VanDyk Mortgage News: November 13, 2024

November 13, 2024

• Virtual Ops Fly-In

Our Holiday Hits operations fly-in is fast approaching!  We are looking forward to a fun couple of days and hope to see you there.  We encourage you to log in to the Virtual Fly-In website VanDyk Fly In and ensure your access is set before the event kicks off on the 15^th.  See the attached announcement email and contact ProductionSupport@vandykmortgage.com with any questions

• Continuing Education: Reminder!

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.

• Condo Approval Clarification

Freddie Mac released their own Condo Project Advisor this year to offer additional opportunities for flexible condo project reviews.  We would like to take this opportunity to provide clarification on the different colors of Project Assessment Requests (PAR) and what they mean.

• Purple Project Certified PAR Status: Submit for review to The Condo Vault / InterIsland Insurance Review ONLY
• Green PAR Status*: Submit for review to The Condo Vault / InterIsland OR you can submit for Project Certified Review with Freddie Mac (you are responsible for obtaining the required documents).
• Yellow PAR Status* – Submit for review to The Condo Vault / InterIsland (Full / Limited); all conditions on the Feedback Certificate Assessment Summary section have been resolved for the loan to be eligible for delivery to Freddie Mac.
• Red / Not Eligible Status – Loan is NOT ELIGIBLE for sale to Freddie Mac.
• Incomplete Assessment – Submit for review to The Condo Vault / InterIsland (Full / Limited).

*For Green/Yellow PAR Findings being submitted to The Condo Vault: Include the PAR findings and a note in the notes box with the order.

We encourage you to sign up for one of Freddie Mac’s Condo Project Advisor Webinars and review the resources here. Check out the Freddie Mac CPA FAQ here.

• Condo Documentation Buckets

Great news! We have simplified the Condo eFolder buckets. The 2600 (Condo): All Condo Documents bucket can be used for ALL condo documents besides Master Insurance Policies and Condo Approval.

If you have a property that needs to be declined due to the condo not being approved, please upload the declined project documentation to the 2600 (Condo): All Condo Documents bucket as well. These documents are required in order for the denial to be finalized.

• IT Updates
  • Personal Devices – VanDyk Mortgage requires the use of corporate computers to conduct business but acknowledges that personal devices may be needed in specific situations. Employees are required to obtain prior approval and ensure their devices comply with stringent security and hardware standards. They must also agree to security protocols, including full-disk encryption, IT monitoring, and the possibility of data wipes if security breaches occur or compliance is not maintained
  • Working abroad/vacation – VanDyk Mortgage prohibits access to company systems from foreign countries except under approved, exceptional circumstances to protect data from security threats. Employees must adhere to strict security measures, such as using a VPN, multi-factor authentication, and a BitLocker Boot Pin, when granted access for travel. Domestic travel access also requires adherence to security protocols, to ensure no disruption in access.
• Title Request Form – Bond Loan Update

The Title Request Form for Bond loans has been updated in Encompass. Previously, the form “Title Request Form (Bond Loan)” printed the Florida Housing agency info by default. This form now prints a blank bond agency name/address for you to fill in for any state DPA loan. “Title Request Form (FL Housing Bond Loan)” will now be used for Florida Housing loans.

• Renovation

We are almost ready to launch our in-house FHA 203k and Homestyle Renovation products. If you want access to these products, the branch origination team (LO, TC, Processor, etc) must all attend this training on Tuesday, November 19 at 2pm ET. Invitations for training will be sent soon – watch your inbox!

• Polly Changes

We are excited to announce that Polly is now able to read the loan file address and auto-generate a census tract for Chase Community Lending loans! Once the full address is entered, the codes will generate. The below is the new screen you will see when pricing a loan or running a scenario. Another thing you will notice is the removal of the CLTV/HCLTV fields, those generate based on the loan scenario and will show at the top of your screen.

• HR Updates

What’s the point of no shave in November?  

No Shave November is a campaign created to grow awareness by letting your hair grow for 30 days. Men are challenged to grow out their facial hair, beard, mustache, whatever they can stand! This movement was created to raise awareness of Men’s Health concerns, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health issues.

Is No-Shave November for guys only?

Can females do No-Shave November? From baseball teams to news crews and police forces, guys certainly get most of the attention when it comes to no shave—for obvious reasons. Men like to “let it grow” when it comes to bears and mustaches. However, women can also participate.

• New Hires: Welcome!

We are delighted to welcome our most recent new hires!  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:

Agency Updates

Fannie Mae

You have likely heard and seen the rumblings around Value Acceptance (Fannie Mae Appraisal Waivers) increasing LTVs to 90%.  We are happy to confirm that this is correct!  Beginning in Quarter 1 of 2025, for purchase loans for primary residences and second homes, the eligible LTV ratios for Value Acceptance will increase from 80% to 90% and Value Acceptance + Property Data will increase from 80% to the program limits.  Check out the full details here.

FHA

HUD has published updates to their New Construction property elevation requirements where the subject property is in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).  The basis of these updates is to decrease potential damage from floods, increase the safety and soundness of the property for residents, and provide more resilient communities in flood hazard areas.  The change requires that the lowest floor in newly constructed structures locates within the 1 – percent-annual-chance (100-year) floodplain be built at least two feet above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE).  This new elevation standard is applicable to New Construction with building permit application submission dates on and after January 1, 2025.  This does NOT apply to Manufactured Homes.

See full details in Mortgagee Letter 2024-20 with the 4000.1 updates to this announcement.

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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, November 13 @ 2pm Eastern REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.
• VanDyk Mortgage Newscast: Thursday, November 14 @ 1pm Eastern
• Virtual Ops Fly-In: https://vandykflyin.vfairs.com/ – For more details, see attached email!
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, November 19 @ 11am Eastern

Additional Training Opportunities

• Freddie Mac has published their training offerings available in November. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!
• USDA is hosting a training on handbook and policy updates on Thursday, November 14 at 2pm ET. Register here!
• MGIC will hold a session on Variable Income on Tuesday, November 19 at 2pm ET. Register here!
• Essent is hosting a 20-minute Micro Session on Schedule C income and making cash flow adjustments. This will be Wednesday, November 20 at 1pm ET. Register here!

LP Update: New Look for New Submissions

The submission screen for LP has been updated – if you have a file that hasn’t had LP run yet, you may have to manually add in your credit report in order to run. Use the “New” icon to add a line for your report.

Check out the updated how-to here and reach out to Production Support with any questions.

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Payment Link – Reminder

As a reminder, please do not use the “old” credit card authorization form that collects a borrower’s full credit card number. In most cases, payment links can be sent through ValueLink. In the limited cases that we need to collect payment for an appraisal up front outside of ValueLink, please reach out to Accounting to request the form you’ll need to complete for a payment link to be sent to your borrower.