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December 12, 2024

• Conventional Loan Limits

On November 26^th, 2024, FHFA announced new conforming loan limits for 2025. The official announcement raises the conventional conforming loan limit for next year to at least $806,500. Find additional details here.

We will allow Conventional loans to close on or after December 16^th, 2024, utilizing the 2025 loan limits. Locks will need to be valid through 1/1/2025. These loan limits are now active in Polly. If you have any questions, please reach out to Secondary.

• FHA Loan Limits

HUD has increased loan limits effective with case number assignments on or after 1/1/2025.  The new directive raises the FHA one-unit loan limit to at least $524,225.  The full mortgagee letter is available here. These loan limits are now active in Polly.

• Please keep in mind that the maximum loan limit for FHA is determined by the effective date of your case number.  If you have an FHA loan already in process, and the case number has already been assigned, you cannot increase the loan amount to the new limits.

As a reminder, VA has no maximum loan amount for a Veteran with full entitlement available.  When required in cases of only partial available entitlement, the maximum loan amount calculation will be determined by the FHFA county loan limit (same as Conventional).

• Polly Update: Rate Alerts

We are very excited to share that Polly has implemented Rate Alerts. This will allow you on active files to set a rate/price target and once it has hit that target, an email will fire off to you alerting you to lock the loan. Please join the Newscast for a live Demo. Check out the step-by-step guide here.

• Renovation Loans

Renovations loans are eligible to be originated effectively immediately. We will require that you either attended the live Sales training or that you follow the below link and complete the training and quiz. We will not make exceptions to this.

Here’s a walkthrough on pricing these loans. These are a non-delegated UW through Planet Home Lending. Planet has been incredibly helpful and will be an amazing partner to work with.

• Appraisals: Reminders

As a reminder, we have switched to Valligent as our AMC for appraisals. How does this impact you? The process for ordering an appraisal is the same on our side, but the orders will flow directly to Valligent and not through our internal Appraisals team anymore.

Great news: credit card payments will continue to be collected up front for your appraisal orders. The links will still come from VanDyk Mortgage and the same communication will continue as before. You will also be able to send the credit card link for payment as you have in the past.

Please be on the lookout for communications from the team at Valligent regarding your orders. You should still be sending the appraisal to the borrower through ValueLink (unless it’s a VA loan). This month’s Production Roundtable covered this in more detail – check out the recording here!

• • One additional update: when the order shows Accepted by Vendor, that now means Valligent has accepted the order – it hasn’t been assigned to an appraiser yet.
• Continuing Education: Last Call!

ALL licenses expire on 12/31/2024. If you want to maintain your license(s) and renew them for 2025, you will need to complete your Continuing Education (CE / CON ED) before your renewal can be submitted. Please reach out to Stacey Dettling with any questions.

• Reminder: Insurance Mortgagee Clause Change

As a reminder, the insurance order forms in Encompass have been updated to reflect the following:

VanDyk Mortgage Corporation

ISAOA ATIMA

2449 Camelot Ct SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49546

We appreciate your help in ensuring loans include this new mortgagee clause on all homeowners, flood, wind, and/or earthquake policies.

• HR Updates

Benefits 2025

Open Enrollment Complete!

1. • If you did not make any changes, your current plans will automatically roll over to 2025.

Beneficiary Information

1. Basic Group Term Life Insurance
   • Ensure your beneficiaries are added in ADP. Follow these steps:
     • Navigate to Myself → Enrollments.
     • Under Dependents and Beneficiaries, select Manage.
     • Allocate percentages (total must equal 100%) and confirm your details.

2. 401(k) Retirement Savings
   • Update or review your beneficiary information on the Principal
     • Note: Beneficiary details in ADP will not transfer to Principal.
     • Account Login: principal.com

Verify Your Information in ADP for W-2s

It’s time to verify your details in ADP to ensure accurate W-2 forms for 2024. Please:

1. Review Personal Details
   • Confirm your address is correct.
2. Check Tax Withholding
   • Review your W-4 status and exemptions.
3. Update Contact Information
   • Ensure all phone numbers and emails are current.

Access ADP

• Single Sign-On: Click Here
• Browser Login: ADP Workforce Now

 

• New Hires: Welcome!

If you haven’t already, log in to our Welcome to VDM (vfairs.com) site to “like” the photos our recent new hires have added to the photobooth.

• Holiday Contest! 

The festive decorating is underway, and we want to see your holiday spirit!  You can upload your photos to Welcome to VDM, in the VDM Virtual mobile app or email them directly to hr@vandykmortgage.com for us to upload for you.  A prize will be awarded for the submissions receiving the most likes in the photobooth in each category so be sure to check them out!  Submission deadline is 12/20, voting ends on 12/23.

 

 

Agency Updates

Fannie Mae

Limited Cash Out Refinances: Effective immediately, Fannie Mae has added to additional exceptions to limited cash-out (no cash-out) refinances where the requirement is that at least one borrower is an owner (on title) of the subject property at the time of the initial loan application.  The following additional exceptions are permitted with documentation:

1. The borrower on the new loan is currently financially obligated on the loan being paid off.  Ownership must be transferred to the borrower(s) at time of closing.
2. The borrower is paying off an installment land contract that was executed more than 12 months prior to the application for the refinance.

HomeReady Grant Update: Fannie Mae is extending the $2500 Grant for the HomeReady program with some modifications.  A loan is still eligible for the $2500 Grant when the loan is HomeReady and the borrower(s) AMI is less than or equal to 50% of the AMI, however, Fannie has added the additional requirement that at least one borrower on the loan be a first-time homebuyer.  This will be effective for loans submitted to Underwriting on and after 12/16/2024 and/or loans that are funding after 1/31/2025 to allow for delivery requirements to be met. See full details here.

 

 

Freddie Mac

Treatment of authorized user accounts in debt payment-to-income ratio calculation: Freddie Mac has made updates to Authorized User Accounts that a monthly payment on the account must be included in the debt payment-to-income ratio only when required by Loan Product Advisor (LPA) Feedback Messages.  This is an example of what the Feedback Message will look like in the body of the AUS:

<<SelRepos::Alphanumeric>> shows authorized user account(s) for <<SelBorr::Alphanumeric>>.  LPA assessment is not valid unless Seller documents: 1) another Borrower owns the account, 2) Borr’s spouse owns the account, 3) Borr has been making pmnts on the acc. for last 12 mos, or 4) the account(s) have insignificant impact on Borr’s credit history based on number, age, type, size and pmnt history of Borr’s own Tradelines.

Restricted stock (RS) and restricted stock unit (RSU) income: Freddie Mac has updated the requirements for restricted stock (RS) and restricted stock units (RSU) income as follows:

• Adding definitions of performance-based RS and RSU income and time-based RS and RSU income
• Expanding our requirements for calculation of qualifying income from performance-based RS and RSU to permit the use of less than 24 months (but not less than 12 months) in the calculation when the history of receipt of income with the current employer is between 12 and 24 months. The Seller must support the use of a shorter timeframe in the calculation with a written analysis and compensating factors.
• Expanding our requirements to state that RS and RSU awarded on a recurring basis must be likely to continue for at least three years and specifying that nonrecurring awards must have at least three years’ vesting and distribution remaining on the vesting schedule. Currently, the Guide requires that all time-based RS and RSU income must continue for at least three years.
• Replacing the 52-week average stock price with a 200-day simple moving average stock price as the basis for calculating RS and RSU income. Additionally, we are retiring the requirement for the average stock price to be determined as of the Application Received Date and will accept an average dated in accordance with standard age of documentation requirements (refer to Section 5102.4).

RSU Guide Section 5301.1 https://guide.freddiemac.com/app/guide/section/5301.1

RSU Guide Section 5303.1 https://guide.freddiemac.com/app/guide/section/5303.1

 

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Upcoming Events and Reminders

Miss a training? You’ll find our monthly newscast and Iron Sharpens Iron recordings in the VDM Vault. Department-specific trainings are shared in their respective Seafile folders.

Don’t forget: you can find invitations on our shared calendar under What’s Happening at VDMC.net (all times posted on the What’s Happening calendar are EST)

• Deal Desk: Every Tuesday @ 1:30pm Eastern
• Production Roundtable: Wednesday, December 11 @ 1pm Eastern REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.
• VanDyk Mortgage Newscast: Thursday, December 12 @ 1pm Eastern
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, December 17 @ 11am Eastern

 

 

Loan Changes? Communication is Key!

Please don’t forget to communicate with your processor and underwriter (closer too, if applicable) when making changes to the loan file. If you’re altering the loan program, lock, or other details – we should be keeping everyone in the loop. We appreciate your help!

 

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ROV Reminders

As a reminder, the ROV process must be initiated through the ROV Disclosure that is sent to the borrower in initial disclosures and again with the appraisal delivery. (Reminder: We will demonstrate delivering the appraisal in ValueLink during the Production Roundtable call on Wednesday.)

It is best to prep borrowers for this process PRIOR to ordering the appraisal so they understand what is required in order to submit an ROV. Remind borrowers that they can share the link with their realtor to assist – we only get one shot at the ROV, so we want to make sure our submission contains the appropriate supporting information

 

25 Points