The signing of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 brings changes to VA home loans for the year 2020. The bill extends disability benefits to a larger number of veterans who served in the Vietnam War and were potentially exposed to disease linked chemicals. The Veteran’s Administration will be looking at claims from previously denied veterans as well as new claims that are submitted. Budget estimates for the expanded disability coverages could be as high as $5.5 billion. To account for the budget increase the VA is implementing changes on home loans for veterans.

Quoting rates online through our Marksman platform has never been easier! You are able to quote the products you want, when you want to the industry’s top online marketplaces. There are many positives to online quoting and when integrating all or most of the below strategies into your current workflow you will be setting your business up for the most success when it comes to lead management and brand visibility.

FHA has made a change to the Cash-Out Refinance Mortgages that went into effect September 1, 2019, reducing the maximum LTV’s and CLTV’s from 85% to 80%. According to HUD Mortgagee Letter 2019-11sent August 1, 2019, when housing prices are on the rise, the amount of Cash-Out Refinances will soon begin to increase.

Studies have shown a link between increased foreclosures and homeowners having exercised a Cash-Out transaction.  As housing markets begin to decline and homeowners start to realize they have negative equity, they soon find themselves in an unfortunate situation dealing with foreclosure proceedings. 

Mortech’s integration with Encompass® by Ellie Mae® helps provide lenders with a pricing engine and secondary desk all in one. Eliminating the need for manual data entry you are able to automate the transfer of detailed loan pricing information from Mortech to Encompass. You are also able to create a custom, detailed experience that fits your business’ needs, because we understand that not every business is the same.

In July we launched a new release within Encompass that brought with it exciting new enhancements within theintegration. These new features have taken into account your feedback on the integration as well as added new updates that customize the experience even more.

This week on Meet Mortech: Customer Success Managers we want you to meet our newest team member, Emily Meeske!

Favorite part of the job: This job keeps me on my toes! I learn something new every day. 

Favorite things to do on his days off: I like to spend my days off with friends or family.

Favorite place to travel: Anywhere with a beach!

 
Advice for using our pricing engine: Don't be afraid to play around within the system. Practice makes perfect!

To learn more about Marksman, click here! https://www.mortech.com/mortgage-pricing-engine

The CFPB is planning to remove the QM Patch that allows loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac an exemption from meeting some of the underwriting requirements set forth in the Ability to Repay/Qualified Mortgage rule.  The expiration date is set for January 2021, but many think this is not enough time to adjust.

The most notable impact to the GSEs is the 43 debt-to-income (DITI) requirement.  The patch allows the GSEs to exceed the 43 DTI requirement but still qualify for safe harbor.  For instance, Fannie Mae currently allows up to 50% DTI for many of their products.

The world we live in today is moving more digital with every passing minute. To keep ahead of your competitors and to make sure that you are always in front of potential customers you must have some sort of digital presence. These terms apply to the mortgage world as well! According to Zillow Group’s 2018 Consumer Housing Trends Report, more than half (55 percent) of all buyers who obtain a mortgage use online resources to seek out financing. This feat mi

ght seem daunting, but with Mortech’s Rate APIs it could never be simpler.

Full Rate Table Customer Experience

Pull all of your loan options along with the rates that go along with each scenario into a full rate table onto your website. This gives your customers the full shopping experience with having all of the information in one place where they can match their needs to what you offer. Creating this easy to use customer experience can help drive revenue growth for your business.

Lower interest rates have historically given homeowners the green light to refinance their homes in order to lower theirmonthly payments. Even if you think you have a great rate already and won't benefit from refinancing your mortgage, you may be mistaken. There are a multitude of reasons for refinancing your mortgage. Here are just a few:

Cash out your home equity

Are you scared to move because of the hassle of getting another home? Are you not in a city where Zillow Offers can alleviate much of the stress experienced when changing homes? You can cash out your home equity and renovate the home you have. Build an addition, modernize your kitchen, or give your walls a fresh coat of paint. With the right amount of equity in your home, you may even have payments that are comparable to what you had before with a home that feels like new.

We are excited to announce that Mortech is partnering with Blend, a digital lending platform that helps grow a lenders mortgage business by streamlining workflow and closing loans with customers faster than ever. Customers are given an easy-to-use application that helps them understand the mortgage process. With this new integration, the two solutions are looking to improve the digital mortgage experience not only for lenders, but home buyers too.

The point of sale integration between Mortech and Blend went live in early June. This partnership is looking to seamlessly bring together your digital mortgage experience by centralizing data and documents needed to complete a loan along with access to mortgage quotes from our pricing engine.

Looking for an easy way to save your time and money when it comes to marketing to your current customers? Our predictive analytics tool, Mortech Protection, helps you identify customers in your database who are in need of a new mortgage to finance their next home. You then can use the data we provide you to better align yourself to be the first lender to reach out to these customers before they drop out of your mortgage portfolio.

Our pre-MLS data helps you be informed earlier in the process when someone is looking to sell their home. With this information you can increase your chances to be the first touch for these soon to be home sellers before their homes hits the MLS. Knowing which customers are likely to sell in the next 90 days can cut your marketing spend almost in half when you have a smaller, more precise group to market to. Various outreach marketing practices can help you get your name in front of these customers, here are a few of our examples that can help you engage your customers with the right message at the right time.