By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Professional opportunities, affordability, and fun in the country’s cities are being measured as commencement ceremonies wrap up nationally and Atlanta is coming out on top as the best place for college graduates to move to.
Earlier this week, WalletHub named Atlanta, Georgia, the best city to start a career after comparing the relative market strength and overall livability of 182 cities using 26 key metrics ranging from the monthly average starting salary to housing affordability.
Atlanta did well in the WalletHub ranking because of the availability of entry-level jobs and its low unemployment rate. On May 2, CoworkingCafe named Atlanta the best city to start a career with a bachelor’s degree. The underlying analysis took into account…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A Fannie Mae program designed to help build the credit scores of renters is finding success.
Launched in September, the Multifamily Positive Rent Payment Reporting pilot program allows property owners to share timely rent payment data with the three major credit bureaus. The goal is to accelerate the adoption of rent payment reporting so renters and prospective homebuyers with no or little credit can establish or improve their credit history.
Lenders can incorporate that data when evaluating potential homebuyers.
Leaders at Fannie Mae report that more than 263,000 rental units have been onboarded as of April 30. Over 10,000 renters in properties participating in the program have established credit for the first time and 58% of residents…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The founder and CEO of the digital closing platform Snapdocs says adopting a technology strategy that reduces costs can help mortgage lenders now and as the market bounces back.
Aaron King recently sat down with The Mortgage Note to talk about the value of digital closings. He said Snapdocs, headquartered in San Francisco, is a national company founded in 2012 on the observation that these closings require all of the parties involved in a real estate transaction to connect seamlessly.
“While the technologies existed, there was too much fragmentation between parties and the transactions themselves were too dynamic to apply these technologies until you worked on connecting all the parties. The vision of Snapdocs is we build…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A Virginia man who worked as an assistant inspector general for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison after being convicted of engaging in a scheme to steer government contracts to a personal friend.
Eghbal “Eddie” Saffarinia, 63, of Front Royal, was sentenced on Thursday, according to a press release issued by officials at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Saffarinia was employed by HUD-OIG from 2012 to 2017 and oversaw the Office of Information Technology. He was also the head of contracting activity, according to court paperwork.
Prosecutors claim tens of millions of dollars in government business was affected.
Saffarinia allegedly concealed material facts about…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The CEO of Aidium Mortgage CRM says companies are investing in technology designed to streamline the mortgage loan origination process to improve efficiency and profitability.
“They’re understanding that they could have made more money in 2020 and 2021 with better systems and I think that they’re also seeing right now they need to do everything they can to provide a best-in-class experience and to make sure no leads fall through the cracks,” Spencer Dusebout said.
Dusebout sat down with The Mortgage Note after it was announced that Daily AI, which he founded in 2019, had rebranded as Aidium. Brands previously acquired by Daily AI – Whiteboard CRM and Recruitable.ai – will also be part of the Aidium…
The Mortgage Note’s team has been tracking national trends and the ways companies are working to attract buyers and sellers to the market this spring.
Editor Kimberley Haas interviewed industry leaders to learn more about what they are seeing and what products are being offered for this podcast.
If you would like to participate in future episodes, please email us at [email protected].
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Follow Us On Twitter: The Mortgage Bankers Association's National Advocacy Conference is taking place in Washington, D.C. What…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The new vice president of public policy at Rocket Central says his goal is to increase opportunities for people who have historically had difficulties achieving home ownership because of a host of barriers.
Karan Kaul, a housing finance veteran who worked as a principal research associate in the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute prior to joining Rocket, said that means focusing on first-time homebuyers, people of color, and low- to moderate-income borrowers.
In a recent interview with The Mortgage Note, Kaul said a well-documented hurdle to homeownership is a lack of an adequate down payment, especially with the increase in home prices over the last decade.
“So what can we do to make sure…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Leaders at JPMorgan Chase have announced they acquired the substantial majority of assets and assumed the deposits of First Republic Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
According to a press release issued on Monday, JPMorgan Chase will assume about $92 billion of deposits, including $30 billion of large bank deposits, to be repaid post-close or eliminated in consolidation.
The financial services firm, with operations worldwide, will acquire about $173 billion of loans and about $30 billion of securities, according to the press release.
Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said government officials invited them and others to step up and take over the troubled First Republic.
Shares of First Republic dropped on Friday and…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
As the housing market moderates after a whirlwind pandemic ride, affordability continues to be a chief concern for consumers and mortgage providers are responding with a variety of programs to encourage potential buyers to get off the sidelines.
Leaders at Rocket Mortgage say that a major hurdle on the path to homeownership for their clients is saving for closing costs and earlier this month they announced a national program where buyers can receive help through BUY+, a collaboration with Rocket Homes.
Buyers can receive a credit of 1.5% of their loan amount – up to $10,000 off their closing costs – by working with a Rocket Homes Partner Agent. Those working with an unaffiliated real estate professional…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Attendees at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Advocacy Conference shared concerns about housing affordability, trigger leads, and changes to the loan-level price adjustment matrix.
The conference was held last week at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC. MBA members learned about the political and market landscapes on Tuesday before speaking with their elected state representatives on Wednesday. Over 300 members from 39 states participated in those Capitol Hill meetings.
Kellie Allen, vice president of production at Synergy One Lending, was at the conference representing Idaho Mortgage Lenders Association. She was looking forward to talking about the challenges members of her association are facing.
“Affordable housing is a huge one, of course, and then one of the big…
