By JARED WHITLEY
Mat Ishbia is building his dream home in Michigan, and he’s tearing down five other homes to do it. It’s a display of extravagance that has housing advocates and social justice activists looking askance.
At a time when Michigan is expected to lose thousands of affordable housing units over the next few years, particularly in the hard-hit Detroit area, the United Wholesale Mortgage CEO is building a 60,000-square-foot mansion in the Motor City suburb of Bloomfield Township. To build his 14-acre estate, Ishbia is tearing down his current 22,000-square-foot house, which is just eight years old, as well as five neighboring homes.
Once completed, the Ishbia compound will include a trampoline park, reflecting pool, statues, tennis court,…
The country’s two largest mortgage lenders reported unexpected profits in the second quarter of 2023.
United Wholesale Mortgage and Rocket Companies both bounced back last quarter after dismal results at the beginning of the year.
UWM reported a net income of $228.8 million, making up for losses of $138.6 million in the first quarter of 2023 and $62.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
It originated $31.8 billion in loans, up from $22.3 billion in Q1. The boost coincided with warm weather bolstering home sales, though this past spring buying season was tepid compared to historical norms.
“UWM continues to prove that regardless of the interest rate environment, our business model, coupled with the broker channel being the best…
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 JARED WHITLEY
Despite Mat Ishbia’s repeated claims that his company, United Wholesale Mortgage, has never laid anyone off; the facts – and common sense – belie his statement, as UWM’s employee count is down 30 percent over the past two years.
“While my competitors are cutting investments and laying off thousands and thousands of people, we continue to invest in technology, take care of our people, and have never laid off a single team member in our 37-year history,” Ishbia said at a recent webcast townhall.
But, according to the company’s annual report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, UWM slashed its workforce by nearly a third – from a height of 8,600 in January 2021 down to…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The executive vice president of Rocket Pro TPO told brokers across the country on Monday that they are willing to indemnify those who choose to fight United Wholesale Mortgage’s anti-competition ultimatum.
During a live-streamed Ignite Live event, Mike Fawaz said he believes the ultimatum was one of the worst things to happen to independent mortgage brokers in 50 years.
“The ultimatum uses lawyers and contracts to limit choice – both for the broker and for the clients the broker services,” Fawaz said. “There’s no other way to put it – the ultimatum is immoral, reduces broker incomes, and increases the rates the clients of brokers will pay.”
Fawaz said that they stand behind brokers who want to…
Andrew Hubacker has been named Chief Financial Officer at United Wholesale Mortgage, the company announced in a press release.
Hubacker is taking on the role immediately. As CFO, he will oversee the company’s finances, including accounting, reporting, compliance, tax, treasury, budgeting, forecasting, and liquidity management.
“I’m humbled to be named UWM’s Chief Financial Officer,” said Hubacker.
“From helping to take the company public through the largest SPAC in history, to becoming the #1 overall mortgage lender in the nation, my experiences at UWM have been nothing short of extraordinary. The positive mindset and service mentality every single team member and leader have here is truly unmatched. I’m eager to continue elevating and enhancing the role and capabilities of our finance…
Guild Mortgage is rolling out a new rate buydown program, the company announced in a press release. The program, Payment Advantage, applies to any borrower locking in a conventional mortgage. Guild will then pay 1% of the borrower’s interest rate for one year. The borrower’s monthly payment will increase after that period, but they may then be eligible to refinance. The program is available until March 31, 2023. “Freddie Mac reported that the average commitment interest rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.90% in October, more than double the rate of 2.96% across all of 2021,” said Guild CEO Mary Ann McGarry. “With the rising costs of loans in today’s increasingly competitive housing market, we want to continue…
