By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Leaders in lending are talking about the possible ramifications of the legal actions being taken against the National Association of Realtors, including the president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage.
In October, a Missouri jury ordered the association and some of the nation’s biggest real estate brokerages to pay almost $1.8 billion in damages after they found that commissions were artificially inflated to pay agents. Fresh off winning the verdict, attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a new lawsuit that seeks class-action status covering anyone in the country who sold a home in the last five years.
NAR’s President Tracy Kasper said in a statement that they will appeal the liability finding, and in the interim, will ask…
POS provider Floify launched a one-stop lending platform for brokers, Floify Broker Edition.
The platform is built on the foundation of the Floift POS platform and features rule-based automation to promote efficiency. It also provides a borrower-friendly interface that boosts application pull-through.
Floify says brokers can use Broker Edition in place of a traditional loan origination system or add it to their preferred list of products.
“Floify Broker Edition is born out of a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by mortgage brokers, which include juggling a burdensome administrative workload, regulatory compliance, and multiple technologies with minimal support,” said Floify President and General Manager Sofia Rossato.
“The platform is designed to make mortgage lending easier and more cost-effective while…
Earnings for the third quarter of 2023 are out offering a view into how lenders did. Here’s a snapshot of how some of the nation’s top lenders handled this summer.
Rocket Mortgage
Rocket reported solid earnings with a net revenue boost of 12.8% YOY, though profits remained effectively flat from Q2 at $1.2 billion. Originations totaled $22.2 billion, down 13.2% YOY and also basically the same from last quarter, no big surprise given current market conditions. Its gain on sales margin rose for a third straight quarter, up 2.76%.
“I am very proud of our team for delivering strong results against a challenging economic backdrop,” said Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Companies. “In today’s climate, innovation is essential. With the…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage says they are investing in technology and hiring new team members in preparation for a turn in rates.
Leaders at UWM Holdings Corporation announced their third-quarter results on Wednesday. Total loan origination volume was $29.7 billion, of which $25.9 billion was purchase volume.
Net income was reported at $301 million, which includes a $92.9 million increase in the fair value of mortgage servicing rights and diluted earnings at $0.15 per share. This was the second consecutive quarter of profits for UWM despite industry-wide challenges.
Mat Ishbia, chairman and CEO of UWMC, said in a statement that the strength of the company and the broker channel is on full display.
“While others…
BY JARED WHITLEY
To steal from Detroit rapper Eminem, “Will the real Suzanne Okun please stand up? Please stand up? Please stand up?”
Because she’s strangely hard to find.
According to a 2019 biography posted in the industry publication Scotsman Guide, Okun was “a successful executive with more than 25 years of success in the financial-marketing and mortgage industries … [with] a proven record of increasing volume while improving efficiencies and encouraging interaction.”
But, interestingly, no photo of her appears with her biography, no relevant social media accounts were publicly available, and several phone numbers associated with her were either wrong or no longer in service.
While going off the grid is unusual, what industry observers find even more odd…
By JARED WHITLEY
Storm clouds continue to hang over some U.S. markets. Four real estate titans have recently lost their Fortune 500 status. There are dire predictions specifically for the commercial real estate sector. Forbes summed up the housing market this week with, “Despite being well into the spring homebuying season, the housing market is still experiencing a winter chill.”
But for one company, the bad news is much worse.
Two lawsuits have been filed against Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage, with former underwriters accusing the company of a variety of misdeeds, including:
· Retaliation
· Hostile workplace environment
· Gender/sexual harassment
· Failure to pay minimum wages and overtime
This is the latest of a long list of accusations against…
By STEPHEN L. MILLER
The courtside theatrics of Phoenix Suns owner and sports thespian Mat Ishbia are more proof that the NBA is turning into professional soccer on the hardwood.
Soccer is notorious for players who practice the art of the flop: Flailing and falling as if in the throes of injury, only to magically recover once the whistle has been blown in their favor.
On Sunday night, however, the Jon Lovitz routine (“I’m an actor!”) made its way from the players to ownership.
With just over two minutes to play in the Suns’ eventual win, their guard Josh Okogie fell into the courtside stands while attempting to retrieve a loose ball.
The ball found itself in the hands of…
United Wholesale Mortgage is offering a 1% down payment product in a bid to bring in more borrowers.
The Conventional 1% Down allows buyers to pay 1% towards their new home. UWM will then pay an additional 2%, up to $4,000, for a combined 3% down payment.
“We are bringing back the Conventional 1% Down to give independent mortgage brokers a competitive edge with borrowers and real estate agents, while also helping make homeownership more affordable and accessible for borrowers across the country,” said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of UWM.
“We’re going to continue developing products and solutions that will help get more borrowers into homes faster, easier, and cheaper, and Conventional 1% Down is a great example of…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A Florida mortgage broker challenging United Wholesale Mortgage’s ultimatum agreement wants to include recent disclosures and statements related to the company’s successes to help prove his antitrust claims.
Daniel Okavage of The Okavage Group in St. Augustine is pursuing a federal class-action suit on behalf of all mortgage brokers that work, or have worked, with UWM and sustained damages after the company’s CEO, Mat Ishbia, announced in March of 2021 they could no longer simultaneously do business with Rocket Pro TPO or Fairway Independent Mortgage.
Okavage’s attorney, Robert Goodman, says thousands of brokers were cut off from opportunities to refer customers to the mortgage lender of their choice, resulting in business losses.
Lawyers for UWM have moved…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
An investor has filed a class action complaint claiming he and other shareholders were misled prior to a merger deal involving United Wholesale Mortgage.
Lawyers for Richard Delman say false and misleading disclosures induced public stockholders of Gores Holdings IV, LLC to invest in a merger rather than redeem their shares, causing monetary damages.
Company leaders for UWM and Gores announced the deal in September 2020, saying upon completing the transaction UWM would go public and be listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “UWMC.”
“The transaction values UWM at approximately $16.1 billion, or 9.5x the company’s estimated 2021 adjusted net income of approximately $1.7 billion,” a press release stated.
Alec Gores, chairman and CEO of The…
