Deephaven Mortgage has hired Aaron Drago as its new Chief Operating Officer, the company announced in a press release.
“It’s an absolute honor to join such an esteemed organization focused on innovation and growth,” Drago said in a LinkedIn post.
“Deephaven already differentiates itself through its agility and highly responsive service. In nautical terms, we’re a yacht, rather than a cruise ship, with the flexibility to make changes that cater to customers’ emerging needs. I’m excited to help us innovate our operations and leverage technologies to build on that advantage—and ultimately empower brokers and correspondents to serve more Non-QM borrowers,” he said.
Drago brings decades of experience, including c-suite positions, to the company. He most recently served as COO for…
Dustin Wells has been named Co-President of Stronghill Capital as it expands into residential lending, the company announced in a press release. Wells, an industry veteran with more than two decades of experience, will head a new executive team focused on expanding Stronghill’s business from commercial into the non-QM, non-agency jumbo, and investor residential spaces. His leadership experience includes many executive-level roles, including COO at Wesley Mortgage, Head of Lending at Knock, and EVP, Mortgage Director at Keystone Bank. “We have a clear purpose as we grow into the Non-QM space and I look forward to bringing depth to Stronghill’s market presence at the residential level with this dynamic leadership team,” said Wells. “This crossover empowers our industry partners by…
The Mortgage Calculator has entered the originations game and is now offering loans through a new entity, Mortgage Calculator Company LLC, the company announced. The company first went solo back in September, when it left its parent company and became a standalone correspondent lender with 200 loan officers. “We put in a lot of work to become a lender,” President Nicholas Hiersche said at that time. “We started as a branch at a bank, to a branch at a brokerage, to a branch at a lender. We are very excited to finally be in total control of our business.” Specializing in Non-QM products, Mortgage Calculator is offering DSCR loans, Bank Statement loans, and Fix and Flip loans. Borrowers can now…
Loosening lending standards are making it easier than ever for gig workers to finance homes. These workers often make enough money to qualify for a loan, but often have a difficult time proving that to lenders. “It is a phenomenon with this gig economy where people can drop in and have an Amazon play, and they’re pulling in $10,000 a month from it. So, these are not traditional type borrowers,” Eric Morgenson, VP of business development at Angel Oak, said on a panel discussing loans for gig workers. Self-employed borrowers are typically asked for contract work 1099s, copies of the last 12 to 24 months of business and personal bank statements, and year-to-date profit-and-loss statements that report revenue, expenses, and…
Non-QM lender Arc Home LLC has appointed Suzy Lindblom as Chief Operating Officer, the company announced in a press release. “Arc Home is well-positioned for steady growth through innovative proprietary products and technology, and I’m thrilled to have been chosen to be the Chief Operating Officer. My goal is to create a seamless customer-focused experience for our clients and homebuyers throughout the entire mortgage loan process,” Lindblom said. Lindblom is an industry veteran with a strong past history of leadership. Prior to Arc Home, she served as COO for First Guaranty Mortgage, and has held the same position at Planet Home Lending. She has also served as Managing Director of Operations at Stearns Lending. She has earned many industry awards,…
Non-QM lender Angel Oak Home Loans has opened five new branches in three states, the company announced. South Carolina now has three additional branches, one in Charleston, led by Ed Powell, SVP of Angel Oak Home Loans’ Consumer Direct Division; one in Columbia, led by Drew Church; and one in Cheraw, also headed by Church. The other two locations are in San Marcos, CA, led by Sean Casey, SVP and Western Regional Sales Manager, and Jacksonville, North Carolina, led by Brian Mitchell, Regional Sales Manager. Angel Oak now has 52 offices across 43 states. These five new branches add to a time of growth for the company, which opened four new offices just last month. “Angel Oak is well equipped…
Lisa Heitzmann has been appointed Chief Operating Officer at non-QM lender Deephaven Mortgage, the company announced in a press release. “I am excited to align Deephaven’s operations to support our positive, pro-borrower culture—where everyone is always looking to say yes. It’s a pleasure to build on this approach, while making it easier for our people and partners to help creditworthy Non-QM borrowers,” said Heitzmann. In this role, Heitzmann will oversee Deephaven’s internal underwriting, wholesale, and correspondent teams. Heitzmann’s background includes credit, risk, compliance, quality, and production. Prior to Deephaven she was a mortgage industry consultant specializing in process assessment and optimization. Her previous positions include Senior Vice President, Home Loans Quality and Operations at Bank of America, and Director, Mortgage…
Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions is focusing on streamlining the process of closing non-qualifying mortgage (non-QM) loans so that it more closely resembles closing an agency loan. “It’s a priority for us,” Angel Oak executive vice president of production Tom Hutchens told the MPA. Angel Oak is reportedly investing in technologies to automate more of the non-QM underwriting process. Non-QM loans are still mostly manually underwritten, while agency lending is almost fully automated. “You think of Rocket Mortgage, where you ‘click a button, get a mortgage,’ and it has almost become the industry norm. It’s not quite that easy. It’s nice to at least make it look like it is,” he said. Non-QMs are sometimes associated with the financial crash of 2008,…
