As technology improves, mortgage lenders are looking for ways to work more efficiently and the vice president of customer success at Snapdocs says the adoption of digital closings improves bottom lines and consumer satisfaction.
Snapdocs uses patented AI technology and research performed by the California-based company suggests mortgage lenders can save more than $400 per loan by using eClose technology, according to a press release.
Todd Maki recently sat down with editor Kimberley Haas to talk about their product and the role artificial intelligence plays in the process.
Haas: Tell me some of the things that pop up the most often, some of the challenges you face.
Maki: We’re focused on digital closings with the lender side where we focus…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Leaders at Rocket Pro TPO have announced a new loan level pricing adjustment tool and the executive vice president says it is the result of listening to feedback from their partners.
Mike Fawaz sat down with The Mortgage Note on Monday to talk about Target Profit Control, which eliminates misquoting or loan adjustment oversights by applying systematic profit levels.
Fawaz said that before Target Profit Control, correspondent brokers were tracking files manually.
“Now, you have the ability to set your target profit per loan officer and you no longer have to really go into every single file manually. It’s now set on a loan officer basis,” Fawaz said. “It is an innovative technology. It’s something that is…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Buyers waiting on the sidelines for home prices to drop may be out of luck this year.
During a webinar on Thursday afternoon, Mike Simonsen, founder and president of Altos Research, said that by now it has been clear enough for long enough that even the most strident of bubble-bursters recognizes that the housing market has held up well despite gloomy predictions walking into 2023.
Simonsen said the results have been surprising.
“Very few of us forecast what was going to happen, and forecasts are always tricky, but the key is that those of us watching the data right now, and those of us on this webinar right now, are those who have been able to pay…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill this week that would restrict tax breaks for corporate investors that purchase large quantities of homes.
If passed, the Stop Predatory Investing Act would prohibit investors who acquire 50 or more single-family homes for rental purposes from deducting interest or depreciation on those properties.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chair of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, says investors funded by Wall Street buy up homes that could have been sold to first-time homebuyers. He claims they rent them out at higher rates, neglect repairs, and then threaten families with eviction.
“Our bill will help prevent corporate landlords from driving up local housing prices and put power back in the…
The executive vice president of Rocket Pro TPO says a lack of housing inventory has been hurting mortgage professionals, but he is confident broker partners and loan officers have the tools to help homebuyers achieve their goals.
Mike Fawaz recently sat down with Editor Kimberley Haas to talk about this year’s successes and challenges.
Haas: Mike, so it’s great to have you here today as always. What have been some of the successes in this past year working with the Rocket Pro TPO team?
Fawaz: First of all, thanks for having me and I’m excited to have this conversation with you. When I think about the successes of Rocket Pro TPO this year with the broker channel, it’s been a…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A lack of inventory continues to put pressure on the housing market but there are some potential sources out there.
During a mid-year outlook webinar held on Thursday afternoon, Todd Teta, chief product and technology officer for ATTOM, and Mike Simonsen, founder and president of Altos Research, spoke about the low supply of homes for sale. Simonsen said 2023 is projected to end with fewer homes available than at the start of the year.
“Each week this year there are more buyers than sellers and inventory has been falling until very recently,” he said.
Teta and Simonsen talked about four potential sources for inventory moving forward.
Newer Owners
People are staying in their homes for less time,…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Middle-Class Borrower Protection Act which would reverse recent changes to fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Republicans have been fighting changes to the loan-level price adjustment matrix which were announced earlier this year and scheduled to go into effect on May 1. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, who introduced the act, has repeatedly said that the new fee structure is “a socialist redistribution of wealth.”
“It’s a scheme created by the Federal Housing Finance Agency that forces financially responsible homebuyers with good credit to subsidize those with bad credit. Responsible action should never be penalized, and irresponsible action shouldn’t be subsidized. Under this rule, a majority of new…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
With a lack of housing plaguing the country, it may be easy to jump to the conclusion that vacant offices could be the perfect fit for new apartments and condominiums, but industry leaders say there are a number of considerations to take into account with these projects.
Adam Ducker is the CEO of RCLCO Real Estate Consulting, which offers strategic and tactical advice about property investment, planning, and development. They have offices in Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, and Washington, DC.
Ducker said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note that the concept of renovating office spaces into residential housing precedes the pandemic, even though it is a hot topic now.
He authored a…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Large saltwater pools, massage rooms, and places to store extensive wine collections are popular, but there may be more important things to prospective mansion buyers.
During the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Las Vegas this month, a panel discussion was held to flush out current demands in the luxury market. Speaking during “Mansions 2024” was Mike Leipart, managing partner of The Agency Development Group; Rob Jensen, president of the Rob Jensen Company; Architect Michael Gardner of Luxus Design Build; and Architect Johnny Cruz of Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
Here are five key takeaways:
Wellness technology is popular with the rich.
Leipart said he was in a home recently where the owner had a sauna,…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Privately-owned housing starts surpassed estimates in May, beating expectations as the housing market remains tight.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the latest residential construction statistics on Tuesday morning.
“Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,631,000. This is 21.7% (±14.8%) above the revised April estimate of 1,340,000 and is 5.7% (±10.8%) above the May 2022 rate of 1,543,000. Single‐family housing starts in May were at a rate of 997,000; this is 18.5% (±14.1%) above the revised April figure of 841,000,” a press release says.
Principal Kelly Mangold of RCLCO Real Estate Consulting in Maryland said this is the second month in a…
