Better Mortgage is now offering mortgage loans in thirteen states with the expansion to Florida; the lender offers a number of advantages for borrowers including a 100% digital experience and a verified pre-approval letter for qualified borrowers within 24 hours; with the licensing in Florida, Better Mortgage gains access to lending in Tampa and Jacksonville, recently reported as two of the healthiest housing markets in the country. Source
Southern Cross Financial is seeking to take advantage of New Zealand's expanding real estate supply with challenges in traditional mortgage lending; on December 1, the firm will become a P2P mortgage lender, evolving from a mortgage brokerage business; the firm has been arranging loans between alternative credit consumers and approximately 150 investors as a mortgage broker; the new P2P structure will provide a more standardized process for borrowers and investors. Source
Leading digital transaction management firm eOriginal has been selected to manage electronic documentation processes for Fannie Mae; as a government sponsored enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae works with lenders nationwide; the eOriginal services will help improve all of the GSE's associated mortgage loan transactions providing support for lenders and loan portfolio services for Fannie Mae; in comments on the partnership, Cindy McKissock, vice president of customer digital experience at Fannie Mae said: "We continually look for ways to help lenders who want to deliver an end-to-end digital mortgage experience. In addition to investing in new eVault infrastructure, we are also simplifying eMortgage adoption by transitioning to the MISMO SMART Doc™ Version 3.0 format in 2017. This will reduce complexity and allow lenders and technology solution providers to adopt eMortgage with greater ease." Source
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a study analyzing the UK's mortgage industry; study will focus on the industry's tools for consumers and the partnerships among mortgage lenders; the FCA will specifically seek to identify ways to better utilize technological solutions within the industry; the FCA will be obtaining information from a range of market participants and plans to release the results of the study in an interim report in 2017 followed by a comment period and final report in 2018. Source
"Rocket Mortgage has forever changed the way people think about getting a mortgage," said Jay Farner, CEO of Quicken Loans; for 2016 Quicken Loans has reported record originations of $96 billion with $7 billion contributed by Rocket Mortgage which has been originating loans for 11 months; consumers have reported high demand for the Rocket Mortgage product which provides a much simpler process for homeowners by digitally verifying income, credit, assets and property valuations. Source
While the Federal Reserve has said they will pour virtually unlimited amounts of capital into the mortgage-backed securities market there...
California mortgage lender Opes Advisors is using proprietary software technology to help clients think more holistically about how buying a home fits into their financial plans; the company originates approximately $3 billion in mortgage loans per year and has built technology software that advises clients on comprehensive financial planning; also offering wealth management, the company provides comprehensive advisory services that are unique in the mortgage lending market. Source
The Senate passed a banking bill meant to roll back some of the financial regulations imposed after the crisis, but its fate is uncertain in the House; Republicans in the House want a further rollback of regulations; the bill is intended to help smaller banks avoid burdensome federal oversight and raises the definition of systemically important to $250bn from $50bn; the bill also makes adjustments to parts of the Volcker Rule and eases mortgage rules for smaller lenders. Source.
For the first time ever we had the CEO of Quicken Loans, Jay Farner, on stage at LendIt Fintech USA...
Researchers from the Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center have released data showing only 33% of lower credit quality applicants applying for a mortgage loan in comparison to 62% in 2006; standards for mortgage lending have increased since the 2008 financial crisis which researchers believe to be a factor causing fewer mortgage applications from the lower credit quality borrowers; the Urban Institute also cites other factors for fewer mortgage applications from the category including not having enough money for a down payment and less interest in homeownership. Source