The largest risk in the real estate lending industry is the collateral securing the loan. Having thorough appraisal and evaluation programs in place is the best insurance to mitigate that risk. ServiceLink’s Laura Raposo explains how lenders can identify and select an AMC with an affirmed commitment to compliance, and the financial strength and stability to adhere to that commitment.

Hines Global Income Trust, Houston, acquired 1015 Half Street, a 396,000-square-foot Class A office asset in Washington, D.C.

Enact Holdings Inc., Raleigh, N.C., a provider of private mortgage insurance through its insurance subsidiaries, introduced its new brand and visual identity. Formerly known as Genworth Mortgage Holdings Inc., Enact is a wholly owned operating subsidiary of Genworth Financial Inc.

Working from home proved liberating for many people, either because they got more work done or they gained a better work-life balance. At this point, we can’t just put the genie back in the bottle. So, how will the mortgage industry manage the shift back to the office, or will they? Now that our face-to-face meeting-driven, paper-intensive industry has been thrust into the future, does it make sense to return to the past?

When it comes to closing, there are lots of moving parts involved that have traditionally been in person or on physical paper. However, things had to change rapidly. Although a challenge in the beginning, it has also presented a large opportunity and given borrowers and lenders more flexibility in how they complete tasks.

In early May I surveyed 33 senior executives from 33 separate mortgage companies about a myriad of issues and topics both germane and important to the mortgage banking industry. It was the 25th time such a survey was conducted by me since 2008. Until 2020 the surveys were conducted face to face at the MBA National Secondary Market Conference every May and again in October at the MBA’s Annual Convention. However, the pandemic has shifted both sets of contacts to the telephone last year and this.

Omar Jordan is Founder and CEO of LenderClose, West Des Moines, Iowa, a fintech that equips loan originators with the workflows needed to boost efficiencies and shorten the lending cycle through streamlined and meaningful integrations. He founded LenderClose in 2015.

Notarize, Boston, announced Roger W. Ferguson Jr., joined its board of directors. His career spans more than four decades, including 13 years as CEO of TIAA.