Work Number • Form-free asset verification with a push of electronic account statements • eSign tracker for LE, disclosures and CD, with ability to re-send with one click • FHA case number ordering • Disclosure initiation options Stearns also has a proprietary digital app/ online 1003 and consumer portal, so brokers can use their own branding throughout the application process.

With a link or the download of an mobile app, borrowers can complete an application on the device of their choice and follow their loan as it hits milestones.

In addition to its technology, Stearns provides a broad product mix based on demand and market conditions. Its team is always looking for creative solutions to help lenders meet borrower needs.

“A continued investment in people, technology and best execution paves the way for any committed wholesale lender,” said Nick Pabarcus, EVP of Wholesale. “We plan to provide more avenues and resources to be successful in today’s ever-changing landscape.

Evolving with modern consumer behavior for both partners and borrowers will be the focus of 2020 and beyond.”

STEARNS LENDING stearnswholesale.com

THE EXECUTIVES:

NICK PABARCUS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, WHOLESALE Nick Pabarcus brings 20 years of mortgage banking experience to his role. He is currently active with the MBA as a CMB and AMP.

JONATHAN MCCASH, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, WHOLESALE NATIONAL SALES Jon McCash brings a wealth of experience in wholesale mortgage banking with over 18 years of experience. He is passionate about leading sales teams.

RYAN RATHERT, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WHOLESALE Ryan Rathert brings 15 years of mortgage banking experience with a primary focus in third party lending.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 49

TRADE DESK

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

AIME............................51 ALTA ............................51 MBA.. ...........................52 NAHB...........................52

50 HOUSINGWIRE â?ą JULY 2020

Chairman Association of Independent Mortgage Experts

Independent Mortgage Experts

Anthony Casa

AIME members, I would like to invite independent mortgage professionals and our industry partners across the country to join the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts in celebrating National Mortgage Brokers Day on Saturday, July 18th.

This third annual day of awareness marks the largest consolidated effort to educate consumers about the benefits of working with an independent mortgage broker, whether they’re looking to purchase or refinance a home or just beginning their journey toward homeownership. We will be equipping our AIME members, largely small business owners, with content and materials to support these educational efforts and to help them promote themselves as independent mortgage professionals to their personal networks.

The shared goal is to highlight the many ways independent mortgage brokers add value to the home buying process including the ability to offer more loan options, better pricing, faster closings and personalized service in their own community.

ALTA members, What will the post-pandemic “new normal” look like? That’s the topic on everyone’s minds, whether you’re a parent wondering what will happen to schools in the fall or you’re waiting to see where the economy will land.

Now, real estate professionals across the country are offering digital closings to complete real estate transactions as safely as possible.

In an American Land Title Association survey of nearly 400 title and settlement companies, nearly 40% were offering some type of digital closing in April 2020. That statistic is up significantly from the 17% offering digital closings in 2019.

As we’ve seen how fast the real estate industry can adapt in a crisis to keep transactions – and, thus, the economy – moving forward, options such as remote online notarization have come into focus, and digital closings indeed will become the industry’s “new normal.”

To help ease the transition into this way of doing busi-

There is no better time than now to be part of the independent broker community and take pride in the unparalleled service and slew of benefits we can offer consumers. As wholesale lenders are making aggressive moves to gain market share, we are able to offer unbeatable rates and optionality for borrowers. The challenges faced across the entire country over the past few months have made our role in our communities even more critical as we are uniquely able to serve as trusted advisors, local experts and true advocates for our clients, especially those who may be facing hardships.

On National Mortgage Brokers Day, I’m challenging all independent mortgage brokers to exemplify all the reasons why “Brokers Are Better” and reflect on the fact that we are truly stronger together as a community of independent professionals and partners.

Stay connected with AIME on Facebook to learn more about all the ways to get involved on National Mortgage Brokers Day and throughout the year.

ness, ALTA added fresh data to the national ALTA Title and Settlement Agent Registry. The ALTA Registry is a free, online searchable database of underwriter-confirmed title agencies, real estate attorneys and underwriter direct offices. Lenders are looking for companies that can close loans using RON, putting businesses that offer this service in high demand. To help lenders find title insurance companies with the necessary technology, ALTA now includes RON capabilities with each ALTA Registry listing.

Where digital closings were once a convenience, they have become a necessity. Whether your customers are saving money refinancing or purchasing a new home, digital closings are vital to boosting the U.S. economy.

American Land Title Association

Diane Tomb

CEO American Land Title Association HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 51

Robert Broeksmit

President & CEO Mortgage Bankers Association

Mortgage Bankers Association

TRADE DESK MBA members, Last month, the Mortgage Bankers Association debuted MBA LIVE – State of the Industry, the first in a series of remote, online events our association conducted in lieu of our in-person conferences. The successful event was a mix of interviews with subject-matter experts, Q&A sessions and real-time polling.

During the inaugural event, over 1,000 industry professionals heard critical updates from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Brian Montgomery, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger and others on key issues impacting the mortgage industry amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Professionals also heard in-depth insight on the current political landscape from Sens Todd Young R-Ind., Kyrsten Sinema D-Ariz. and two-time Pulitzer Prize-

NAHB members, The residential construction industry is poised to lead the nation’s recovery from the economic disruption caused by COVID-19.

The strength of that rebound will depend, in part, on policies developed by the White House and Congress. That’s why the National Association of Home Builders was pleased when its CEO, Jerry Howard, was selected as part of President Trump’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups, an assembly of industry leaders tasked with helping chart the nation’s path forward.

At the president’s request, NAHB delivered to the White House a set of policy proposals that will help the housing industry survive the COVID-19 disruption and be a force that helps America lead the world out of this pandemic.

The recommendations fall into several categories, including: • Meeting the short-term needs of the housing industry by improving access to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans; • Providing critical support to housing production by creating a secondary market for acquisition, development and construction loans; and

•

Shifting homeownership tax incentives from a deduction to a credit.

A complete list and overview of the proposals can be found on NAHB.org/coronavirus.

Early policy recommendations have already been put into effect, including the suspension of foreclosures and evictions for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Construction of single-family and multifamily housing was deemed an essential business by the Department of Homeland Security early in the crisis, and many of our 140,000 members have continued their important work building new homes for the nation.

We are ready for the rebound.

The home builders plan to lead the way out of the crisis and lift our economy back to its feet as we work to provide safe, affordable housing for all.

National Association of Home Builders 52 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

winning journalist and associate editor of The Washington Post, Bob Woodward.

Additionally, MBA’s research team provided helpful updates on the current state of the mortgage market and analysis on future economic forecasts.

Following the success of MBA LIVE – State of the Industry, MBA hosted MBA LIVE – Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance on May 26 to 27 and MBA LIVE – Technology Solutions Conference on June 1 to 2, which followed the same online format. Both events were also well attended and filled with expert opinion and analysis.

As all of us continue to adapt to the new normal of alternative work atmospheres and environments, MBA will continue to produce relevant content for its members and all relevant stakeholders.

To learn more about our upcoming events, visit us online at mba.org/conferences.

Dean Mon

Chairman National Association of Home Builders

PRESENTS

THE

AGILE

MARKETER MARKETER BECOME AN HW+ MEMBER AND YOU CAN ACCESS THE SUMMIT SESSIONS ON DEMAND housingwire.com/membership HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 53

54 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

Mortgage

Interest rates are lower than ever, but millions of borrowers can’t get a loan BRUTAL COMBINATION OF FACTORS IS LEAVING BORROWERS BEHIND

BY BEN LANE

DESPITE the fact that mortgage rates sat at or near record lows for quite a while this year, millions of potential borrowers faced a situation where it was simultaneously the best time to buy a home and harder than ever to get a mortgage – a true mortgage catch-22.

Ironically, the cause of both the record low interest rates and certain borrowers’ powerlessness to take advantage of those rates is the same thing: the coronavirus.

Even as the impact of COVID-19 drove mortgage rates down, the virus also crippled the U.S. economy, sent unemployment skyrocketing and altered the mortgage lending landscape so deeply that it may take years to recover.

That led to millions of would-be borrowers being left behind thanks to a brutal combination of factors that made it nearly impossible for them to get a loan, even if they want and could get one otherwise.

Before the coronavirus truly took hold in the U.S., the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had never been below 3.31%.

But as February turned to March, global economic uncertainty drove those rates below 3.3% for the first time ever.

And while rates briefly pushed back up above 3.5% in midMarch, rates then fell back to new record lows, hitting 3.23% at the end of April.

But as those rates fell, making getting a mortgage a more enticing option for people, it also became much harder for certain people to get a loan.

As the virus crisis worsened, numerous lenders raised their lending standards, thereby limiting the types of borrowers they’d lend to, because they were trying to protect against lending to borrowers who were either about to or had just lost their jobs.

The immediate impact was felt in the segments of the lending business that are not the pristine borrowers whose mortgages are typically sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Very suddenly, lending to borrowers who are viewed as “riskier” dried up significantly.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 55

Even as the impact of COVID-19 drove mortgage rates down, the virus also crippled the U.S. economy, sent unemployment skyrocketing and altered the mortgage lending landscape so deeply that it may take years to recover.

Case in point: numerous mortgage companies that focused on lending to borrowers outside the Qualified Mortgage box halted their lending operations. Many lenders also dialed back their jumbo lending as investor interest dried up.

Beyond that, it became considerably more difficult for some borrowers to get a Federal Housing Administration loan. It wasn’t because of any government actions though. Instead, many mortgage lenders increased their minimum FICO scores for FHA loans to as high as 660, which would prevent a large section of borrowers from accessing an FHA loan.

But the changes weren’t limited to smaller companies or nonbank lenders. It also got much harder to get a mortgage at some of the nation’s largest banks.

JPMorgan Chase raised its minimum lending standards to require that nearly all borrowers have at least 20% down in order to buy a home. Beyond that, Chase also increased its minimum FICO credit score to 700 on purchase mortgages.

Wells Fargo also raised some of its lending standards in April, temporarily suspending the purchase of non-conforming mortgages from correspondent sellers and scaling back retail originations of non-conforming refinances and conforming high-balance loans.

Both Wells Fargo and Chase also then stopped accepting applications for new home equity lines of credit, limiting the borrowing options of people who already have a mortgage.

The decline in the availability of mortgage credit was clearly seen in data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, which showed that it hadn’t been this hard to get a mortgage for more than five years.

An MBA report showed that the availability of mortgage credit fell to its lowest level since December 2014, with the decline spreading across all segments of the lending ecosystem.

“The abrupt weakening of the economy and job market – and the uncertainty in the outlook – drove credit availability down in April for the second consecutive month,” said Joel Kan, MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

56 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

“The overall index fell to its lowest level since December 2014, and the sub-indexes pointed to tightened credit supply for all loan types,” Kan said. “The decline was largely driven by lenders dropping many low credit score and high-LTV programs, as well as further reduction in jumbo and non-QM products.”

David Stevens, the former FHA commissioner and former MBA CEO, called the situation around mortgage credit an “unprecedented” one.

Here’s how Stevens described it for HousingWire: Overnight we saw a series of overlays come into the market broadly. These included 700 FICO floors in some cases, 80% LTV maximums, the elimination of bond lending, DPA, high balance conforming, jumbo non agency, non-QM and more. This was bad, and lenders were trying to respond to the barrage of new underwriting and pricing policies they were receiving, but unfortunately it only got worse.

But it wasn’t just lenders’ new standards that made it more difficult to get a mortgage. At the same time, tens of millions of people lost their jobs, swiftly eliminating them from being able to qualify for a mortgage, even under less strict standards.

Data from the U.S. Department of Labor showed that the unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, which is the highest that figure has been since the Great Depression.

That report followed seven straight weeks of millions of people filing for unemployment, with reports near the end of spring showing that approximately 36.5 million people had lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

The impact of the virus isn’t only being felt on the lending side.

Real estate is feeling the effects too.

A report from realtor.com showed that new home listings fell by more than 44% in April, as states’ shutdowns limited both homeowners’ desire to sell their home and their ability to do so.

Beyond that, pending home sales data from the National Association of Realtors also showed just how much of a slowdown there’s been in home sales.

According to the NAR report, pending home sales fell 21% in March.

Perhaps the best indicator of the impact of the virus on both sides of the housing market is mortgage application data.

Applying for a mortgage is the first tangible step that many prospective homebuyers take and that data serves as a solid indicator about the health of the housing market.

The impact of the virus isn’t only being felt on the lending side. Real estate is feeling the effects too.

Mortgage

Put simply, when more people are applying for a mortgage, more people are trying to buy a home.

“Fueled again by low mortgage rates, pent-up demand from earlier this spring, and states reopening, the recovery in the purchase market continues to gain steam, with the seasonally adjusted index rising to its highest level since January,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in June.

However, Fannie Mae is expecting $1.1 trillion in purchase mortgage originations, down from last year’s $1.28 trillion.

The decrease is currently expected to be focused on the second and third quarters, each of which is projected to be down by approximately $90 billion over 2019.

Combine that $180 billion in missing mortgages with an expected decline of $29 billion in the fourth quarter and there will be nearly $210 billion less in purchase mortgages in 2020 than there were in 2019.

And while $210 billion may not seem like a big number compared to more than $2.5 trillion in overall projected originations, divide that figure by $300,000 per loan and you’re left with about 700,000 people who could have bought a home last year but can’t

this year. That’s a lot of people who would be trying to buy a house right now if they could.

The lending environment eased a bit in May with some lenders removing their overlays and others dipping their toes back into nearly dormant markets, but things are nowhere near where they were just a few months ago.

Fannie Mae’s data shows a projected uptick in home sales in the third and fourth quarters, as the GSE’s economists seem to think that the effects of the virus will dissipate later in the year.

But what if they don’t? What if there’s a second wave of infections as states begin to reopen, or when the colder weather comes back around? What if there’s a second round of shutdowns, perhaps even more draconian than the first go-round?

That will make even the most pessimistic of predictions seem optimistic in hindsight. And with some observers now expecting interest rates to fall even more this year, the missed opportunity could get even bigger very soon. If that happens, even more people will be left out of the mortgage market than are right now.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Jurassic Park, everybody hold on to your butts.

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Is now a good time to buy a home?

SPRING HOMEBUYING SEASON MOVES TO SUMMER

BY BRENA NATH, JULIA FALCON THIS spring homebuying season is anything but normal. What the housing market since the Great Depression,” McLaughlin said. traditionally has been known as the busiest season for buying “It’s easy to look back and almost be triggered from an emotional standpoint.” But the positive news is that while the housing marand selling homes has been upended by COVID-19.

The pandemic spurred concerns about people entering homes ket is not going to get off scot-free, McLaughlin said, “It’s not going and job security, all while potential buyers are hearing that in- to look anything like the Great Recession. That was an anomaly.” terest rates are lower than ever but are being met with extremely tight credit restrictions. At the same time, a growing number of HOUSING 2020 New reports on the housing market predict that the recovery is borrowers are filing forbearance requests.

Despite the list of evolving challenges, one thing that is still likely to take the form of a flying W. Both realtor.com and Haus true this buying season is that there’s a lot of pent-up demand. forecast a W-shaped path forward, with McLaughlin stating that Although some of the conventional thinking on what makes now there will “be an initial sharp drop this spring, a noticeable rea good time to buy still remains true, there are new factors for bound in the summer followed by another dip in the fall, and home shoppers to consider, especially since the last recession finally, a stable road to recovery by spring 2021.”

His reasoning for the W comes down to two factors. was drastically different than this one.

“First, we think that there were many homebuyers that had This is particularly important for the largest group of first-time homebuyers – Millennials. Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist made the decision to sell and buy this spring, which is going to and senior vice president of analytics at Haus, explained that represent pent-up demand that will be released when the econyoung households are going to be the most susceptible to recency omy starts to open up, likely around the summertime,” he said.

“However, once that pent-up demand goes away, we think the real bias when it comes to recessions.

“They basically only went through one, the Great Recession, and steady state of demand will show itself, which is going to be lower that sample size of one just happens to be the worst economy for than it has been over the last six/seven years, and that will lead HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 59

“Ultimately, when it comes to whether or not someone should buy a home right now, McLaughlin’s answer is that it depends on your life circumstances.”

to another drop in the fall after most of the repercussions from this pandemic have gone away.”

“The second reason why we think it’s going to be a flying W shape is that there is potential for a spot fire to emerge in the fall from COVID-19 coming back,” said McLaughlin. “We think there’s potential for that to emerge in the fall and is likely to lead to another noticeable drop in the housing market before a full recovery at this time next year.”

This wouldn’t be the first time the nation experienced a W-shaped recovery. The last example of this was the recession that came after the 1918 pandemic that was a result of World War I and the Spanish flu. However, McLaughlin added that this time around the recovery is not likely to be a wide W but instead a very narrow W.

estate. I’m still seeing significant purchase contracts coming into our branch so there’s not really been much of a slowdown.”

Cooksey added, “There seems to be more buyers in the market right now than there are sellers, and while there is a little bit of a shortage of inventory due to COVID-19, we are quite confident that we’ll see a significant amount of listings hitting the market as more stay-at-home orders start to expire over the next few weeks.”

Also commenting on the state of housing stock, Paul Marquis, a Kansas City, Missouri-based branch manager with Mortgage Solutions Financial, said, “Spring has always been the high season for the housing market. This year with unprecedented challenges facing all aspects of real-estate transactions, the quantity of homes on the market will play in the favor of the brave.”

BUYING CONSIDERATIONS Ultimately, when it comes to whether or not someone should buy a home right now, McLaughlin’s answer is that it depends on your life circumstances.

For starters, if someone is looking for their perfect home, chances are slim they’ll find it. “If you’re trying to get your dream home, you want a choice. You want to see as many homes on the shelf as possible in order to best match your preferences. That’s not what’s happening now,” he said.

On the other hand, he added that if you’re trying to get a bargain, now might not be a bad time to go out and buy a house.

However, people shouldn’t expect to find Great Recession-like deals on homes. Plus, if buyers are planning on staying in the house for seven to 10 years and are based in a major U.S. market, NATIONAL VS. REGIONAL The narrative on whether or not to buy a home and timing the McLaughlin said that the deal over a 10-year period makes such market looks different at the regional level compared to the entire a small difference in their overall net worth.

Cooksey added a similar location caveat, stating, “If you were nation. As McLaughlin explained it, “There is no U.S. housing market. It is a collection of hundreds of small regional markets, looking to buy in markets where you had very little industry or where local industries were the ones mostly affected by COVIDnot one big market, and every region is unique.”

The most obvious difference right now is the disproportionate 19 and the economic downturn, that could definitely change my impact on housing markets in the areas hardest hit by the pan- opinion on it being a strong buy.”

But if that’s not applicable to their area, Cooksey advised that demic, which includes states like Florida and Nevada that are reliant on tourism. McLaughlin said that the “multiplier effect” of home shoppers should “make sure they are utilizing a profesthose sectors will cause other sectors within their own regional sional real estate agent in making their decision to buy so that economies to be hit harder and will eventually translate into lower the agent can help them determine the true market value of the homes they are considering in case there is anything happenhousing demand.

For other markets, like the Dallas metroplex, the outlook for the ing within those neighborhoods that can help them formulate housing market looks positive for potential buyers. According to a better offer.”

Overall, the one factor that many buyers look at – home prices Michael Cooksey, executive managing director of production for Addison, Texas-based Mid America Mortgage, markets always – are still sitting at record highs. McLaughlin’s prediction even highlighted that Haus is not forecasting national price declines matter.

“Take Dallas, or Texas in general, for example,” he said. “We’ve beyond a slight dip this spring.

For people still on the fence, Marquis said that the one thing had businesses moving into Texas for the last several years, so our local economy is very strong. Because of that, even with all that’s important to understand right now is that “now is the time the things going on right now, we’re still seeing a boom in real for confidence.”

60 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

California. “I really think that the buyer demand is going to be there, and it will be interest-rate-driven.”

Korneva also believes that no matter what, people will still be willing to buy.

“I think it’ll boom for a couple of months, and then around fall SUMMER IS THE NEW HOME-BUYING SEASON Many agents now think that the new home-buying season, for I think it’ll start to slowly shift,” Korneva said. “So, I think everythis year at least, is the summer. States are slowly opening up and body that was already planning to buy, a lot of them are still going restrictions on real estate practices have eased. Kseniya Korneva, to buy once things start opening up more. I think come closer in a Realtor in Tampa Bay, Florida, said she’s had clients hold off the fall, there will be less new buyers.”

Leonard said that she thinks the second half of the year will be selling during the pandemic, but business is starting to pick up.

“I had [a seller] who was going to list this month, and then she strong on the real estate front, and the housing market will help ended up wanting to wait [for the summer] as well, so people fix the economy, as there will be soft home prices, low-interest are starting to pick up in the last two weeks or so,” Korneva said. rates and fewer foreclosures.

Like Korneva, Leonard said her business began to pick up about “And a lot of people are also realizing they don’t like their homes when they’re doing quarantine, that might have something to do two weeks ago, after a few weeks of a lull in response to stay-atwith [sales]. So I’m not worried about the summer slowing, I’m home orders and restrictions on open houses.

“I had some downtime during the slow period,” Leonard said. worried more about the fall.”

Although times have definitely changed, do parents still want “I feel that we already hit bottom, and I feel we’re on the uptick.”

“I feel very strongly about a strong market, and I think that real to move before school starts?

“I believe buyers will want to take advantage of the interest estate is going to drive the economy right back,” Leonard continrates in the summer,” said Joyce Leonard, a Realtor in Southern ued. “I believe it.”

“Make strong, well-informed choices and execute them,” he said. “When we rebound from this downturn, make sure you are at the head of the pack and don’t let fear be your guide.”

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Fintech

62 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

Fintech

Real estate professionals must understand the possibilities of lead-gen HOUSINGSTACK PHASE 1: LEAD GENERATION

BY SCOTT PETRONIS

HousingWire launched HousingStack online to provide a digital real estate technology landscape that provides a dynamic visual that reflects the rapid changes in the sector. As we continue to acitvely update it, Scott explains the importance of this landscape and the reasoning for how we went about it FIRST off, there are so many ways to segment the HousingStack that I erred on the side of simplicity.

You can argue that certain products fit into more than one category, and I’ll continue to refine categories and sub-categories. But the general scenario I locked into here was opportunity flow. Lead generation, lead management and nurturing, lead conversion, transaction management, operations management and closing management.

I’ll get into each category as we continue to roll out the content/ participants, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

For this initial category, the focus is on “lead generation.” Again,

you could argue that many companies straddle lead generation, management, nurturing, etc. Frankly, some of these companies provide solutions that could conceivably run an entire business.

But I could argue that the primary value proposition for many/ most of the organizations and products is to generate leads from the millions of potential buyers and sellers out there searching online.

There’s no shortage of players in the space that are focused on helping convert as many of those folks as possible into leads (known contacts with an understanding of intent, timeframe, budget and other important insights).

CONSUMER PORTALS Zillow has created one of the most trafficked set of web properties on the planet over the last fifteen years. With about 173 million unique real estate “addicts” visiting Zillow sites 8.1 billion times in 2019, you simply can’t deny the importance and value of that HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 63

Fintech marketing solutions, market reports, and the list goes on and on. But one thing’s certain: all websites and IDX providers in the space focus heavily on lead-generation techniques to help get potential buyers and sellers into your funnel.

Do you want custom-tailored where you can pick out every aspect? Do you want something you can configure and have up and running in weeks? Do you want to just take an IDX plug-in and embed it into an existing site? Do you want mobile-friendly, mobile-first or mobile-only?

Companies like Real Estate Webmasters, Delta Media Group, Tribus and Union Street Media will deliver a custom site based on a highly consultative approach. Then there are more configurable options like Onjax, Reliance Network, REfindly and BlueRoof360.

Mind you, there are loads more companies. Then there are plugLEAD AND REFERRAL NETWORKS If the portals were the first wave, the next wave has been the ins that allow you to offer listings search and much more such as emergence of lead and referral networks. Some flow consumers HomeJunction, IDXPro, RealScout and ShowcaseIDX. And we can’t forget all of the in from various sites and landconfigurable mobile search ing pages, while others rely on apps that help agents stay top agents to share opportunities of mind on consumers’ phones. that don’t fit their ideal profile The goal of these networks is to Companies like HomeSpotter, or market. Still, others take on reduce the amount of time an agent Smar terAgent, Homesnap the responsibility of nurturand HomeStack help agents ing leads until they’re converneeds to spend figuring out what’s and brokerages deliver a rich, sion-ready. But what they all a real opportunity and what’s just branded mobile experience. try to do is to get as much detail noise. Clearly there’s value in that as possible about prospective DIGITAL MARKETING, ADVERbuyers and sellers to provide because these companies keep TISING AND SYNDICATION enriched leads. It’s no surprise popping up.

It probably doesn’t make sense why they want to pass off the to lump these altogether, but most qualified leads. Most of I’m going to do it anyway. There these organizations generate their revenue through referral fees that sometimes top 30% of are all kinds of digital marketing and marketing automation systems that we’ll get to. Some of those could certainly be categorized the agent’s commission.

Companies like UpNest, Homelight, LemonBrew, Agent Pronto as lead generation tools, but I’m focusing on companies that are and many others entice consumers by offering to help them find more geared toward lead generation rather than nurturing or “the perfect agent.” Companies like Roosted, Really, Opcity and communication.

Systems like Buyside, CallAction, Zurple, BoldLeads, Proxio tie you into referrals from other agents and or that they Profusion360 and espresso Agent focus on helping you identify create and nurture.

The goal of these networks is to reduce the amount of time an and convert leads either on their digital platforms or by integratagent needs to spend figuring out what’s a real opportunity and ing their systems into your existing websites, CRMs, marketing what’s just noise. Clearly there’s value in that because these com- automation tools, etc. Their main focus is on lead generation as opposed to engagement or communication. panies keep popping up.

Then there are the systems that help you to push your listings out to hundreds of destinations to create a broad net for prospecWEBSITES AND MOBILE PPS Since the advent of websites, real estate professionals have need- tive buyers. While ListHub is the staple in this space, there are ed one. Some (many) have more like three or four, and there’s no companies like RealBird, and Cevado that have their own take on syndication services, with Point2 transferring their syndication shortage of options.

Beyond sites, many website providers have also integrated services to ListHub in 2014.

And finally, an area with a small but growing set of options CRMs (we’ll get to that section separately) mobile apps, automated magnet for consumer eyeballs. To be clear, their visitor count is the equivalent of 74% of the adult U.S. population.

Some of the companies in this category have been at it since the mid-90s. Realtor.com, Homes.com, HomeGain, HomeFinder and RealtyTrac have been generating traffic, and leads, for real estate professionals for more than 20 years. Since 2014, Point2 Homes joined this group after many years of delivering agent sites and syndication services.

While there are certainly many more, including a diverse set of highly targeted properties out there, there’s a clear concentration and dominance within the 20 players and even just the top five.

What matters most, however, is the quality of the leads generated.

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Fintech

they provide lead generation targeted for real estate practiservices. There’s a lot of noise tioners is the advertising segout there w ith companies ment. There are a couple opand pundits telling you the tions I’d highlight here, with way to succeed is to add x, y Adwerx being by far the most There are plenty of people out there or z, technology to the mix. If widely recognized for their use who can help you evaluate what’s you’re a practitioner, I hope of custom audience definition, best for you, but it starts with you. you use this to understand targeting and retargeting to what’s available to you. I can’t help keep your brand in front of tell you how many times I’ve your prospects and leads. And heard the phrase “I didn’t lesser known SnappSearch aleven know that was possible!” lows you to bring your listing Knowledge is power, so I hope this equips you to start underinventory to the consumer in a digital ad unit. standing the possibilities and choices. There are plenty of people out there who can help you evaluate what’s best for you, but it WRAPPING IT UP I know there are many products and companies missing from starts with you.

The next segment I’ll tackle is lead management and nurturing, these ranks, and I can’t wait to get everyone included in the HousingStack, properly categorized and updated with their lat- which will highlight a whole new set of providers, products and est details. Given that lead generation is one of the most crowded challenges.

But I hope this has been a good start and that this begins to spaces, with nearly 100 products and companies identified and growing, it’s clear that there’s no shortage of demand for these provide some clarity and insight for those looking for solutions, looking at who’s who or just trying to better understand the products and services.

To a large extent, nearly all companies that provide prod- space.

To see the full interactive HousingStack, visit housingstack.com. ucts and services to real estate practitioners can claim that

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Politics and Money

What Fed Chairman Powell hath wrought MORTGAGE RATES IN 2020 KEEP HITTING NEW LOWS

BY KATHLEEN HOWLEY FUNNY what throwing more than half a trillion dollars at the mortgage-bond market can do to improve a situation.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was able to drive the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage to multiple new lows throughout the spring – a power that generations of Fed chairman could only dream of.

It happened after the Fed pledged to spend whatever it took to lower mortgage rates after worried investors stepped back from the bond markets in March. Since then, the Fed has spent more than $500 billion purchasing mortgage-backed securities, which increased competition for the bonds and lowered yields.

Lower yields for investors translates into cheaper financing costs for home-loan applicants.

Powell didn’t come up with the bond-buying technique some on Wall Street call “quantitative easing,” or QE. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who steered the nation’s monetary system during the financial crisis, did that. It’s aimed at propping up the housing sector, one of the most important components of the economy.

But Powell uses QE like a concert violinist playing a solo. He got lower rates than Bernanke, and he got them much faster.

The lowest 30-year fixed rate Bernanke ever got was 3.31% in November 2012. At the time, it was the cheapest home-loan interest rates ever recorded in a Freddie Mac data series that goes back to 1971.

That was four years after Bernanke directed the Fed to begin buying mortgage bonds for the first time ever.

Powell got that same rate four weeks after announcing the Fed was restarting QE to support the mortgage market amid economic disruptions caused by the worst pandemic is over a century. He then kept buying to drive the rate even lower.

Of course, Powell started from a lower level – the average U.S. rate had spiked 36 basis points in two weeks to 3.65% because of investor panic over the COVID-19 pandemic.

In late November 2008, when Bernanke announced the Fed would begin buying mortgage bonds to support the economy during the financial crisis, the rate was 5.97%.

“As tensions and uncertainty rose in mid-March, investors moved rapidly toward cash and shorter-term government securities, and the markets for Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, started to experience strains,” Powell said in May testimony to the Senate Banking Commitee.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020 67

Some journalists referred to Greenspan that way because his “These markets are critical to the overall functioning of the financial system and to the transmission of monetary policy to job was controlling the monetary system of the globe’s largest economy, which in some minds gave him more power – albeit the broader economy,” Powell said.

One of the last data points published for the old economy much subtler power – than the president of the United States.

Wall Street pundits used to say that if Greenspan, knighted by – meaning, just before COVID-19 started slamming the U.S. – showed mortgage rates had fallen to an all-time low of 3.29% Queen Elizabeth in 2002, could trade in all his vast power to be in March’s first week as investors nervous about the pandemic able to control just one thing – mortgage rates – he would have that was then hitting Europe fled to the safety of the American done it in a flash.

The reason is: Housing is one of the most important sectors of bond markets.

When troubles stay in Europe – like the multi-year turmoil the U.S. economy, and homebuilding has led the U.S. out of every over Brexit, as the UK’s exit of the European Union was called – recession since World War II – with the exception of the Great Americans benefit by getting the low mortgage rates that result Recession when it couldn’t play that role because it had such a from international investors seeing the U.S. bond markets as a large part in causing the collapse.

One example of housing’s influence on economic growth is safe haven.

But, COVID-19 was a problem that wasn’t going to stay in residential fixed investment – a fancy name for homebuilding.

In good times, it accounts for Europe. Once the deaths and as much as half a percentage the economic fallout began point of GDP growth and fuels in American, mortgage rates job growth as builders hire conbegan to spike as investors “These markets are critical to the struction crews. started pricing in the possibilAmericans form more than ity of widespread defaults as overall functioning of the financial 20 million new households a American workers lost jobs. system and to the transmission year, and they all need a home The Fed stepped in and of monetary policy to the broader to live in. pledged to do whatever it took Plus, there’s the spending to keep rates low, and Congress economy.” boost that comes from existing passed the CARES Act that home sales in the form of new mandated forbearance had to curtains, new couches and new be offered to borrowers with appliances as buyers remake a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac home to their liking. mortgages who were financially impacted by the pandemic.

Sales of existing homes don’t directly create new jobs beyond By mid-May, the number of borrowers in forbearance had swelled to 4.2 million before states began reopening, jobless the real estate agents who handle the transaction. But, in an economy where consumer spending accounts for about 70% of GDP, claims fell and forbearance demand began tapering off.

Under Powell, mortgage rates didn’t have as far to travel to the boost from new owners redecorating the more-than 5 million break new lows, but the four-week time period was impressive, existing homes that sell each year is nothing to sniff at.

Greenspan never tried having the central bank purchase MBS – compared to Bernanke’s four years.

Rates went on to set new lows as the spring wore on. Powell the technique hadn’t even been invented yet. Instead, he made a announced in May that the Fed would slow its bond purchases, 2004 speech urging Americans to try adjustable-rate mortgages, but would continue buying as much as needed to keep home fi- making the point that since Americans tended to move every few years, buying 30 years of rate security was wasting money. nancing cheap.

“Many homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dolFannie Mae said it expects the rock-bottom rates will be the new norm for the foreseeable future. The mortgage giant forecasts the lars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixedaverage 30-year fixed rate will be 3.1% in 2020’s third quarter rate mortgages during the past decade,” Greenspan said in a 2004 and 3% in the final three months of the year. And, for 2020, it’s speech to banking executives in Washington D.C. While he didn’t have direct control over long-term rates, he exprojecting a 2.9% average rate in every quarter.

Alan Greenspan, who served as chairman of the Fed from 1987 erted direct control over some variable rates because they someto 2006, was often referred to in the press as “the most powerful times were indexed to prime, the interest rates banks charged man in the world.” The moniker isn’t used much now, even though their best customers, or other measures controlled by the Fed’s benchmark rate. the powers of the Fed chairman haven’t changed.

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Politics and Money

Alan Greenspan works on broadcast equipment for wife and NBC jounalist Andrea Mitchell

“Many homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixed-rate mortgages during the past decade.”

Now, Greenspan has been married for more than 20 years to Lending for adjustable-rate mortgages, known as ARMs, spiked in those years leading up the 2008 financial crisis. ARMs, in- Andrea Mitchell, an NBC journalist who anchors a daily show cluding risky “exploding ARMs” that had rates that could triple on MSNBC. On April 1, Mitchell posted a photo on Twitter showing her after an introductory period that often was two years, were one of the contributors to the housing bust and the collapse of the broadcasting from home amid COVID-19 lockdowns.

At the side of the picture, her husband, now in his 90s, was financial system.

Not that Greenspan suggested anyone get an “exploding ARM,” seen working some of the equipment for the broadcast, starting but he normalized the idea of adjustable rates for home loans to a at a computer screen.

Probably wishing he had thought of MBS buying. wider audience of borrowers, opening the door to a riskier product.

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Q&A Sarah Gonzalez FGMC Chief Operating Officer

Effective leadership in challenging times Supporting employees through rapid changes

As COVID-19 spreads across the U.S., forcing leaders to make tough choices and disrupting the housing market, Women of Influence are rising to the challenge.

The spread of COVID-19 drove layoffs to record levels in the U.S., creating about 16 million jobless claims in the first three weeks alone. Unemployment is expected to hit at least 20%, but perhaps even much more.

Lenders are tightening their standards and the availability of mortgage credit in March crashed to the lowest level since June 2015, led by a pull-back in jumbo and non-QM lending, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But Sarah Gonzalez, FGMC chief operating officer and HousingWire 2019 Woman of Influence, said this is a time when leaders can step up and show what they are made of.

“In this time, I say to stay strong and enhance the skills that made you great in the first place, help keep others calm and positive, be aware of the ever-changing situation, and effectively communicate with others,” she said.

HousingWire sat down with Gonzalez to discuss how leaders can display strength amid chaos. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

HousingWire: Has your message changed in what you say to leaders in light of the current environment?

Sarah Gonzalez: In my opinion, my influence has not changed during these unprecedented times. The question to me is more or less, has your influence or message enhanced or stayed the same? With all that is going on right now, my influence has become more enhanced. I am more supportive, more empathetic, more driven, more agile and more focused on the positive versus the negative.

I do all of this while keeping a sense of rationale, as things are changing daily and in some instances, by the hour. The key to my success is staying level-headed. I am part of an executive team that believes in being a gauge that regulates the rest of the firm. If we are panicked and not level-headed, then the rest of the firm will follow our lead.

In this time, I say to stay strong and enhance the skills that made you great in the first place, help keep others calm and 70 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

positive, be aware of the ever-changing situation, and effectively communicate with others.

HW: How can leaders step up during this time?

SG: I believe that creating an atmosphere of support is key.

Employees still want to be developed, coached and mentored in order to achieve not only their professional goals, but their personal goals as well. We are all capable of doing so much more, whether it be for the firm we work for, or in our own homes. It’s the perception of how we react to the current environment that could diminish our ability to lead effectively.

I try to stay focused on the same things I was focused on pre-pandemic. My focus has only enhanced. As a leader, I want to ensure that I am instilling the required development, coaching or mentorship that a person may need, just like before, but on a much more proactive level; this is how we can step up and lead during this time.

HW: What are some of the greatest challenges you see arising out of this pandemic?

SG: Wow, that is a hard question to answer, as it’s an ever-changing landscape. But personally, I am disappointed to see the hard work that our firm put into Maverick Solutions, our proprietary suite of non-QM mortgage products, be “paused” indefinitely until the market recovers.

I directly oversaw the branding of this product and watched it come to life. It was like having a newborn child again, watching it grow into a mature and highly competitive product, to only suddenly see it come to a halt. It was difficult to experience and watch. I know I am not the only one that feels this way. We have seen a cascade of lenders in the space face the same issues.

The last challenge, and to me the most important, is being able to provide hope. Not just for the firm I help to run, but for the millions of customers out there who are facing hardships of their own.

The ability to keep hope for a job, for a home or shelter, for food, for loved ones…we need to keep that hope alive and each of us must play our part.

Q&A Sherry Graziano Truist Senior Vice President of Mortgage Omni Experience

The pivotal moment in the housing industry Keeping collaboration strong while remote As lenders cope with a shifting lending environment due to COVID-19, they are also striving to ensure they are putting their clients first.

“During these unprecedented times, we have an opportunity to inspire and build better lives and communities,” said Sherry Graziano, Truist senior vice president of mortgage omni experience and 2019 HousingWire Woman of Influence. “This is a pivotal moment for all of our entire industry to demonstrate to clients that we stand for better.”

HousingWire sat down with Graziano to discuss stepping up as leaders in the current environment. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

HousingWire: How can leaders make sure they are putting clients first even in these challenging times?

Sherry Graziano: During these unprecedented times, we have an opportunity to inspire and build better lives and communities.

This is a pivotal moment for all of our entire industry to demonstrate to clients that we stand for better. So many of us know family and friends who have been impacted by loss of income as a result of this pandemic. We have seen glimpses of how hard many families work to achieve the lifelong dream of homeownership. As we embark upon times when our clients need us most, it is incumbent upon our industry to keep our clients front and center of all we do. Truly connecting with your customers, empathizing given their circumstancing and innovating to transform the experience is critical.

HW: How can leaders keep strong collaboration as everyone moves remote?

SG: Show you care. Take the time to engage with your teammates on a regular basis. Show genuine care and concern; ensure they are learning to adjust to the new norm. Many may be struggling trying to balance homeschooling their children, working partners under the same roof, limited Wi-Fi or cellular bandwidth, dogs barking…it’s okay! This too shall pass.

Stay connected. Technology is a beautiful thing, let’s use it without fear. Maybe you are home in your baseball cap and running clothes, no sweat – that webcam is your friend and can connect you virtually to engage with peers as if you were in a conference room.

Expect the unexpected and embrace change. Respect your team’s commitment to drive forward during unprecedented times for your clients. Learning to navigate these challenges together is incredibly powerful, there is no playbook for this event. Someone once told me “change is the only constant” in mortgage – and challenging times like this force teams to make tough decisions together to take their organization to the next level.

HW: How can leaders make sure employees have all the tools they need to work with clients and keep client satisfaction up?

SG: Equipping your teammates to serve during these challenging times is critical to your long-term success. One simple way to engage with your team is leveraging empathy sessions. Lenders should ensure they have an open line of communication with their teammates from all levels in the organization. Depending on the challenge at hand, the frequency, duration and intent may change. Ensuring teammates on the front line serving your clients are heard, can unveil incredible areas of opportunities and possible innovative solutions that result in a tremendous experience for your clients.

HW: What is your secret to making it to the top of the industry as a Woman of Influence?

SG: My mantra I have always lived by is quite simple, “Be you.”

Live authentic in every aspect of your life. Know where you came from, stay grounded and humble, and know your why. I am a purpose-driven, working mom who is passionate about making a difference for future generations of homeowners. I firmly believe my success to date has been leading with transparency and a clear vision – putting our clients at the center of all we do every day. Ben Franklin once said “opportunity is often missed because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.” You must be willing to walk through an open door, make sacrifices and be flexible to make an impact. Every day we have a chance to write a new chapter in our personal book, each role in which we serve should be treated as a chance to learn, given chances to both fail forward and succeed. Upon great reflection of those defining moments, I remember all those who provided me with an opportunity – it’s quite simple to realize it is incumbent upon each of us to pay it forward. Humble servant leadership always prevails.

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Kudos Trade associations work with communities to provide COVID-19 relief Members step up to take quick action MORTGAGE AND REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATIONS HAVE LONG SERVED AS A BACKBONE FOR THEIR MEMBERS, WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ONLY REAFFIRMING THIS SUPPORT.

As their members quickly took action to donate supplies, money and resources to their communities, associations were there to keep the movement growing. Across the nation, title companies, builders, real estate agents and more were all working together to help people and families impacted by the virus.

These are only a handle of the personal stories and initiatives that associations shared.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS Home builders were uniquely positioned to step up and support front-line workers since they’re one of the few industries that require similar equipment to the medical field. Vice President Mike Pence even called on construction professionals to donate their supply of N-95 masks due to the extreme shortage.

Dean Mon, NAHB chairman and a home builder from Shrewsbury, NJ, said that members immediately responded to the call, donating thousands of N-95 masks to area hospitals across the country. They also donated other safety equipment such as medical gloves, more than 1,000 gallons of hand sanitizer, surgical masks, safety goggles, and even intubation boxes.

The association received countless stories of how people were giving back, including how a New Orleans member donated five portable buildings outfitted with bathrooms to be used as a quarantine space at a homeless shelter. NAHB also shared a story of a home builders association in Connecticut that donated enough Tyvek rolls to make over 1,300 protective gowns for local hospitals and first responders.

And in Florida, NAHB told the story of a member from the Charlotte-DeSoto Building Industry Association, Adams Group, that created and donated 55 intubation boxes that were put to immediate use in area hospitals in Southwest Florida.

“During this extremely challenging time, we are so proud of our members and the work they have done to help others.” Mon said.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS NAR relaunched its “Right Tools, Right Now” program for its members as part of the effort to reaffirm its commitment to the safety 72 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

of Realtors and their families. The program includes an online warehouse of resources, offering roughly 350 different no-cost or discounted resources and tools to help NAR members manage their business during this pandemic.

Meanwhile, the association’s members also got to work to get out in their local community. For example, one Realtor donated 850 computer tablets so kids could participate in eLearning, another lent his RV to an ICU nurse so she could isolate from her family to keep them safe and another donated plasma that helped a patient who had been on a ventilator for three weeks.

From providing healthy meals and masks to truck drivers in Oregon to Realtors in rural Kentucky hand-sewing face masks to local hospitals, NAR captures all the inspirational stories on its “Realtors are Good Neighbors” Facebook page.

“While we face this pandemic together, NAR has worked to reaffirm our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of America’s realtors,” NAR President Vince Malta said. “We’re working to deliver new, innovative solutions that help make our members the most successful professionals they can be.”

AMERICAN LAND AND TITLE ASSOCIATION With the majority of them being small businesses themselves, 98% to be exact, ALTA CEO Diane Tomb said that title and settlement companies across the country went above and beyond to protect their communities through volunteer efforts during the pandemic.

“From shopping for food banks to sewing face masks for first responders to even providing virtual therapy dog visits for children in a local hospital, ALTA members are doing their part to safeguard their communities during this crisis,” Tomb said.

ALTA not only donated monetarily to various nonprofit organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as Feeding America and Supply Love, a community-based effort in the Washington, D.C., metro area, they focused on providing a voice for ALTA members through its #GoodDeeds campaign.

Stories from ALTA members include how Texas Regional Title created “A Box of Sunshine” care packages that were delivered

Kudos

on National Nurses Day to three of the area’s local hospitals. They also shared how the marketing director for The Title Professionals in Fredericksburg, Va., donated $20 from every closing to the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank to address the growing needs in their area.

ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE EXPERTS From members stepping up to help their local communities to volunteering as a team to provide support, AIME came together to find ways they could help from coast to coast.

“During the worst of times, we are seeing the best of the wholesale mortgage channel, as brokers collaborate with each other to come out on the other side of this pandemic stronger,” AIME Chairman Anthony Casa said.

For its members, AIME launched a Facebook LIVE series and interviewed more than 50 industry leaders and experts to equip members with the most up-to-date information to advise their communities.

Even the Philadelphia-based AIME team donated their time to support relief efforts, preparing more than 500 packed meals and food boxes for a local food bank.

MBA OPENS DOORS The Mortgage Bankers Association established the MBA Opens Doors Foundation to help families with critically ill or injured children receive mortgage or rental payment assistance while seeking medical treatment. But, as the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the health of millions of Americans as well as their financial strength, the foundation was able to use its mission to also help those impacted by the virus.

“With the threat of COVID-19, for our Opens Doors families, their lives just got a lot harder,” Dubois said. “It is literally a double dose of hardship, and there’s no doubt in my mind that the pandemic is disproportionately affecting the families we help.”

“When we were just a couple of weeks into the pandemic, before there were stay at home orders and mandatory closings across the country, more than a quarter of the families applying for help from the Open Doors Foundation cited the pandemic in their need for support,” she said. “And my guess is that will climb to 50%, maybe even more.”

According to Dubois, since the foundation’s launch in 2011, MBA Open Doors has provided more than $7.5 million in aid for 5,300 families.

PARTING SHOT ❱ MOVING REMOTE When states began shutting down, HousingWire didn’t have to go remote since media is considered an essential business.

But we did. During this time, new traditions were formed, like our weekly townhall meeting pictured here. HousingWire stayed just as connected as ever through Zoom calls, slack channels and many other forms of digital communication.

74 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ JULY 2020

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“People didn’t realize how easy it is to become a mortgage broker.”

“There will be no layoffs. I will sleep on your couch before I lay anyone off.“ “If you build everything yourself, then you can be agile and make changes on a dime.”

“Human interaction is key, and in any business that you’re in, trade shows will come back.”

We’ve actually strategically slowed things down.”

“If they [brokers] don’t win, if they don’t grow and they don’t succeed, we don’t stand a chance.”

“We don’t want to put anybody in a home or a mortgage that they can’t afford.”