We are excited to announce that Mortech is now integrated with Ruuster, a homebuying management platform looking to empower thoughtful and ambitious homebuyers throughout their entire homebuying journey. With this new integration, the two solutions are looking to increase transparency into the homebuying process as well as simplify the digital mortgage experience not only for lenders, but homebuyers too.

Over the past several weeks lenders have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by tightening mortgage eligibility standards. Since mid-March, numerous lenders have stiffened the credit requirements such as increasing the minimum FICO credit score, increasing the debt-to-income ratio, and lowering the allowed percentage for loan-to-value. Lock-day restrictions have also been imposed for 45 days or greater. 

Lenders have also suspended various types of products such as Cash-Outs, HELOCs, Non-Conforming Jumbo Loans and Non-Conventional Portfolios, among other specialty programs.

As a lender, you have most likely been shifting your focus these past couple of months to borrowers looking to refinance their mortgage. The time is now though, especially moving into the month of June, to start thinking about your purchase leads again. Amid the current world state people are still looking to buy or sell homes and when the time comes for them to need financing, you want to make sure you are top of mind for these borrowers. 

Overall visits to for-sale listings rebounded in April, and was even slightly higher than April 2019. 

For-purchase mortgage applications are now up year-over-year, 54% higher than lows hit in April.

With the current state of the world we are in - being a part of the digital landscape for mortgage rates is essential to seeing business growth. By creating an easy to use online experience for your customers who are now researching mortgage rates online, you can make sure you stay ahead of your competitors. 

Mortech’s product and pricing engine APIs can help push your live rates to websites, point-of-sale solutions, smart applications and more. We have worked hard to create a streamlined onboarding process, and currently most lenders see this integration implemented in as little as two days! What could be more simple? 

This week on Meet Mortech we want to introduce you all to our Partner Relationship Manager, Kent Seevers! 

Favorite part of the job: My favorite part of the job is the connectedness. Not only am I working with awesome people at Mortech and Zillow doing exciting things, but I get to collaborate with awesome people at our partner's companies who are also doing exciting things.

Favorite things to do on his days off: My new hobby du jour is flying gliders at Blair Municipal Airport.

Favorite places to travel: Long Pine, NE

Here at Mortech we pride ourselves in the great partnerships we have with various companies in the mortgage space. Point of sale integrations, loan origination systems, rate marketplaces and more - with these partnerships we are looking to automate day-to-day workflow for lenders so they can spend more time on growing their business and creating relationships with their customers versus manually pushing leads through the mortgage process.

We are grateful to have been named one of HousingWire’s 2020 TECH100™  top mortgage companies who are revolutionizing the mortgage lending process, announced last week by HousingWire.

This year HousingWire decided on their winning list of mortgage companies by focusing its attention on companies that are currently launching the digital mortgage space to the next level. The list includes companies that focus on every aspect of the mortgage process from servicing and secondary marketing to online rate quoting. The goal of creating an end-to-end digital mortgage experience is top of mind for all winning companies.

With 56% of buyers putting less than 20% down on their home mortgage, according to Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2019, providing low down payment programs to borrowers who are shopping online can help you get ahead in 2020. We are excited to announce that we are now offering HomeReady Conforming 15- and 30-Year Fixed products for online quoting across our Marketplace partners.

What is a HomeReady mortgage?

A HomeReady mortgage is a first mortgage, purchase, or limited cash-out refinance transaction that is specifically designed for creditworthy, low-income borrowers who are looking to put down as little as 3% on their home mortgage. They can be used for both first-time home buyers and repeat borrowers. These products also allow for co-borrowers on the mortgage and contributions made from others living in the home. This is a great benefit for millennials who are looking to buy a home with friends or family members and do not have enough money to fund the loan themselves.

This week on Meet Mortech we want to introduce you all to one of our new Customer Success Managers, Dustin Giddings! 

Favorite part of the job: The best part about working for Zillow is the culture and how they take care of their employees. Mortech is in the Midwest and has a lot of the Midwest values. My favorite part about the job is building the relationships with the customers we interact with on a daily basis.

Favorite things to do on his days off: My favorite thing to do is spending the day at our lake/cabin where the girls can swim all day long.

Favorite places to travel: Ireland

Your loan origination system is already a great tool to keep you organized with your borrower requests and help them move from lead to close in an efficient way. Why not add in another layer to make your life easier and to keep moving through borrower leads faster than ever? By integrating your current loan origination system with our pricing engine, Marksman, you will see less manual work, be provided with one central location where you can move through the mortgage process with ease and stay relevant within the digital age.