May 9, 2024
- Pump Up The Volume: The Summer Remix
We are delighted to confirm Brittany Hodak will be back to present an amazing keynote session followed by a focus workshop! Mark your calendars for greatness happening on June 20th from 1-2:30 EST and get pumped up to enjoy this virtual summer sales rally! We will also host a Sr Management Panel and Kahoot game – additional details will be coming soon. The Pump Up the Volume fly-in website is being updated to accommodate these events – anyone who didn’t attend February’s virtual fly-in can register for Remix at VanDyk Fly In (vfairs.com).
While we are working on this summer glow-up, the Pump Up the Volume site will not be available. You can access the prior sessions on VDMC.net in the Production Support Seafile Fly-In 2024 folder – and once we go live, you will be able to access everything on the site again. Be sure to download the VDM Virtual mobile app and get your summer jams mix-tape ready!
- The Business of Closing Loans
At VanDyk Mortgage, teamwork is not just a buzzword – it’s our driving force. We come together, utilizing our diverse skills and strengths, with one common goal in mind: closing mortgage loans. Our resources are vast and varied, ensuring that all options are exhausted to provide the best possible outcomes for our clients. Before you ever turn a borrower away, we want to be sure you have checked all scenarios and scoured every outlet, including broker partners. With ever-changing guidelines and new programs coming online constantly, it’s possible a loan that was denied yesterday could be approved today.
AskUW@vandykmortgage.com, ProductionSupport@vandykmortgage.com, Deal Desk calls, Iron Sharpens Iron, Origination Nation, Branch Managers, Sales Managers, Department Managers, and co-workers… we have hundreds of years of combined experience. Bounce things off one another, ask for suggestions and keep pushing. If the deal can be done, we want to figure out a way!
Speaking of resources: don’t forget to check out Welcome to VDM, Howee Shared Docs in Seafile, and our What’s Happening Calendar. The Home Tab in Encompass provides contact information for our UW team and turn times, as well as a link to the Encompass Resource Center. There you’ll find training and tools to enhance your Encompass experience. For a deeper dive into the Resource Center, join our Production Round Table this month!
- Chase Community Lending/Nexbank: Reminder
Reminder that the Chase Community Lending and the Nexbank products are both non-delegated underwrites, meaning the investor underwrites the loans. Please make sure you are submitting and resubmitting your files in a timely manner as we must adhere to the investors turn times and don’t have the ability to submit rush requests. The pricing on these products is substantially better so flipping in house last minute is a costly and stressful endeavor.
- Floify Co-Mortgagor Updates
INCREDIBLE NEWS!!! Effective Monday 5/13: Floify will NO LONGER REQUIRE a separate loan flow for co-mortgagors/additional borrower pairs. The process for adding an existing Encompass loan to Floify has been updated to reflect this change and is attached for you to review. You can also watch a demonstration of this updated process.
Remember, all changes to a loan need to be made in Encompass. Once you save your changes, Floify will reflect those updates.
- Reminder: Closing Costs/Discount Points Locked Down
With the last Encompass update, there was a forced lock implemented for the closing cost and discount point fields on the URLA Lender form in Encompass. Files effected were disclosed on or before 4/6 – the great news is funds to close on the LE and CD have been correct, so borrowers have been given accurate figures, however, AUS picks up the funds to close from our URLA so there may be some cash to close or eligibility issues needing attention.
The list of impacted files was sent to TCs and processors, so most loans should already be resolved. But if you notice these fields locked down, please unlock and re-run AUS/aiUW to confirm eligibility.
- Tech Corner: Howee in Teams
Did you know you can chat with Howee in Teams? Click on Apps, search for Howee and click Open – it’s that simple! Howee operates in the same fashion as he does on VDMC.net – you can even chat with him from the Teams mobile app.
- eClose Email Reminders
Email reminders were implemented starting 5/1/24 for incomplete eClosing docs. Please see the attached eClose Reminder Email for more details.
- ICYMI: HomeReady/Home Possible: $2,500 Grant Option
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have launched a $2,500 grant program designed to help very low-income borrowers. To qualify for this program, borrowers need to be eligible for either HomeReady or Home Possible and have income at or below 50% AMI. AUS findings will contain the following messaging if the borrower qualifies. See the attached how-to for setting up your loan to reflect this grant.
aiUW will also add conditions regarding this grant, for both eligibility and also ineligibilty – see below:
- Notes on Quality Control
As you’re all aware, we have been experiencing more stringent post-closing reviews by our investors. We want to bring some recent concerns to your attention so we can prevent future stressful situations with borrowers.
- When qualifying your borrower utilizing an employment contract, be sure to review your underwriting and agency requirements. Have conversations with your borrowers regarding the expectations within the first 30 days after closing – most agencies require the borrower to produce their first pay stub in order to deliver the loan. It is beneficial to keep communication open with these borrowers until we have provided all required documentation.
- Other recent issues involve fluctuating earnings and 1099 income. In both cases, these income types were not acceptable to close on an offer letter per the agency guidelines – and may result in an unsaleable/repurchased loan.
- Welcome to VDM: Virtual Meeting Space
Have you accessed our company virtual meeting space, Welcome to VDM yet? Did you know we have department specific details, handy hot links (shortcuts), training courses, games, and meetings available here? All employees have access to this site and are encouraged to utilize the resources via the VDM Virtual mobile app. Check it out today Welcome to VDM (vfairs.com)
- Marketing Updates
- Want a chance to win a Nespresso for your office? Don’t forget about the open house challenge. If you haven’t participated in the challenge yet, it’s not too late. Send a note to VanDykMarketing@vandykmortgage.com, and we will include you in our teams channel!
- Don’t forget to record your BombBomb videos. Last month, we launched new Lead and Prospect journeys, providing you with a great opportunity to get in front of your clients early in the process. Don’t miss out; record your videos today!
- Birdeye auto-replies are here! Responding to your reviews is a best practice that helps raise your visibility in the local market. Even better, it can now be easily automated with auto-replies through the vendor. If you are interested, please submit a marketing ticket here: https://marketing.vdmc.net/.
- Realtors Wanted! The Marketing team is currently working on invitations to send to your realtor partners for Brittany Hodak’s keynote in June. We are looking forward to a great turn out!
- HR Updates
Welcome to our most recent new hires! We are delighted to announce the following have joined our team. Be sure to give them a warm welcome and log in to our Welcome to VDM (vfairs.com) site to “like” the photos they have added to the photobooth:
Gucci Singh Branch Manager, Branch 261, CA
Chuck Terry Loan Officer, Branch 261, CA
Lupe Alvarado Loan Officer, Branch 261, CA
Mary Palmer Loan Officer, Branch 261, CA
Marissa Bastida PT BDA, Branch 261, CA
Tyson Williams Loan Officer, Branch 200, ID
Maria Dennis Loan Officer, Branch 259, Utah
Joell Young LOA, Branch 208, GA
Dawn Hall Loan Officer, Branch 453, FL
Agency Updates
Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae has provided further clarification on Trust Income to include the following:
- Trust verification documentation must clearly identify the date the Trust was created.
- Trust verification documentation may include a letter from an accountant or attorney who has reviewed the Trust’s documentation, when the trustee’s statement or other documents are not available or when the borrower is trustee.
- Trusts created within 12 months of the loan application date and funded by the borrower’s employment-related assets may still be used as income but must meet the income calculation and all other requirements in Employment-Related Assets as Qualifying Income.
- When variable Trust income has been received for less than 24 months, but not less than 12 months, this can be considered as stable income when other positive factors are present that reasonably offset the shorted income history in alignment with standard variable income guidelines.
- For variable Trust income, copies of the Trust’s federal income tax returns may be used as an alternate to the borrower’s personal tax returns.
Freddie Mac
Effective for LPA submissions or resubmissions on and after May 5, 2024, Freddie Mac is allowing loans where no borrower has a credit score to utilize LPA’s cash flow assessment. In short, this means that if LPA includes a feedback message that indicates positive Borrower cash flow was identified, non-traditional credit is not required to be documented! For more information on Borrower cash flow included in LPA’s assessment, visit the Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Guide here https://guide.freddiemac.com/app/guide/section/5201.1
USDA
This month, there were several updates to the USDA Handbook. Check out Updates to HB-1-3555, Chapters 9, 10 and 16. One highlight is a change to the maximum insurance deductible. The VDMC Insurance Guidelines have been updated to reflect this change and are attached.
Chapter 16 – Closing the Loan and Requesting the Guarantee
- Updated the maximum insurance deductible permitted to 5% of the total coverage amount for hazard insurance and $10,000 for flood insurance.
- Clarified that when permitting a high deductible, lenders must be mindful of the applicant’s repayment ability to ensure the deductible selected is reasonable and will not cause undue hardship on the applicant.
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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 at 1:30pm Eastern
- VanDyk Mortgage Newscast: TODAY, May 9 at 1pm Eastern
- Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, May 21 @ 11am Eastern
- Encompass Reports Training: Thursday, May 16 @ 1pm Eastern
- Production Roundtable: Wednesday, May 22 @ 1pm Eastern REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.
Additional Training Opportunities
- Freddie Mac has several training offerings available in May and June. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!
Affirm/Klarna/Afterpay: Documentation Requirements
We need to document the terms and conditions for “buy now, pay later” services. These creditors offer extended terms out beyond 10 months, which will require us to document the balance and monthly payment for review. We may need to include the debt if it doesn’t meet agency requirements to omit for installment debt less than 10 payments.
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25 Points