REMN Updates Product Line to Include Fannie Mae’s HomePath Reno
APRIL 2014 n Oregon Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
12
REMN Wholesale, on the heels of its near record-breaking renovation lending Webinar with National Mortgage Professional Magazine, has just updated its product line to include Fannie Mae HomePath Reno and HomeStyle Reno for investment and rental properties. REMN Wholesale is one of the noted leaders in renovation lending, due in part to their dedicated Renovation Concierge Service, which helps to ensure that everything stays on track for all parties involved during the complicated process. More than 1,300 people registered for REMN Wholesale’s renovation lending Webinar, the second highest registration for any National Mortgage Professional Webinar to date. Led by Carl Markman, director of national sales for REMN Wholesale and featuring Pam Seifert, REMN Wholesale’s director of training, the Webinar explained the intricacies of renovation lending products and how they can be positioned to help turn the outdated properties on the market into dream homes for new buyers. “With lenders continuing to leave the wholesale channel, it’s more important than ever for brokers and bankers to find a wholesale lender they can trust to come through both now and in the long run. What we heard time and time again at our 25th anniversary party during the regional conference in Atlantic City was that it’s not just our product line that sets us apart, it’s also our commitment to customer service,” said Markman. “From same day turn times on new files to continuing to bring on new associates across the country, as well as our extensive capabilities in renovation lending, our customers know we’re here for them regardless of what coast they’re closest to or what products work the best for their market.” The REMN Wholesale team will continue to have a presence at industry events across the country to meet face-toface with colleagues and explain ways that their expanded renovation lending product line can help brokers and bankers grow their business.
A Ginnie Mae issuer with its own servicing portfolio, REMN Wholesale also offers traditional FHA, VA and USDA products, which in conjunction with relaxed FICO requirements and their mini-correspondent program, only enforces the company’s position as one of the top choices for mortgage brokers and bankers.
SSI Introduces Mortgage Settlement Insurance Backed by RFIB and Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London Secure Settlements Inc. (SSI) announced its partnership with RFIB Group Ltd. and certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London to offer a new product that will insure lenders utilizing SSI’s ClosingGuard service against losses arising at the closing table. Endorsing the effectiveness of SSI’s suite of online risk management products for the vetting of closing agents, the group of insurance professionals is launching the Mortgage Settlement Insurance (MSI) Policy in support of the SSI program. The MSI Policy is designed to protect retail mortgage lenders that utilize SSI’s ClosingGuard closing agent vetting product against losses arising at the closing table from such perils as fraud, theft and documentation error. Coverage extends to warehouse banks and secondary market investors including GSEs, and may be available as well to consumers who are indemnified for losses at the closing table. SSI’s vetting process, developed after several years of consultations in London, Bermuda and New York with insurance industry risk professionals, will be the basis for the MSI Policy. The Lloyd’s syndicates will require a closing agent to have a rating of “low risk” by SSI for the agent to be eligible for coverage. The MSI Policy will be marketed and administered by surplus lines broker Grace Church Intermediaries LLC working in partnership with insurance agents nationwide and the appointed insurance intermediary, Lloyd’s-registered broker RFIB.
“Joining the effective risk mitigation practices of SSI’s closing agent vetting program with the sound underwriting practices of Lloyd’s has created a policy that we envisage providing unparalleled additional protection in an ever-evolving lending environment and giving lenders more certainty as they adapt to new landscapes,” said Jeremy Brasier of RFIB. Unlike other types of coverage or protection, the MSI Policy covers theft of bank funds, borrower funds and seller funds; willful blindness; negligent funds disbursement; failure to follow closing instructions; collateral mistakes; conspiracy; and failure to record. “Based on the effectiveness and success of our ClosingGuard service, the new MSI Policy is able to offer more extensive coverage than other insurance products such as title insurance or closing agent errors and omissions insurance,” SSI CEO and President Andrew Liput said. “This should become something all retail mortgage lenders consider as they evaluate acceptable levels of risk and practice sound lending.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says that lenders filed more than 98,000 suspicious activity reports in 2013 and reported 1,220 indictments of mortgage fraud in 2012. Meanwhile, escrow and closing fraud grew more than 20 percent in the past three years, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
United Wholesale Mortgage Launches New Non-QM Jumbo Product United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced that it launched a new program called “Big & Easy Plus,” which is design for non-QM Jumbo loans. “There are a lot of borrowers that currently do not fit into the QM category,” says Mat Ishbia, CEO and president of UWM. “Our Big & Easy Plus program gives UWM clients the flexibility to originate a ‘make sense’ loan for Jumbo bor-
rowers with higher DTIs, helping expand their pipelines.” Program highlights include: A DTI range of 43.01-49.00 percent; loan amounts from $417,001-$1,500,000; 740-plus FICOs; and LTVs as high as 75 percent. UWM’s originators can log into its broker portal, EASE (Easiest Application System Ever), to review the full set of guidelines and parameters. The program can also be accessed by UWM’s recently rolled out mobile application for Apple and Android Devices.
Carrington’s New Offering to Target Underserved Markets Carrington Mortgage Services LLC has announced plans to further sharpen its focus on reaching and serving “underserved” borrowers (typically those in the sub-640 FICO score range)—a sizable market often ignored by today’s lenders. To accelerate and further enhance its ability to give this market the attention it deserves, Carrington has lowered its minimum credit requirement to a FICO score of 550, and expanded its guidelines on a number of FHA, VA and USDA loan programs, extending eligibility to more property types and reducing overlays. In addition to reducing its minimum FICO requirements, Carrington has added to and enhanced a number of its primary product offerings to further complement this strategy and increase its accessibility for the underserved market. “Effectively meeting the needs of clients in the underserved market requires the ability to both originate quality loans and appropriately service them after the fact,” said Carrington Mortgage Services Mortgage Lending Division Executive Vice President Ray Brousseau. “While that combination of capabilities is atypical among most lenders, at Carrington, it’s in our DNA! Both Carrington’s lending platform and specialty servicing business were created to serve this particular market segment. That uniquely positions us as the lender
continued on page 43