Industry Briefs Apr. 6, 2022: SitusAMC Launches Warehouse Administration Services

SitusAMC Launches Warehouse Administration Services

SitusAMC, New York, launched its Warehouse Administration Services, a suite of technology-enabled turnkey services to help warehouse lenders setup, execute, enhance and scale their warehouse businesses while improving efficiency and reducing costs.

Warehouse Administration Services have been designed to support new and established mortgage warehouse lenders and can be customized to fit a range of needs. Specific services include technology implementation and ongoing support; warehouse facility set-up; execution of daily operations; compliance with banking standards; and risk management.

Redfin Completes Acquisition of Bay Equity Home Loans for $137.8 Million

Redfin, Seattle, completed its previously announced acquisition of Bay Equity Home Loans for $137.8 million in cash.

Redfin agents across 91 markets can use Redfin software to refer their customers to a local Bay Equity loan officer. Brokerage agents and loan officers are partnered based on where they work and how many customers they serve. Bay Equity will continue to operate under its own name and current leadership, originating refinance and purchase loans for customers working with Redfin agents as well as customers working with other brokerages. Over the next few weeks, 52 Redfin Mortgage employees will move over to the Bay Equity team. Bay Equity will maintain its headquarters in Corte Madera, Calif.

HUD Marks National Fair Housing Month

April is Fair Housing Month. Each April, HUD, local communities, fair housing advocates and fair housing organizations across the country celebrate Fair Housing Month by hosting an array of fair housing activities that highlight fair housing enforcement efforts, enhance public awareness of fair housing rights and emphasize the importance of creating diverse and inclusive communities.

In 2021, HUD and its Fair Housing Assistance Program partner agencies received more than 8,500 complaints alleging discrimination based on one or more of the Fair Housing Act’s seven protected classes: race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), family status and disability. Last year, the categories with the highest number of complaints were disability and race, respectively. HUD also received complaints alleging lending discrimination and numerous complaints from women who faced sexual harassment.

Fannie Mae Introduces Expanded Housing Choice Initiative

Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C., launched its Expanded Housing Choice initiative, providing a new pricing incentive for Texas and North Carolina multifamily property owners who accept HUD Housing Choice Vouchers.

Expanded Housing Choice aims to make the rental housing market more inclusive and equitable by expanding availability of multifamily units that accept housing choice vouchers. This 12-month initiative will start in Texas and North Carolina and will incorporate feedback from customers, key stakeholders and market participants.

As part of this initiative, Fannie Mae has partnered with Enterprise Community Partners to provide resources that help lenders and borrowers understand and get the most out of HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher program.

Pavaso Launches New Signing Experience

Pavaso, Plano, Texas, released its new, optimized signing experience. With many new features and process improvements, and a cleaner look and feel, closing agents and participants can complete digital closing sessions.

Next week, Jay Hollis, SVP – Product Strategy, an original designer of the Pavaso platform, will present the new experience at the MBA Technology Solutions Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.

HCL Technologies White Paper Examines Digital Underwriting

HCL Technologies, Houston, published a white paper, Driving Next Generation Lending Solutions with Digital Underwriting.

The paper said while not a recent development by any means, digital transformation has seen its influence grow in recent years owing to the complexities of ongoing global events. And this has not just impacted business owners who are evolving along with their systems, but the customers as well, who are now increasingly digital native and used to having their needs met at the touch of a button.

The blistering pace of digital transformation has fostered a significant evolution for underwriting capabilities as well. From risk management and assessment to overall customer experience; digital underwriting solutions have opened new ways of empowering underwriters through an optimum blend of process and technology. A case study from 2021 shows that more than 200 insurance executives from around the world ascertained technology and new data to be the driving factors behind the underwriting process.

The paper can be accessed at https://www.hcltech.com/white-papers/digital-process-operations/driving-next-generation-lending-solutions-digital.

LoanLogics’ LoanBeam Tax Transcript Service Selected to Expand Rep/Warranty Relief Eligibility for Self-Employed Borrowers

LoanLogics, Jacksonville, Fla., announced the company’s LoanBeam Transcripts product provides Freddie Mac with IRS tax transcript data that can be compared to the borrower’s tax return(s) data through Loan Product Advisor Asset and Income Modeler for self-employed, providing rep and warranty relief related to the accuracy and integrity of the tax return data used to calculate borrower qualifying income.  

 LoanLogics also announced that LoanBeam supports AIM’s latest enhancement to accommodate tax extension filings (i.e., IRS Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) for the 2021 tax year. The results of the AIM assessment will be displayed on the Loan Product Advisor Feedback Certificate, including income representation and warranty relief eligibility.

Pinnacle Bank Partners with SimpleNexus

SimpleNexus, Lehi, Utah, announced that Elberton, Ga.-based Pinnacle Bank implemented Nexus Vision to support optimization of the bank’s mortgage operations with turnkey business intelligence.

Nexus Vision is enterprise-grade BI software for mortgage lenders. Its visually intuitive dashboards provide executives, branch managers and individual contributors with actionable insights into mission-critical business operations from production and pipeline metrics to employee, branch and partner performance scorecards.

New American Funding Partners with Buyer Accepted

New American Funding, Tustin, Calif., partnered with Buyer Accepted, which recently launched a nationwide cash buyer program, to turn traditional homebuyers into cash buyers. Through this program, Buyer Accepted will buy the borrower’s chosen home upfront with cash and then sell it to the borrower with financing provided by a New American Funding mortgage.

Buyers need to get approved by New American Funding at the beginning of their home search. Once they find their home, Buyer Accepted will win the bidding war and buy the house with cash. Buyers can then move in when they are ready. The program is available nationwide, excluding New York and Hawaii, and can be used on Conventional, Jumbo, VA and FHA loans.

FormFree, Take3Tech Partner

FormFree, Athens, Ga., partnered with Take Three Technologies to make its AccountChek automated asset, income and employment verification platforms available within LoanMAPS, an all-in-one loan origination platform that encompasses a loan origination system, point-of-sale system, customer relationship management system, compliance monitoring and report generation.

The integration enables loan originators to text or email borrowers a request to electronically verify asset, income and employment data without leaving the LoanMAPS user experience. Once borrower permission is granted, AccountChek uses securely encrypted, direct-source data to automatically populate underwriter-friendly verification of asset and verification of income/employment reports, which are made available within LoanMAPS.

Mortgage Coach, ReverseVision Partner on Forward/Reverse Mortgage Options

Mortgage Coach, Irvine, Calif., a borrower conversion platform empowering mortgage lenders to educate borrowers with interactive presentations that model home loan performance over time, announced an integration with ReverseVision, San Diego, a provider of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and private reverse mortgage sales and origination technology.

The integration enables lenders to produce a Reverse Total Cost Analysis (TCA), an interactive presentation that allows loan originators to give consumers side-by-side comparisons of how reverse mortgages perform against forward mortgages over the lifetime of the loan.

Mortgage Coach’s Reverse TCA enables loan originators to better serve clients by helping them evaluate whether a forward or reverse mortgage is best suited to meet their homeownership and financial goals. Designed to educate consumers about the conditions of reverse mortgages and illustrate unique features such as flexible disbursement options, the Reverse TCA serves to strengthen borrower trust in loan originators while empowering them with a more comprehensive understanding of their financial options.