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Vaultedge Newsletter - California sun, zombie properties...all that the week was!

June 06, 2022

It was warm and sunny! I was here in California to attend the 3rd Annual Non-QM forum organized by INM and I was truly inspired by the competitive spirit of all the industry experts, peers, and competitors. They exuded the same level of enthusiasm about this sector of the market that is growing so rapidly and has so much to offer. The Non-QM forum ended on June 3rd but I was able to gather as much information from thes sessions as I could.

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Most mortgage lenders are on a laying-off spree to cut costs, while a few of them continue opening offices to capitalize on demand from homebuyers. Among them are Geneva Financial, a mortgage lender headquartered in Arizona, which opened a branch location in Chicago, and New Western, a real estate investment firm, which also launched its first office in Chicago, marking its expansion with its 43rd office location in its 19th state. New Western, which specializes in distressed residential investment properties, aims to revitalize $543 million in residential properties in the Chicago market over the next five years. Mortgage lender Planet Home Lending has a new team in Portland, Oregon, where it will focus on borrowers looking to work with home builders. This is a piece of good news for the ones who do not want to be shown the door yet.

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The number of zombie properties (don’t worry not talking about The Walking Dead here)-vacant homes that haven’t been foreclosed on increased by 2.8% on a quarter-to-quarter basis in the first rise since a COVID-related moratorium ended. New York, before the pandemic, had a number of the longest foreclosures timelines in the nation with a mean of 1,103 days in 2019. Within the second quarter, it was the situation for two,041 zombie properties, or 27% of the whole. With regards to properties that have exited foreclosures, among the many roughly 3,300 bank-owned properties, 10.8% had been vacant within the second quarter.

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The war with technology in the mortgage industry is still on. Lenders are in a dilemma about whether to invest in automation or not. With a range of loan automation products and vendors in the market, it's no joke that lenders are confused. What we have noticed well, all of us have noticed, is that the emergence of the self-employed borrower has become abundant in the last two years. The challenge for underwriters is to tally their income from a myriad of sources. Now, even if the underwriter is an expert, going through several documents in the loan package to identify whether the borrower can pay or not, there are chances of miscalculation. And if there are say frequent miscalculations in a week, the effect starts to show in the lender's ROI. Technology then stops being tucked away on a shelf. Vaultedge Income Analyzer has been designed keeping the mortgage lender in mind. It is the most uncomplicated, user-friendly income analyzing tool that requires no special tutorial or training to use. It's as simple as checking an email.

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Our week was filled with meetings, interactions, discussing visions for the future, and of course basking (can't believe I am using this word!) in the Cali sun. How about you What was your inspiration for the week? Let us know.

Happy reading!

Lenders such as Geneva Financial and Planet Home Lending are expanding even as some in the mortgage market resort to layoffs.

New York, previous to the pandemic, had a number of the longest foreclosures timelines in the nation with a mean of 1,103 days in 2019. Within the second quarter, it was the situation for two,041 zombie properties, or 27% of the whole.

MISMO®, today announced the launch of a new guide and sample credit response designed to help industry professionals using MISMO Reference Models v3.4 and v3.5 better report on loans that have been in or are in forbearance.

Mid America will retain its focus on technology, third-party originations and secondary market executions for specialty products while helping the acquirer expand the scope of its operations.

The CFPB reminded lenders they are required by law to disclose the reason a customer was denied credit, even if based on a complex algorithm.

Several Sun Belt cities popular for relocation over the last two years were among markets with the most reduced listing prices in April.