Category: Corporate Communications

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:

Rebekah Coburn, Processing Assistant	Branch 131, Muskegon, MI
Terry Patterson, Loan Officer	Branch 253
Dora Isaksen, Loan Officer	Branch 200, Pocatello, ID

 

 

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.

 

25 Points

October 15, 2024

• Ops Virtual Fly In – Save the Date!

Plans are coming together for our fall Ops Virtual Fly-in and we couldn’t be more excited!  We are anticipating a wonderful event with activities happening Friday, 11/15 and Monday, 11/18.  More information will be coming soon!

• NMLS License Renewals

For our licensed LOs: ALL licenses expire on 12/31/2024. If want to maintain your license(s) and renew them for 2025 you will need to start thinking about your Continuing Education (CE / CON ED). Please see the attached Con Ed Information email and reach out to Stacey Dettling with any questions.

• FHA Streamlines and VA IRRRLs – Updates

GREAT NEWS!  We have verified that we can close our non-credit qualifying FHA Streamlines and non-credit qualifying VA IRRRLs with a 1-bureau soft pull.  If you currently have a loan in process with a soft pull and there is a condition for a hard pull, we will be waiving this condition the next touch in underwriting.

• Escrow Companies: Items Required for Approval

In states where an Escrow Company is involved, the Escrow Company requires approval along with the Title Company, as they are the ones handling the money.  To approve Escrow Companies, the following items are needed:

• Escrow Reconciliation Policy  (Pillar 2 if they follow ALTA’s best practices format when organizing their policies).
• Information Security Policy (Pillar 3 if they follow ALTA’s best practices format when organizing their policies).
• CA ONLY: Sample Escrow Disbursement Ledger

Even though they are Escrow Companies, they can still be submitted to titleapproval@vandykmortgage.com for approval.

• Coming Soon….
  • Renovation – Late in Q4, we will be bringing the 203k and Homestyle product in-house. We are building out the programs and working on product certification.
  • Land Home/Trio loan – We are getting ready to launch a pilot program for what we are billing as a “Dreams Come True” Loan program. This product will be for near-miss FHA borrowers, ITIN borrowers, self-employed, etc. More to come on this as we work through our pilot.
• Polly/OB Timeline

Secondary has set the following timeline for the Optimal Blue to Polly transition:

• 9/30-10/4: Transition period. Secondary will be issuing logins and helping LO’s get into the system and help with any issues that arise. Please start using Polly as soon as you are able to access the system.
• 10/7-12/1: Locks/new pricing will be disabled in OB, but logins will remain active to make changes to existing locks. All new locks should flow into Polly starting 10/7.
• 12/1: OB logins will be disabled and Polly will be set as the Encompass default.

• Reconsideration of Value – Changes Coming Soon

The new Reconsideration of Value (“ROV”) process and requirements for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA goes into effect October 31, 2024. James Beebe will be joining our newscast tomorrow to provide a full overview of these changes – check out a summary here.

• CreditXpert – Wayfinder/What-If Update

As you may have noticed, SARMA has released their version of the Wayfinder/What-if tools and things are working well.  This job aid can help assist you with placing orders.  Reach out to Doug Swan (dswan@sarma.com) or Production Support if you have questions.  Xactus was able to extend the CreditXpert service through the end of the year, so no changes were made on their end.  Once we know if Xactus will be updating their services, we will advise.

• Marketing Update

Pipeline Power-Up Progress: Your Path to Success!

We’re thrilled with the progress so far in the Pipeline Power-Up program! As of 10/13/24, 61 Loan Officers have already participated, completing 329 tasks—a strong start to this initiative designed to boost your business.

The Results Speak for Themselves

The Pipeline Power-Up program is already making a difference. Loan Officers have reconnected with agents, secured new prospects, and noticed a renewed sense of momentum in their businesses, all within just the first couple weeks.

Stay on Track and Win Big!

Remember, if you complete 4 out of 5 tasks each week, you’ll win a free trip to our annual fly-in, as well as receive dedicated coaching from our very own Tom VanDyk! This is a great opportunity to not only grow your business but also earn exciting rewards along the way.

Need Help Catching Up?

If you’re behind, no worries! With just 5 days of focused effort each week (and maybe a weekend boost), you’ll be back on track in no time. Let’s keep the momentum going—your success is just a task away!

• ADP: Accessing Your Information from Your ADP Self-Service Portal

Did you know that you have access to a self-service portal through our Human Capital Management solution, ADP Workforce Now®? This means that you have secure and convenient access to company communications and your personal, pay, and HR information.

Access all of your personal, pay, and HR information without having to reach out to HR! With your self-service portal you can:

• View your pay statements or annual tax forms (W-2)
• Manage your personal information and pay preferences
• View time-off balances and submit time-off requests, and more!

For instructions on registering for the portal, please check out this how-to guide. Reach out to HR@vandykmortgage.com with any questions.

 

• HR Updates

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 shared in the photobooth:

Denise Lindsay, LO	Branch 262, Wisconsin/Illinois
Kathleen Beezley, LOA	Branch 453, Florida
Robert Gomez, OLO	Branch 261, California

 

Agency Updates

Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae has not published any updates to their Selling Guide, so we wanted to take this opportunity to include Fannie’s resources on Day 1 Certainty.  Did you know that these tools could turn a decline into an approval? Check out the FAQ here!

 

Freddie Mac

AUTOMATED EMPLOYMENT ASSESSMENT USING LOAN PRODUCT ADVISOR: Effective for Mortgages submitted to Loan Product Advisor on or after October 14, 2024

Freddie Mac is enhancing automated employment assessment with Loan Product Advisor, which is part of asset and income modeler (AIM). This enhancement will enable VanDyk to use a Borrower’s account and employed income data for Loan Product Advisor to determine whether the loan is eligible for relief from enforcement of certain representations and warranties related to the Borrower’s current employment. Eligibility for relief from enforcement of representations and warranties related to the Borrower’s employment will be included on the Feedback Certificate.

We encourage EVERYONE to utilize Freddie Mac’s AIM (Asset and Income Modeler) Training to learn more about how you can maximize your borrowers’ loan qualifications.  Your knowledge could make the difference in closing a loan or not!

 

USDA

USDA has extended the Manufactured Home Pilot Program through May 1, 2025.  This was originally set to expire November 4, 2024.  The pilot is effective for Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.  As a reminder, we utilize USDA’s Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. The USDA matrix has been updated to reflect this change.

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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 to any of these meetings at Welcome to VDM – click Join a Meeting in the top navigational bar, then click on Recurring Meetings.

• Deal Desk: Every Tuesday at 1:30pm Eastern
• Origination Nation: Every Monday and Thursday at 12pm Eastern
• VanDyk Mortgage Newscast: Wednesday, October 16 at 1pm Eastern
• Production Roundtable: Thursday, October 24 @ 1pm Eastern REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.

Additional Training Opportunities

• Freddie Mac has published their training offerings available for October. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!
• NAMB/Freddie Mac will be hosting a Condominium Product Eligibility training on Wednesday, October 16 from 2-3:30pm ET. Register here.

 

  

VA Refinances

As a reminder, while the VA Handbook only speaks to seasoning requirements for VA to VA, Ginnie Mae requires that ALL VA Refinances, must meet the following seasoning:

The note date of the refinance loan must be on, or after, the later of:

• The date on which the borrower has made at least 6 monthly payments on the loan being refinanced; AND
• The date that is 210 days after the first payment due date of the loan being refinanced.

Our VA Matrix has been updated to make this clearer. ai Underwriter will apply the conditions for seasoning – we have created a calculation tool as well.

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Additional Refinance Resources

Did you know we have some helpful refinance resources in Howee/Seafile? Check out this folder to review different refinance options, including a comparison tool.

 

25 Points

September 11, 2024

• MI Center

Great news! We now have an option to run MI quotes within Encompass from ALL the providers at the same time! You’ll find MI Center under the “Tools” tab in your Encompass loan. Check out the job aid here and reach out to Production Support if you need any help running quotes.

• Brokered Loans: Appraisals

Don’t forget to review the  Broker Comparison Tool’s Submission Info tab to determine if the lender will accept an appraisal ordered through our system.  Currently, Acra is the only lender who will accept an appraisal from us that has been ordered like usual.  FNBA requires the use of an AMC – so if you are going to order an appraisal, be sure make a comment to the Appraisal department on your order that the loan is brokered and needs to be sent to ClearCapital AMC. As always – guidelines and requirements are subject to change, so we always recommend that you review the scenario and steps with the lender’s A/E before issuing any pre-qual /Pre-Approval letters or placing ANY orders.

• NAR Settlement: Borrower Paid Realtor Comp

On August 17, 2024, changes went into effect regarding realtor commissions as part of the NAR settlement. To ensure our staff have the pertinent information, we are including a copy of the agreement and a helpful comparison chart along with an internal document of the “highlights” prepared by James Beebe.  We have updated our standard pre-approval/pre-qualification forms in Encompass to include a reminder regarding buyer paid realtor commissions. We will be hosting a round table discussion where your questions can be answered by some of the VanDyk Leadership team – watch your inbox for the invitation coming soon!

• Processor Auto-Assign

We have an option in Encompass to automatically assign a processor to an Encompass file, based on Loan Originator.  The only limitation is: if an LO uses more than one processor, we wouldn’t want to apply the rule.  If the same LO and Processor Team are used on every file, this is a great feature to ensure the whole team is made aware of files in the pipeline.  If you are interested in having this option applied to you, please reach out to ProductionSupport@vandykmortgage.com to get the additional details and requirements.

• Chase Community Lending

Chase has published a new option for looking up eligible properties for their Community Lending product: Collateral Analytics tool. This site gives you the ability to search by address to see what listings are available in Chase Community eligible areas, and also allows you to search by a specific area to see if it is eligible.

• Coming Next Week: ADP Workforce Now

As a reminder: starting September 16, 2024, we will be transitioning from Paylocity to ADP Workforce Now. Paylocity will be shut down on September 15^th at 11:59 PM EST.

• Recasts & EPO

As we approach the possibility of lower rates, we wanted to remind everyone of EPOs and Recasts. Recasts are allowed on Conventional mortgages only and to recast, the borrower needs to have made 6 on-time payments. There are fees and the process differs depending on the servicer. Please make sure you are providing borrowers with accurate timelines if they wish to recast.

Early payoffs (EPO) are also a conversation point to have with your borrowers in this market. Make sure they understand that the expectation is that they will keep the mortgage long-term and that it is not a bridge loan. If the borrowers are selling a property with large equity or turning a prior primary into a 2nd/investment house, make sure that is a long-term plan. Early payoffs have been on the rise, so please be mindful of this and ask your borrowers the questions.

• Polly

We are in the pilot phase of Polly and working out any remaining system issues. Things have been going well so far and we anticipate companywide trainings starting by Mid-September. Please be on the lookout for training invitations to be sent this afternoon, and make sure to attend if you will be using the new pricing engine. Trainings will be:

• Monday, September 16 @ 3pm Eastern
• Tuesday, September 17 @ 12pm Eastern
• Wednesday, September 25 @ 2pm Eastern
• Thursday, September 26 @ 11am Eastern

 

• aiUW: Future Employment

Please note that aiUW will add conditions for future employment when the Date Hired or Years in this Job are missing from the VOE section. To avoid this, make sure both the Date Hired and Years in this Job fields are completed when it’s an existing employer.

 

• HR Updates

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:

Patrick Frederick, LO	Branch 131, Michigan
Michelle Zamot, PTBDA	Branch 453, Florida
Denise Law, PTBDA	Branch 261, California
Julia Chernov, PTLO	Branch 401, Ohio

 

 

Agency Updates

Fannie Mae

DU Update: Revalidation of Employment: Starting September 20, 2024, DU will be updated to automate the review of supplemental asset reports for revalidating employment when a loan cannot close by the original date. This change allows lenders to receive a new “Close by Date” from DU and retain employment reps and warrants, provided other conditions are met. Additionally, the supplemental asset report no longer needs to come from the same vendor as the initial report. Full details can be reviewed in Fannie Update SEL-2024-06.

Freddie Mac

Effective Date Extended for Flood Insurance Premium Requirement: Freddie Mac announced that when a flood insurance policy on a mortgaged premises shows both a full risk premium and a discounted premium, the full risk premium plus any fees and surcharges must be used to calculate the housing expense-to-income and debt payment-to-income ratios. To give us additional time to implement this change, Freddie extended the effective date from note dates on or after September 5, 2024, to note dates on or after April 1, 2025.

FHA

FHA New Construction- Reminder: Prior to placing an appraisal order, a builder’s cert is required. If an appraisal order is placed as an existing home and the appraiser determines the property is new construction, the order will be placed on hold until the builder’s cert is uploaded.

USDA

Updated Income Limits: The Fiscal Year 2024 income limits for the Single Family Direct Loan and Grant Programs were published through Procedure Notice 618.

The income limits were updated in the impacted websites and systems (e.g., UniFi and Section 502’s Self-Assessment tool). The following automated worksheets were also updated.

• Section 502 Worksheet for Computing Income and Maximum Loan Calculator (as found on the Direct Loan Application Packagers page).
• Section 504 Automated Worksheet (as found on the Single Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants page under the ‘To Apply’ tab).

VA

Secondary Borrowing on Assumptions: The VA has issued guidance regarding assumption transactions that involve secondary borrowing (i.e., if the borrower needs an additional lien to help finance the purchase). VA does not prohibit the assumer of a VA-guaranteed loan from obtaining secondary financing, but the lender is responsible for ensuring regulatory requirements are met for the assumption – which includes verifying the lien position, documentation of the secondary financing, and allowable purposes – full details can be reviewed in VA Circular 26-24-17.

 

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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: Thursday, September 12 at 1pm Eastern
• Production Roundtable: Monday, September 16 @ 1pm Eastern REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, September 17 @ 11am Eastern
• Polly Training:
  • Monday, September 16 @ 3pm Eastern
  • Tuesday, September 17 @ 12pm Eastern
  • Wednesday, September 25 @ 2pm Eastern
  • Thursday, September 26 @ 11am Eastern

Additional Training Opportunities

• Freddie Mac has published their training offerings available in September. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!

 

 

Did You Know?

Interested Party Contributions

As a reminder, the Interested Party Contributions (IPCs) may never exceed the amount of closing costs, prepaids, and discount points. The easiest place to review this is the URLA – Lender screen Details of Transaction in Encompass.  If you have an excess of IPCs, look at utilizing to buy down PMI (conventional loans with LTV > 80%), pay the VA Funding Fee (must be all or nothing), pay the FHA UFMIP (must be all or nothing), or the USDA Upfront Fee (must be all or nothing).  This should always be reviewed prior to issuing your initial CD as a courtesy to the borrower.

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The Condo Vault Orders: Reminder

REMINDER!  If your Condo is Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, or VA approved, your order with The Condo Vault should be for Insurance Review Only.  We do not need full or limited reviews done on agency approved condos.

 

25 Points

August 8, 2024

• Risk Update: Wire Fraud

In recent weeks, we have seen increased phishing activity where unsavory parties emulating title companies are looking for borrower information and providing alternative wire instructions.  Don’t allow yourself or our borrowers to be victimized!!!  As mortgage professionals, we need to remember to take care with managing our email.  Jeanie Nivison sent an important Newsflash email (which you can review here) outlining the steps we have taken to increase security and provide guidelines for our company best practices.  Please be vigilant and take measures to ensure you do not put yourself, your clients, or our company at risk.

• Bond Disclosure Training – Follow-Up

We hosted two trainings in July to educate branches on the steps required to send your own bond disclosure packages.  If you missed it, a recorded session can be found here.  Reminder – the fee for our compliance department to send the initial or COC packages out for you is $40.  We encourage everyone to complete the training and pass the quiz so you can deliver the bond disclosure packages to your borrowers directly.

• Chase Community Lending: Exciting Update!

Great news! The Chase Community Lending program is now allowing Fannie Mae Value Acceptance (Appraisal Waiver) + Property Data or Freddie Mac ACE + PDR.

• CreditXpert Updates

CreditXpert, the company that facilitates What If and Wayfinder products with our credit vendors, will be separating and requiring the scenarios to be run on their website. Xactus, Sarma and all other credit vendors will no longer be able to offer the Wayfinder/What If options themselves.  With this change will come a cost increase, so we are looking at an alternate option and will provide additional information as it becomes available.

• MI Center

Some Great News!  We are delighted to announce an option to run quotes with all MI providers at once in Encompass will be available soon!  We are finalizing the process and should be able to provide additional information and instructions soon.

• Verifications – Are You Having the Conversation?

We are finding borrowers are unwilling to complete payroll and asset verifications from Veri-Tax and PointServ because they are suspicious about the source.  It is imperative you discuss with the borrower why you are requesting the verification and what they should expect prior to placing the verification order.  If you are unsure of the process or what the borrower experience is, we can help!  Check out the payroll user guide from Veri-Tax which details what the borrower will see and explains what they should do.  The most important thing to remember is to address the borrower’s concerns and ensure they have confidence in the product and process before placing the verification order.  ProductionSupport@vandykmortgage.com can answer questions and assist with account creation.

• Polly Pilot: Coming Soon

As announced in July, we have decided to make a pricing engine switch to Polly from Optimal Blue. We are on target to start a Pilot later this month. We do have a couple volunteers, but if anyone else would like to join the Pilot, please reach out to Brad or Zuzana. Our tentative go live date is 10/1 for all VanDyk. We will be doing live trainings in September. Stay tuned for more information.

• Buydown Matrix: Updated

The Buydown matrix has been updated to include second homes as eligible properties – check out the updated matrix here.

• Multi Factor Authentication, System Security and You

We have placed the majority of our employees on an authentication program which requires validation of your identity via your cell phone.  Users with more than one Microsoft account must validate for each one, per device, per app.  Often, changing your IP address will prompt the authentication.  This may seem cumbersome; however, with the increase in cyber-attacks and issues hitting close to home, we feel the extra layers of security will keep our borrower’s sensitive and personal information safe.

In the event your borrower in unable/unwilling to provide their loan documents or personal data via Floify, we have an option for secure file delivery within our Seafile system.  All users can deliver a secure upload link and access items within Seafile.  See this job aid for instructions and reach out to IThelpdesk@vandykmortgage.com with questions.

• 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:

Ashley Piehl, LO                           Branch 231 – Clearwater, FL

Natalia Ospina-Restrepo, LO Branch 727 – Tampa, FL

Lisseth Sesatty, LO                                 Branch 131 – Muskegon, MI

Verna Jackson, LO                                   Branch 703 – Delray Beach, FL

Jessica Yates, LO                         Branch 259 – SLC, UT

Kyla Eadie, IT Specialist

Charlie Sundstrom, Business Development Director

 

Agency Updates

You may be hearing rumblings about changes and required disclosures that must be implemented within a lender’s Reconsideration of Value (ROV) policies and procedures for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA.  Initially, these updates were to be in effect by September 2; however, this date has been pushed out to October 31, 2024.  We are working to update our ROV policies and procedures and expect to have this completed and published by our News coming October 2024.  Stay tuned!

 

Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae has updated their Selling Guide in relation to Rent-related Credits, most specifically, Rent Credit with an Option to Purchase and Rent-back Credit.  We are implementing these immediately.

Rent credit with an option to purchase

Current policy states that rent credit, which is determined by calculating the difference between the market rent and the actual rent paid for the last 12 months, can be credited towards the downpayment or minimum borrower contribution under a documented rental/purchase agreement. This policy update permits more than 12 months’ rent credit to be used as long as all other requirements are met.

Additionally, we expanded the documentation requirements to include:

• rent verification documentation, including bank statements or other reasonable methods evidencing the rental payments over the term of the agreement; and
• minimum terms outlined in the rental/purchase agreement.

Rent-back credit

A rent-back credit is an amount paid by the property seller to the borrower in exchange for allowing the seller to stay in the home for a specified period of time after closing. While rent-back credit to the borrower paid by the seller is permissible as part of the sale, it cannot be used as an eligible source of funds for closing costs, down payment, or reserves. Additionally, lenders must underwrite the loan without any consideration of the rent-back credit and must document that the borrower has sufficient funds for the transaction from eligible sources.

 

Freddie Mac

LPA: Freddie Mac is updating feedback messages in LPA (Loan Product Advisor) surrounding cash to close, reserves, and income.  These are welcomed messaging as cash to close shortages are frequently overlooked since LPA will return Accept / Eligible results and the messages around certain retirement incomes such as VA Disability, Pension, and SSI will be clearer and more concise. For the full list of feedback messages and how they will change or what is new, visit Freddie’s LPA Matrix here.

Selling Updates: Freddie Mac has made updates to the Income Underwriting and Documentation Requirements around Self-Employment, Non-Arm’s Length Employment, Fluctuating Hourly Employment, and Social Security Income types.  The following updates are being implemented immediately.

Self-employed income: We are making the following updates related to self-employed income:

• Self-employed history of less than two years:
  • Specifying that the Borrower must have a combined two-year history of receipt of income from the current self-employment and the prior job in the same or similar occupation or industry
  • Specifying that the qualifying income must be determined by using the lesser of the stable monthly income from the new business or the stable monthly income earned in the previous occupation
• Business structure changes: Adding guidance and requirements to address business structure changes (e.g., the Borrower’s business structure changed from a sole proprietorship to an S-corporation), including requiring that there must be no change in the Borrower’s percentage of ownership interest in order for the current and prior business structures to be considered the same business.

Employed income: non-arm’s length employment. We are updating our requirements to:

• Permit the use of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wage and income transcript for the most recent year in lieu of the tax returns (W2 Transcripts), and
• Specify that the documentation must validate the prior year earnings from current employment and support the current income level. If the current income level is not supported, the Seller may use the validated income amount from the prior year as qualifying income.

Calculation of income from fluctuating hourly employment

We have specified that in certain instances, the income average for fluctuating earnings may be based on a shorter number of months if a written justification and/or documentation is provided to support the applicable months used in the calculation.  The total number of months used in the calculation must be at least 12 months.

Documentation for Social Security retirement and Social Security disability income types

We have expanded our documentation requirements for Social Security retirement and Social Security disability income types to permit IRS Form 1099-SSA and pages 1 and 2 of the Borrower’s most recent federal individual income tax return or pages 1–3 if the tax return was filed using IRS Form 1040-SR. When using tax returns that were filed jointly with an individual who is not a Borrower on the transaction, additional documentation is required.

*  *  *

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: Thursday, August 8 at 1pm Eastern
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, August 20 @ 11am Eastern
• Production Roundtable: Wednesday, August 21 @ 1pm Eastern REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.

Additional Training Opportunities

• Freddie Mac has published their training offerings available in August. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!
• Essex Mortgage is hosting an overview of their nationwide DPA program on Tuesday, August 13 at 1pm ET. Register here to receive the calendar invite.
• Essent is hosting a webinar on Advanced Variable Income – hourly rate increases, significant income fluctuations, and variable work hours. This will also be Tuesday, August 13 at 1PM Eastern. Register here to attend!

 

 

 

Reminder: Run Both AUS!

Reminder, our best practice is to run both LPA and DU on every file to ensure you are getting the best options in pricing and documentation level for your clients.  We encourage each LO and Processor (and any other team members, as applicable) to run both AUS as a normal part of their workflow.

*  *  *

25 Points

July 11, 2024

• Mid-Year Look Back

It might be hard to believe, but we are halfway through 2023! Here’s a recap of some of the highlights and accomplishments VanDyk celebrated in the first half of the year:

Launched Soft Pulls in AUS Opened using soft pull to obtain conditional approval in UW Created various Encompass pipeline views to assist LOs and Processors Presented our first virtual fly-in event Acquired a new flood cert provider

Launched VDM Virtual app Launched Welcome to VDM Adam Morolla’s prestigious TE award! Updated agency guideline search in Howee New 3rd party providers – VOA/VOE Presented our first virtual Summer Sales Rally fly-in event Transitioned to a new 401k provider

 

• VanDyk Victories and Grateful Clients

You may have noticed some emails highlighting recent wins amongst our team.  We are excited to continue celebrating your greatness and hope you will notify us the next time you have a victory!

• • Deal desk saves
  • Lost an A/E and someone helped get it back
  • CTC in 15 or less business days
  • Happy clients, good news

Send details to productionsupport@vandykmortgage.com – you deserve to be celebrated!

Now for some shoutouts:

 

• This year at Accelerate, Total Expert’s annual conference, Adam Morolla was recognized as the best of the very best – winning the Journey Wizard Award. This award recognizes the work Adam has done to build out the best marketing in the industry to help our LOs grow their business. Let’s celebrate Adam on this well-deserved reward!
• We also wanted to pass along some praise for Sean Carter, sent by a grateful borrower:

• Welcome to VDM/VDM Virtual App: Story Time!

Some of you may recall June’s Iron Sharpens Iron call – we emailed a reminder with the incorrect Zoom link (oops!). But you can avoid headaches and delays by opening the VDM Virtual app, or by going to https://welcometovdm.vfairs.com/. Click Join a Meeting and you’ll never need a Zoom link again!

• Photo ID: UPDATE

Effective immediately, we will no longer be requesting a copy of any borrowers’ photo ID for underwriting.  It remains a best practice to collect the photo ID for verification of legal names and data within the loan application as well as Halcyon orders.

Underwriting will continue to require verification of a borrower’s Permanent Residency or Non-Permanent status according to agency guidelines.

If it is necessary to verify a discrepancy in any of the data on our loan application and a photo ID is requested in this instance, the photo should be blacked out prior to submitting to the underwriter.

• Condo Appraisal Update

If the Condo Vault or InterIsland has a correction to the appraisal, the branch can make this revision request directly to ValueLink; however, please be sure that the documentation to support the revision is uploaded to the order / revision request.

• $2,500 Grant – Homebuyer Education Requirement

For the HomeReady/Home Possible $2,500 free money: homebuyer education is required to receive this grant. For borrowers who want to decline this money, a waiver form will be required to be signed prior to closing. The form will be available to print in Encompass, but can also be downloaded here (click the Download button to save).

• SSO Logins

To enhance our cyber security, we are currently transitioning our Encompass log-in procedures to Single Sign-On (SSO). This will allow users to sign into Encompass with a single button click instead of typing in a username and password. It will also limit password sharing between users. With this transition to SSO, we do not want job functions to be impacted. Thus, the IT team will work to adjust user access to ensure everyone can perform their job functions without needing to log in as someone else. Thank you for your cooperation during this transition.

• Bond Loans Update

We are excited to open-up Bond loan disclosures to our branches!  We have scheduled 2 live training sessions to ensure you have the information you need to begin sending out your own packages beginning 8/1.  Anyone needing additional training or assistance after 8/1 can reach out to Compliance@vandykmortgage.com.

• AVMs via Encompass

We are excited to announce that AVMs can now be ordered within Encompass for $8. This can be found under Services > Order Appraisal > ICE Automated Valuation Solutions.

 

When the order is completed, you’ll find the results in the “Appraisal” bucket.  We have created an AVM bucket to move these over to: 2000 (Appraisal): AVM

The costs for your AVM can be passed on to the borrower at closing if the fee was disclosed (either as part of the initial LE or as a COC within 3 days)

When would you order an AVM?

1. When conditioned for one by UW
2. When you are brokering a loan and the lender accepts/requires one to be submitted
3. To determine initial value of a property during the prequalification process

• AccountChek Disabled

Due to the PointServ option costing substantially less and covering more providers, we have disabled AccountChek access.  If you are unable to obtain a VOA report with PointServ or run into issues, please reach out to Production Support – they can help you troubleshoot or obtain an AccountChek report as a last option.

• Loan Pipeline Automation

We are currently utilizing the “Connector” for several automated functions in our workflow. The most recent updates have been to Pipeline Management and ECOA Actions.

• Pipeline Management – For the Prospects Folder, any file that has not moved milestones in 180 days will be moved to Inactive Prospects. The LO will receive a reminder email 7 days prior to the move and can keep the file active if needed.
• ECOA Action – Per ECOA, we must issue our borrowers a Notice of Incompleteness (NOI) every 30 days until the loan is either Approved or Adversed (Withdrawn or Denied). Branches will receive an email 5 days before the ECOA action is due to trigger it (see below). If no action is taken by day 30, a generic NOI will be issued to the borrower. This process will repeat every 30 days, however at 60+ days, the ECOA action must be taken by the branch, otherwise the loan will be automatically withdrawn from active pipeline.

• New Pricing Engine: Coming Soon

We have made the decision to move on from Optimal Blue and move to Polly. Polly has been pushing to become the leader in the Pricing Engine space for the past 5+ years. They have a product that is superior to Optimal Blue and are utilizing a new integration with Encompass. Some key highlights with Polly:

• Pricing website that allows you to lock, extend, change products, and more from a mobile-friendly website – instead of the Encompass file.
• Ability to accurately price lead categories (branch vs self-generated)
• Ability to accurately price LO comp differences for Purchase vs Refi
• Capable of running Government and Conventional scenarios at the same time.

We are looking for a few volunteers to run at least a one-month Pilot to work out bugs. Please reach out to Brad and Zuzana in Secondary to request to be part of the pilot.

• Updated Mortgagee Clause

As of 7/1, we have a new mortgagee clause for insurance policies. Insurance order forms in Encompass have been updated to the following:

 

VanDyk Mortgage Corporation

ISAOA ATIMA

5510 Richfield Rd

Flint, MI 48506

We appreciate your help in ensuring that loans are reflecting this new mortgagee clause on all homeowners, flood, wind, and/or earthquake policies.   The title insurance request form has been updated and reflects the Grand Rapids address.  If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out to productionsupport@vandykmortgage.com

• Reminder: Soft Pulls in Floify

If you are ever in a situation where the soft pull liabilities don’t import from Floify into Encompass, reach out to PS to troubleshoot.  Users should never manually change their Encompass log in to their soft pull credentials in the credit report section.

We are running into issues where users are obtaining the SP in Encompass (not Floify) and finding files missing the required written auth/ creating the incorrect credit buckets.

Your assistance is appreciated!

• One-Off eSign Docs: Update

We require the signature envelope page from Floify to accompany all one-off LOE/LOXs that are eSigned.  Be sure to provide this additional page to UW – you will begin to see a condition from UW if it is missing from your bucket.

These certificates typically come into the eFolder as the last page of your eSigned doc. If you have any trouble locating the signature page, reach out to Production Support.

• Tax Transcripts Reminder

For loans that require transcripts, best practice is to place your order as soon as you have the signed 8821 back.

• Marketing Updates

We’d like to give a shout out to Sean Carter for winning last quarter’s Open House contest. Sean, we hope you’re enjoying your Nespresso! Want your chance to take home an awesome prize?

The New Marketing Challenge is Live!

Grow your influence locally with community events and stand a chance to win a Blackstone Grill! Want more details? Join our Teams chat to learn more: [Click Here]

New Feature Alert: Refinance In-Process Journey

A Refinance In-Process Journey has been added to your Total Expert accounts. Don’t forget to record your BombBomb videos to personalize updates for your refi clients throughout the process.

Discover the New Pipeline Views in Total Expert

Check out the new Pipeline Views in your contacts tab. These views offer a quick and easy way to sort your database and identify opportunities. Have ideas for additional pipeline views? Send us an email at: vandykmarketing@vandykmortgage.com

 

Agency Updates

Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2024-9, making additional updates to their Rental Income guidelines.

1. Purchase of Investment Property –
   1. Rental Income can now be used if the borrower rents their Primary Residence; formerly, the borrower had to own their Primary Residence.
   2. Rental Income can now be used if at least one borrower rents or owns their Primary Residence; this has changed from all borrowers.
2. Purchase of Investment Property (or) Primary Residence being converted to an Investment Property –
   1. The full amount of net rental income may be used to qualify as long as at least one borrower has a minimum of one year investment property management experience; this has changed from all borrowers.
3. Property owned as a Rental Property during the entire calendar year –
   1. The Net Income or Loss reported on Schedule E may be established based on the number of days in service based on Schedule E provided that the property was out of service for any time period during the prior year, and it is documented that there was an event such as renovation as supported by a reduced number of days in use and repair costs on Schedule E.
4. Property purchased of converted to a Rental Property later in the prior calendar year –
   1. Rental Income may be based on the number of months after the purchase or conversation date; formerly, the net income or loss reported on Schedule E was required to be annualized (divided over 12 months).
   2. The Net Income or Loss reported on Schedule E may be established based on the number of days in service based on Schedule E provided that the property was out of service for any time period during the prior year, and it is documented that there was an event such as renovation as supported by a reduced number of days in use and repair costs on Schedule E.

Freddie Mac Condo Updates – Project Eligibility requirements have been updated to allow Condominium Projects to share amenities with other residential projects.  Residential projects include residential Condominium Projects and PUDs.

USDA

As we anticipated based on the proposal, USDA has in fact increased the maximum PITI ratio to 34% for GUS Refer / Manual underwrites.  With this update, there is no longer a ratio waiver permitted to exceed 34% on the front-end ratio, however, the waiver does remain in effect for the back-ratio to exceed 41% up to 44% for 680+ FICO scores where the borrower has at least one of the noted compensating factors.  Here is the advance copy of the update: USDA Handbook 35555 Chapter 11: Ratio Analysis

 

*  *  *

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: Thursday, July 11 at 1pm Eastern
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, July 16 @ 11am Eastern
• Production Roundtable: Thursday, July 18  @ 1pm Eastern  REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.
• Bond Disclosure Training:  Tuesday, July 23 @ 2pm Eastern and Thursday, July 25 @ 11am Eastern

Additional Training Opportunities

• Freddie Mac has published their training offerings available in July and August. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!

 

 

 

Updating Loan Status – Save Yourself an Email!

Did you know that branches can update a loan status on the Borrower Summary screen? No need to email to withdraw or close out a file!

Check out the how-to here and try it next time you have a file that needs updating.

*  *  *

Best Practices: AskUW & Underwriting Scenarios

To provide the best service possible when it comes to your underwriting scenarios, it is a best practice to provide the loan number of the file that you are inquiring about. In addition, ensure that all documentation pertaining to the scenario is uploaded to the Encompass file – the underwriting managers do not have access to Floify.

Following these best practice will allow our AskUW team to provide a complete and accurate response (or request for additional information) so your loan file sails through underwriting without any issues.  As a reminder, for income calculation help, please have the Prism worksheet completed prior to requesting assistance – as this helps us provide any training opportunity that may present itself.

*  *  *

aiUW Updates: Enhanced Conditions

aiUW is constantly being updated with more specific conditions based on your loan program. Be on the lookout for programs-specific conditions for Vista Point loans, DPA programs, and more!

*  *  *

Running DU and Credit Credentials

When you order DU, the credit credentials entered on the submission screen (pictured below) must match the credit report type.

If you are running DU on a soft pull, DU needs your soft pull credit username and password – if it’s a hard pull, it’ll require your hard pull username and password.

If you have more than one borrower pair, each borrower pair must have the same type of credit report – otherwise, DU will not run.

*  *  *

VDMC: Closing Request Form Update

In case you didn’t notice, there’s a new box for Wind Insurance on the Closing Request:

*  *  *

25 Points

June 12, 2024

 

• Pump Up The Volume: The Summer Remix

Summer is in full swing, and we are excited to Pump Up the Volume once again!  Final touches are being finessed and Outlook invitations have been sent to everyone for the 4 available sessions of Summer Remix.  Reminder to submit your topics for the Senior Management panel (last day to participate is 6/14) HERE.

If you have not already registered or are unsure if you need to, try logging in to the Fly In space VanDyk Fly In (vfairs.com) using your VanDyk work email address.  If you see the under-maintenance pop up, you are all set!  Otherwise, you will need to complete the registration.

• Verbal Script for Credit Authorization

It has come to our attention that a best practice to obtain verbal permission to pull a borrower’s hard credit had not been published.  We have added our best practice script for use in the regulatory compliance shared files of VDMC.net: Verbal Auth Script.pdf – VanDyk Seafile (vdmc.net)

Reminder, a written authorization is required prior to obtaining a soft pull, and all soft pulls MUST be completed in Floify.  Verbal permission is acceptable prior to obtaining a hard pull

If you have any questions, reach out to Production Support.

• VDM Employee Recognition

We’re proud to share shout-outs we’ve received for our team members!

• Mickie Gomez (Closing) received this praise from a title company: “Mickie is so wonderful to work with. She is so nice and great at communicating and I love that she answers the phone. Every Transaction is smooth when working with her.”
• Shyanne Steed (LO) received a STAR Award from Idaho Housing for her excellent service to homebuyers.

Great job Mickie and Shyanne! We are proud of how you represent VDM.

• Pre-Application Worksheet: Updated

The Pre-Application Worksheet – VDMC has been updated to list debts paid off as part of the transaction. This will carry in from the “Credit Cards and Other Debts Paid Off” field on URLA – Lender (section L4 – box E)

• Broker Updates
  • FAR – Reverse: FAR now offers a HomeSafe Second in AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, SC, and TX. This second lien reverse mortgage helps preserve first mortgage rates and improves cash flow. Reach out to our A/E for more details: Kris Buglino, kbuglino@far.com
  • REMN HELOC: REMN has updated all of their training materials and information for their quick-close HELOC. We have updated the reference materials in the REMN HELOC folder in Seafile. You can also watch a recorded training here – you’ll need to enter your name and VDM email to access the recording. REMEMBER: You need an Encompass file with broker approval from Secondary in order to receive compensation on these loans.
• Technology Updates
  • Veri-Tax is now processing VOE orders in Encompass under the payroll cascade setup. As long as the borrower’s email address is listed on the URLA under “Home Email,” they will receive instructions on providing a payroll VOE to VanDyk, which can be imported into your Encompass file upon completion. Why the change? Look forward to income/employment validation options with Fannie AND Freddie within the next 60 days! For more details, see the attached Veri-Tax Breaking News email.
  • Halycon has announced that they’re in the process of integrating with DU for validation as well! More information to come.
  • SARMA has updated how we access their service in Encompass – see the attached Credit Outage email announcement for instructions.
• VistaPoint OB Update

Optimal Blue has updated the search filters needed to price Vista loans. Instead of the Standard product type, you will now need to select the Expanded Guidelines product type when pricing Vista HE loans. Check out the updated pricing guide here. As a reminder, you must complete the product certification in order to originate Vista Point HE Loans – you can find that training here.

• VistaPoint – Disclosure Desk Updates

Two new Integrity Check pieces are being released for Vista Home Equity Loans. It will ensure you are ordering Mavent whenever the APR changes on a loan so that the High Cost and State Rules will be reviewed in Mavent. If High Cost or State Rules are failing you will need to clear the fails to order disclosures. Any issues should be addressed with the Origination Compliance Department.

Reminder: A red alert on the left side of the screen will tell you when Mavent is picking up a High Cost or State Rule issue.

• aiUW: Required for Processing Milestone

Starting June 17, Encompass will require aiUW to be run prior to a file being moved to the Processing milestone.  If you need a refresher training, the job aid is here VanDyk Seafile (vdmc.net) or you can watch a recorded training here VanDyk Seafile (vdmc.net)

• Marketing Updates

The deadline to participate as a panelist for the Brittany Hodak workshop session of Summer Remix is XX/XX.  Don’t miss the incredible opportunity to work on your story and unique marketing angle!  Turn in your application by filling out this form. Those who complete the homework will be entered into a random drawing to be selected to participate in the workshop with Brittany. Come prepared to reignite relationships and redefine your story!

 

Reminder: AGENTS AND PARTNERS WANTED!  Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to extend a service of value to your partners and those whose business you are hoping to capture!  Brittany Hodak’s sessions and joining in on the Kahoot are great opportunities to strengthen relationships and create opportunity for conversation

 

 

• 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:

 

Michael Anderson, PT Loan Officer	531 – Maryland
Brittany Dunkle, Marketing	Corporate

 

 

 

 

Agency Updates

Fannie Mae

Effective for DU casefiles created on and after May 19, the 2024 AMI limits are now in place.  You can access Fannie Mae’s AMI Lookup Tool here Area Median Income Lookup Tool (fanniemae.com)

Fannie Mae has issued Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2024-04 as of June 5, 2024.  From this SEL, we would like to highlight the following:

1. Effective Immediately: Closing Costs Definition – Amounts paid in connection with the closing, typically itemized under “Closing Costs Details” on the Closing Disclosure are generally inclusive of loan-related amounts such as origination fees, discount points, title exam, lender’s title insurance, appraisal fees, and prepaid items such as taxes and insurance escrow payments; and other costs, such as owner’s title insurance, real estate agent commissions, inspections, and transfer taxes.
2. EFFECTIVE JULY 20: HomeReady housing counseling LLPA credit requirements – HomeReady borrowers who complete housing counseling may be eligible for a $500 loan-level price adjustment (LLPA) credit when the loan is delivered with SFC 184.  The weekend of July 20, 2024, DU will be updated to provide new messaging when the data in the Supplemental Consumer Information (Form 1103) has been provided.  It is imperative that this section of the URLA Lender screen be completed as well as accurate.  The underwriters will then ensure that the SFC 184 is entered appropriately.  We are working on building out rules to aid in preventing any oversight.

 

Fannie Mae DU Updates COMING JULY 20, 2024, Highlights:

1. Potential Red Flag Occupancy Message – A new message will be issued to confirm the accuracy of the occupancy on the loan casefile.
2. Loan Application Data Validation Updates

 

In addition to the above-named announcements, we are also including a Year-to-Date Summary of 2024 from Fannie Mae that is inclusive of all updates since the beginning of 2024 (in case you missed it).

 

Freddie Mac

As with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac has also updated the 2024 Area Median Income limits (AMI) (attachment Freddie Mac Bulletin 2024-C) effective with LPA submissions on and after May 19, 2024.  Freddie Mac offers a house of tools in relation to the AMI including the Home Possible® Income and Property Eligibility Tool, Area Median Income and Property Eligibility Tool, and Income Limits and Affordable Check APIs.

 

Freddie Mac has expanded the Warranty of Completion Alternatives to now allow use of Guide Form 400, Warranty of Completion of Construction or Repairs/Alterations, to now confirm not only completion of construction, but also for repairs.  You can find the updated Guide Form 400 attached to the news as well as in Seafile in the Appraisals folder.

 

Regarding Flood Insurance Premiums used for Qualifying – With rising rates of flood insurance, Freddie Mac is requiring that when the flood insurance policy shows a full risk premium and a discounted premium, we are to use the full risk premium, plus any fees and surcharges, for qualification in the DTI.  This is for both the subject property as well as any non-subject property REOs.

 

We are including Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor June 2024 Release Notes as well as Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor Feedback Messages June 2024 as attachments to the News.  There are multiple new messages coming in conjunction with the Property Data Report eligibility as well as processing errors.

 

FHA

Last month, we pushed out exciting FHA Updates as a Breaking News bulletin!  We have attached a quick comparison of old vs new guidelines to aid in all of the exciting changes.

USDA

We know that the USDA Procedure Notices are not always the easiest to read, so we are distributing the USDA Handbook Updates that occurred in April and May as a quick resource.

 

*  *  *

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
  • Special Editions: June 18^th will cover USDA Manual UW. June 25^th is all about No Score loans!
• VanDyk Mortgage Newscast: Thursday, June 13 at 1pm Eastern
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, June 18 @ 11am Eastern
• Production Roundtable: Wednesday, June 19  @ 1pm Eastern  REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.

Additional Training Opportunities

• Freddie Mac has published their training offerings available in June and July. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!
• Radian is putting out “micro-learning” opportunities that can be watched at your own pace. Check out this Non-Traditional Credit episode and other episodes in the Unlocking Loan Solutions with Radian series.
• MGIC has several trainings available for June – check out the Variable Income training tomorrow (June 13) at 3pm eastern!

 

 

Bond Loans: Registration

Secondary is the only personnel that should be registering bond loans with the State Bond Authority. Please utilize the bond request forms here. If you have any questions, reach out to Secondary@vandykmortgage.com

*  *  *

New Prospect? Assign Your Processor!

Best practice for brand new loans is to add your processor’s name right from the start.

*  *  *

SmartFees Reminders

As a reminder, you can run SmartFees from Borrower Summary prior to ordering your initial disclosures.

You’ll need a login in order to run – ITHelpDesk@vandykmortgage.com can provide you with credentials.

Find a step-by-step how-to here!

*  *  *

Duplicate Tradeline Reminder

We do not need a credit report supplement or alternate documentation when the credit report clearly identifies that two accounts are the same.

RC Willey, AMEX and Victoria’s Secret accounts commonly report this way. Note the same open date and terms reporting to different bureaus. Notate this on your Transmittal Summary.

*  *  *

VA Retirement Asset Calculation

We reached out to VA to get clarity on what percentage of a retirement account can be used when utilizing a retirement account as reserves, since the handbook is silent.
We have confirmed that we may use the amount that is able to be withdrawn/liquidated per the Terms of Withdrawal.

*  *  *

Chase Community Lending

For Chase Community Lending deals, all title holders must be included on the hazard insurance policy – even if they are not on our loan.

*  *  *

Seafile Search – Check It Out!

Did you know you can search the Howee Shared Docs folder in Seafile? This will help you locate documents even if you’re not sure which department folder they’re contained in.

*  *  *

25 Points

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:

 

1. Trust verification documentation must clearly identify the date the Trust was created.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

*  *  *

25 Points

April 11, 2024

• Welcome to VDM: Virtual Company Space

Exciting news – we have created a new virtual environment!  Like Pump Up the Volume, Welcome to VDM is a companywide virtual meeting space.  Here you can visit departments, access recurring meetings (like the Newscast and Iron Sharpens Iron), play the NEW scavenger hunt and take photos to post to social media.  Access content via the VDM Virtual mobile app or through the website here: Welcome to VDM.  See the attached announcement email which includes instructions on accessing the site.  Fun tip – you can join tomorrow’s live newscast via Welcome to VDM !

• Welcome to the Team, New Hires!

Help us welcome our newest teammates and check out their Photobooth pics in our new virtual space at VDM. Drop by and add your own photo!

• Welcome Mia!

Please join us in welcoming the newest addition to the VanDyk family, Mia! Born on Monday morning, Mia weighed a healthy 7 lbs 7oz and measured 20.25 inches tall. Her beautiful dark hair has already captured our hearts and we couldn’t be more grateful for her safe arrival. The VanDyk’s are overjoyed to have her in their lives. They want to extend their heartfelt thanks to everyone for your love and support throughout the journey to Mia’s arrival. Your kindness has meant the world to them as they embark on this new chapter as a family.

Please join us in sending warm wishes and congratulations to Mia and her proud parents as they begin this incredible adventure together!

• Soft Pulls – AUS for Government Loans

Until recently, we were able to run FHA and VA loans through Freddie Mac’s LPA using a soft pull.  This was a system glitch with Freddie, which has since been fixed. We are no longer able to run government loans through AUS utilizing a soft pull.  See the attached revised job aid and reach out to productionsupport@vandykmortgage.com with any questions.

• Winnow Guideline Search: Discontinued

Please note that our company access to Winnow has been discontinued. You can utilize Howee at VDMC.net for any of your guideline needs:

• Encompass Forms Updated

The below input forms have been updated to account for workflow changes and encompass updates. The major changes/additions are listed below.

• • Borrower Summary – VDMC
    • First Time Homebuyer dropdown – Field is tied to the declarations on URLA Part 4 (5a).
    • Seller/Lender Credits section.
    • Payment Shock Indicator – Will flag on 150%+ increase from Current Payment to Proposed Payment.
    • ATR/QM – Points and Fees. – Flag takes Seller Credits into account.
    • AMI – Affordable loan Eligibility.
    • Message to User – To improve communication, messages for certain tasks, such as Annual Training will may be displayed when navigating to this form.
  • Closing Request – VDMC:
    • Closing Date Requested – Removed Button feature. User can now input the date directly once all required fields have been completed.
    • Required fields – Highlighted in Red.

eFolder Docs/Invoices – Required fields now tied to eFolder buckets.

• Recent Events Recap
  • We’d like to give a shout out to Samantha Archabal for winning the marketing video challenge last month! Great job Samantha!
  • As an added point of interest and fun, the winners of our Dance-Off game during Pump Up the Volume collected their reward earlier this month.

 

 

• COC: Clarification for Loan Type Changes

When you have a COC due to the core program being altered (i.e. Conventional, FHA, USDA, or VA), these requests will be redirected to the Compliance department to disclose.

However, in instances where the loan program is changing (e.g., from Bond to Non-Bond) but the core program is unchanged, the branch offices will be permitted to submit the redisclosure request through the Disclosure Desk, as no additional program-specific documents require manual intervention.

• LOs eSigning URLA from a Mobile Device: How?!
  • Follow this link on your mobile device è www.encompassloconnect.com
  • Log in using your Encompass username and password. Our instance ID is BE11125393
  • Navigate to “Packages” in the main menu
  • Select the eClose Package you wish to eSign by clicking “Review & Sign.”

    

• Broker Comparison Tool Update

We have added additional details to the  Broker Comparison Tool, including the lenders’ submission process – find that under “Submission Info” in the bottom navigation tabs. Feel free to bookmark the comparison tool for quick access – and if you lose the link, you can visit Howee and find it in the main menu.

• Prism Reminder

When PRISM/blueprint emails you that their income calculation is complete, be sure to read the notes.  There is also an email address that you can contact if something wasn’t submitted accurately and therefore impacts the calculation.  See the example below.  Upload the most recent tax year and email info@getblueprint.io.

 

• New Flood Service Provider

We wanted to make you aware of the new flood cert provider we will be utilizing.  Beginning on April 1^st, new files that trigger the flood cert order will push to ICE/SnapCorp for results.  We are not expecting interruptions to your workflow, however, should you need a correction to the flood cert automatically obtained for your file, there is a new process for requesting revisions.  See the attached job aid for instructions and reach out to productionsupport@vandykmortgage.com with any questions.

 

• Reminder: 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.

DU:

LP:

 

• Marketing Updates

Marketing is thrilled to announce our upcoming Open House & Broker Open Challenge, designed to help you generate leads by increasing your visibility in your community through active participation and strengthening and gaining realtor partner relationships!

Enter for a chance to win a Nespresso! Attend as many open houses and broker opens as possible, and post the photos to your chosen social media platform with the hashtag #VDMCLiving. It can be a group photo, solo photo, or even a photo of your setup with VanDyk merch and goodies!  Join The Challenge – Join The Teams Channel Here!

The Details:

• Sign Up: To participate, join our Teams channel by using the link above.
• Start Attending: Take opportunities to attend weekly open houses or broker opens. We will share some tips and goodie bag ideas on the Teams channel that you can bring.
• Post & Hashtag: Share your photos on your social media with the hashtag #VDMCLiving.
• Earn Points: Each post earns you 10 points.

• HR Updates

Great news!  VanDyk has added an Employee Assistance Program benefit for all employees.  This is now available to all full time benefit-eligible employees at no additional cost. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Agency Updates

VA

Ordering a VA IRRRL Case Number:  VA recently deployed a system enhancement that provides lenders with additional information about the terms of the Veteran’s existing VA-guaranteed loan when ordering an IRRRL case number. The Order IRRRL Case and IRRRL Status & History screens in VA’s WebLGY system will now display the most recent servicer-reported loan modification information (if applicable) in addition to the original information for the existing VA-guaranteed loan. See attached VA Circular for more details.

*  *  *

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: Thursday, April 11 at 1pm Eastern
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, April 16 @ 11am Eastern
• Production Roundtable: Wednesday, April 17 @ 1pm Eastern  REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.

And coming this summer: Pump Up the Volume Re-Mix! More details coming soon.

 

Additional Training Opportunities

• Freddie Mac has several training offerings available in April and May. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!
• MGIC Presents: Credit in 2024 – What You Need to Know to Stand Out with Referral Partners and Borrowers: Thursday, April 18 at 2pm ET. Register Here!
  • This webinar will cover trigger leads, credit score modernization, the proposed transition to bi-merge credit reports, and more hot topics about credit.

 

 

 

Area Median Income – Field for Pipeline

Did you know we have a field that will display the AMI right on your pipeline view? This can help identify borrowers who qualify for the Fannie/Freddie $2,500 grant discussed above, as well.

If you need any assistance modifying your pipeline view, reach out to Production Support.

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25 Points

March 13, 2024

 

• The Best Mortgage Companies to Work For: 2024

We are proud to announce that we have been recognized as one of the Best Mortgage Companies to Work For in 2024! In a year marked by industry challenges, our emphasis on employee engagement has set us apart. As the landscape evolved with consolidations, we stood strong, prioritizing our team’s well-being. With just 33 companies making the cut this year, down from 48 in 2023, it’s clear that our commitment to fostering a positive workplace culture has been a driving force. A huge thank you to our dedicated team for making this achievement possible!

• Fly-In – Recap and Reminders

Our first companywide virtual fly-in was one for the books and we hope the post party blues haven’t hit you too hard.  Here’s your ultimate Pump Up the Volume recap, sprinkled with reminders and garnished with unmissable takeaways:

Reminders:

📋 Survey Says: The event survey window closes on 3/15! Be a legend and share your thoughts. We want to make future events as valuable and fun as possible.

🕵️‍♂️ Survey Side Quest: Session surveys are still rolling until 3/15. Did you LOVE a session?  Was it too short, too long, too much?  Let us know by completing a survey for the specific sessions you attended.  Find them next to the “Play” button on the agenda – because your opinions matter!

📱 Mobile Magic: Download the event app for some on-the-go goodness. Search the google play or apple store for “VanDyk Virtual” – it will come in handy when you want to consume content on the go!

🗓️ 365 Days of Wisdom: Recorded sessions are available and can be accessed in the mobile app and on the vandykflyin.com website for a year.  We have saved the session recordings in the fly-in folder on VDMC.net as well.  Please re-watch and enjoy sessions you may have missed like a never-ending Netflix binge, but with more professional development and fewer cliffhangers.

Recaps:

📲 Floify Fun: Yes, there’s a Floify mobile app! Pro tip: It’s not an app that you have to download from the app store, but a shortcut you save to your phone that looks and acts like a mobile app, just without the need for update installations!

📁 Encompass Everywhere: Encompass app – Access files on the go, pull credit, price loans

💸 Veri-tax VIPs: Save money, save time with Veri-tax VOE service. Because why stress over paperwork when you can delegate like a boss?

🦸‍♂️ SUPER Heros: Create SUPER fans, be a HERO.

Takeaways:

🎙️ Sr Management Panel: Get ready for a quarterly Sr Management panel where the state of the company is discussed, and your burning questions are answered. It’s like a backstage pass to the company’s inner workings!

🗣️ TomTalks: Brace yourselves for words of wisdom from the silver fox himself. TomTalks: he knows WAY more than Ted.

🦄 Kahoot Spirit Animal: Our company spirit animal is a Kahoot – a magical competitive creature that constantly wins. Embrace the Kahoot spirit, be competitive, and own the virtual jungle like the fierce Kahoot warrior you are – we are gonna be doing a lot of Kahoot-ing!

✨ Marketing Gold Nuggets: The marketing department is mining for marketing gold and will provide nuggets to share. Stay tuned for golden opportunities to elevate our marketing game and make us shine like mortgage royalty!

🚀 Floify Bonus: Don’t forget to reach out to Jen at Floify for any one-on-one training and questions about customizations: jennifer@floify.com. Because we’re not just rising; we’re soaring with personalized Floify expertise!

Remember, Pump Up the Volume wasn’t just an event; it was a vibe, a mood, a whole experience. Keep the energy alive and the volume turned up to 11!

• Specialty Programs and Appraisals

Please don’t forget to notify the Appraisal department when your loan is a specialty program (for example, Chase Community Lending). This ensures we are not sending appraisal orders to ineligible appraisers on the “do not use” list. It’s as easy as leaving a note on the Appraisal order screen!

• Pricing Changes

Introducing Spec pricing for Government loans. Spec pricing stands for specified pools and provide payups for certain loan sizes. We have this on the Conventional side and now effective today you will see a Spec 250k, 200k, and 150k on government loans. Reminder Spec pricing can be a little more volatile and may not always flow evenly with market movement.

Also, effective today we have revised our government FICO LLPA’s to account for new delinquency data.

• Multiple Credit Pulls

CFPB requires a separate credit authorization for each credit pull. If we pull credit after the initial pull, we will need another authorization from the borrower in the file.

• NexBank Submission and Lock Updates

Changes to NexBank deadlines will now require locked loans to be submitted to the investor within 18 calendar days.

• Due to this change the only lock term available for NexBank with be 30 days.
• Loans that are not submitted within that allotted period will have the lock cancelled and will face worst-case pricing for reinstatement.

• Title Company DNU List

VanDyk requires title approval prior to closing any loan.  We have a Do Not Use list (DNU) – a list of companies we will not do business with which should be referenced before requesting title work from any company.  See the attached excel sheet which lists DNU companies as of 3/8/2024 and the instructions on searching for companies in Encompass.

• Training Opportunities
  • Back from our January News, after high demand following our virtual fly-in Variable Income session, here is Freddie Mac’s webinar on fluctuating income!
    • Freddie Mac Policy on Point Webinar (previously recorded) – VARIABLE INCOME!  A Discussion With Policy and Quality Control Experts About Rental and Employed Fluctuating Income (youtube.com)
  • Speaking of Freddie… Freddie Mac has several training offerings available in March and April. Check out the calendar here and enroll today!

 

• Floify Update: Soft Pulls

Excellent News!  Beginning Friday, you will see an option for both Soft and Hard Pulls in your Floify account.  We have removed your Hard Pull credentials, so you aren’t having to use our work-around to obtain a soft pull.  Moving forward, simply select Soft Pull and identify if you are using Sarma or Xactus.  See the attached Running AUS job aid for details and contact productionsupport@vandykmortgage.com with any questions.

• Soft Pulls: DU

As announced at fly-in, we are now able to run Fannie Mae’s DU with a soft pull!  We have attached a job aid which details the steps needed.

• Soft Pulls: Cost Increasing

Due to the requirement to include trended data in soft pulls, Sarma has updated their pricing for soft pulls.  The attached Credit Pricing document lists fees for Sarma and Xactus as of 3/8/2024.  Contact your account executives with questions.

• Broker Partner Updates 

Acra Lending: Steve Sansone is our preferred Acra A/E and has proven to be available, communicative, and trustworthy. Should you be solicited by any other Acra reps, you are welcome to work with them, though you may not receive the high-quality service and support we have come to expect from Steve.

Acra Lending has white label marketing pieces available for use.  Check out the offerings here and be sure to obtain approval from our internal Marketing team before you send anything out.

• AskPoli Update

Coming soon – AskPoli will be updated to require SSO/user-specific logins in order to access. Until we have individual logins established, utilize the Agency Guidelines link in Howee’s main menu for the easiest access to Fannie Mae guidelines.

• New 3^rd Party Verification Service Providers

We have provided account credentials to the production staff (processors and TCs) for Veri-Tax and PointServ.  All VOEs should be requested through one of these providers and AUS run before a work #/Lender’s One order is ever placed.  This will ensure the highest and most accurate results with the lowest cost.  We will review in more detail during this month’s round table – see below for highlights and pricing:

Veri-Tax includes a direct payroll verification feature which is $12, a Verbal VOE is $17, Written VOE is $20, and a Verbal reverification is $7.00 These VOE charges are a substantial savings from Lenders 1 / The Work Number.

PointServ is our new VOA provider.  For $6 per borrower per institution, the asset report from PointServ will provide the same validations and information as we are currently receiving from AccountChek at a much lower price point.  Remember to always pull the asset report and run AUS before obtaining any VOE.  Often, the asset report can validate both assets AND income making any additional verifications unnecessary.  Follow your AUS findings!

• Welcome Our New HR Director

We are excited to welcome Kris Benson, our new Director of Human Resources, to the VanDyk family. Kris comes to us with 14+ years of experience in human resources within the mortgage industry, having previously worked at Envoy Mortgage where she served as Vice President of Human Resources. She brings a wealth of knowledge in talent acquisition, employee relations, payroll, performance management, and organizational development. Please reach out and introduce yourselves, as she will be an invaluable resource for all of us.

 

Agency Updates

Fannie Mae

• Fannie Mae is in perfect synchrony with our Third-Party Vendor updates.  The entire Selling Guide update is around DU Validation services.  Income and Employment can now be validated using an eligible asset verification report by obtaining an asset verification report that contains at least 12-months of data from the borrower’s checking and/r savings account from an approved third-party vendor.
• Defer to Selling Guide Announcement (SEL-2024-02)  for the full scoop (it’s a hefty scoop of exciting things for reps and warrants).

 

VA

• VA is extending the circular issued April 15, 2021, 26-21-08, Expanded Home Loan Eligibility Based on Certain National Guard Service.  Formerly, this circular was to be rescinded April 1, 2024, but is now valued until rescinded with no defined date.

*  *  *

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: Thursday, March 14 at 1pm Eastern
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, March 19 @ 11am Eastern
• Production Roundtable: Friday, March 22 @ 1pm Eastern – We will celebrate our Gryffindor Pride by Goofing Off a little and talk like William Shatner while indulging in Bavarian Crepes and then clap our arms like a seal for a second helping. It will be full of Metta.  REMINDER: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY for all LPs and TCs/LOAs who perform TC functions.
• Prism: Linked Income: Wednesday, March 20 @ 12pm Eastern: REGISTER HERE
  • Great news! Prism’s IncomeXpert now supports linking past employment with current employment. This solves the problem of borrowers who have variable income and have switched jobs recently. This feature is great for analyzing borrowers such as travel nurses, union workers, or borrowers who recently changed jobs. Join Prism for a demonstration of this new feature!

 

Upcoming MI Company Training

Radian National Training

• Financing Properties with Solar Panels: March 14 @ 2pm ET – Register Here
• Connecting to Close: Top Producers Mindset: March 18 @ 1pm ET – Register Here
• Understanding Schedule C: Calculating Sole Proprietor Income for Self-Employed Borrowers: March 19 @ 1pm ET – Register Here
• Analyzing Schedule E Rental Income: March 26 @ 1PM ET – Register Here

 

 

SimpleNexus Links: FYI

Please be aware that all access to SimpleNexus for VanDyk has been disabled. Should a borrower follow an old SN link, they will receive a 404 Page Not Found error.

*  *  *

UDM & Derogatory Information

Should new derogatory information appear on UDM, a brand new hard credit pull will be required. Examples include late payments, new collections, and new judgements.

*  *  *

Reminder: Last Minute Hard-Pulls

As a reminder, there is a risk involved in pulling a new hard credit report the closer we get to closing. If you have a borrower with borderline credit, don’t wait until the last minute to do your hard pull!

*  *  *

PTF Conditions

Did you know that you don’t have to wait until funding to take care of a PTF condition?  The sooner you can provide the PTF condition and notify the appropriate parties, the better.  We do not want delays in funding your loan.  Additionally, PTF conditions prevent the loan from being at will – which is all the more reason to get those items taken care of ASAP.

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25 Points

February 7, 2024

 

• 2024 Virtual Fly In

Are you ready to Pump Up the Volume?  We are beyond excited to present our first companywide virtual fly-in event this month!  Be sure to visit the event webpage (http://vandykflyin.com/) to register, review FAQs and see all the most up to date details.  You will not be able to log in the day of the event unless you have completed the registration form here. Be sure to visit the site and get yours done soon. You are encouraged to invite your realtor partners to join us!

Help us help you: Please complete our survey on breakout sessions so we know what you’re most interested in attending. Access the survey here!

• New Broker Partner: American Heritage Lending

We are excited to announce a new broker option: American Heritage Lending. AHL offers hard money/bridge loans in addition to other NonQM options (DSCR, Foreign National, Alt Doc, Asset Qualifier). We will host a session with AHL in the coming weeks to learn about their loan options – be on the lookout for an invitation!

• HomeReady/HomePossible: New DPA Option

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have launched a $2500 grant program designed to help very low-income borrowers. To qualify for this program, borrowers need to be eligible for either HomeReady or HomePossible and have income at or below 50% AMI. We are working through the back-end process of this program and will announce when we are fully ready to utilize the program. In the meantime, if you have a deal that meets this criteria, please reach out to Brad Chatel and he will coordinate with all departments to ensure we work through the logistics.

• 2023 4506Cs at Closing: Reminder

Reminder: any application dated on or after 1/31 will require a 2023 4506C for all borrowers to be signed at closing. The Production Operations Staff were advised of the need for the 2023 4506C during last month’s Round Table.  Be sure to check your Request for Transcript of Tax form in Encompass and ensure the 2023 form has been added for each borrower prior to closing to avoid any post-close issues.

• • As a reminder, the 4506C form is only sent with the closing package. Initial disclosures are sent with the 8821 for Halcyon orders.
• Trainings from MI Companies/Agencies

Check out these training highlights for the month of February:

• Lakeview National DPA Loan Program – February 14 – Register Webinar Registration – Zoom
• Lakeview National DPA Loan Program – February 21 – Register Webinar Registration – Zoom
• MGIC – Can I Use Rental Income from a Business-Owned Property? –  February 28 – Register MGIC Webinar: Can I Use Rental Income from a Business-Owned Property?

• Income Documentation Updates  

For applications dated on or after 1/31/2024, OR loans with a note date on or after 2/15/2024: 2023 W2s OR a Written VOE will be required.

• • Tax Transcripts Cheat Sheet:  Updated version for 2024 is attached.
  • Income Worksheet – Prism: Updated within Encompass to include tax year 2023.
• Marketing Updates

New birthday BombBomb Vist videos are available to record! Log in to your BombBomb Vist account now to record personalized birthday videos for all your contacts with a birthday on file, including realtors and clients. If you don’t create a custom video, a standard corporate one will be sent instead. Be creative and make each birthday greeting special. Remember to vary the videos to keep them fresh year after year. Let’s ensure every birthday wish is unique and memorable.

• HR Updates

Priority Health offers a mobile app that allows you to manage your health insurance anytime, anywhere. Please see the attached PDF for more details.

 

 

Agency Updates

Fannie Mae

• Value Acceptance + Property Data is now allowable for Condos.  DU will begin issuing messaging on condo casefiles effective immediately.  As a note, we are still required to confirm the condo project eligibility.

 

• Manufactured Housing Cash-Out Refinancing is now available for a multi-width MFH for a 30-year mortgage term (formerly 20 years).  Single-wide MFHs remain ineligible for cash-out refinances.

 

• Non-Traditional Eligible Credit References have been expanded upon to include the following:

1. Rent: Fees paid to a landlord or property management company;
2. Private Mortgage: Housing payments not reported to the credit bureaus provided the payments are related to the borrower’s residence; and
3. Real Estate Taxes: Payments made on a principal residence, regardless of payment frequency (for homes owned free and clear).

 

• Use of Business Income Clarifications for Borrowers with less than 25% Ownership:

1. If business tax returns are provided, we are not required to analyze the viability of the business.  We may rely solely on the borrower’s proportionate share of the business income as reflected on the Schedule K-1.
2. Income reported on Schedule K-1 can only be considered for qualifying if we verify that the income was actually distributed to the borrower consistent with the level of business income being used to qualify (meaning that there are distributions and those are supported by the ordinary income) OR that the business has adequate liquidity to support the withdrawal of earnings.

 

• Property Insurance Requirements:

1. For 1-4 Unit properties and master property insurance policies, the following clarifications apply:
   1. In addition to actual cash value coverage being unacceptable, policies that limit, depreciate, reduce, or otherwise settle losses at anything other than a replacement cost basis are also not acceptable.
2. For Master Property Insurance, the following clarifications apply:
   1. The minimum required perils that a policy must cove are those found in a commercial “Broad” coverage form.
   2. Outdated references to guaranteed replacement cost, extended replacement cost, and replacement cost coverage have been removed to improve clarity.
   3. Coinsurance requirements have been removed to streamline the property insurance review process and to ensure that all project developments are reviewed for sufficient coverage.

 

Freddie Mac

• Freddie Mac is aligning with Fannie Mae at the direction of the FHFA on the Insurance updates noted above.

 

• Trust Income Documentation requirements are being updated effective with loan applications March 1, 2024, as follows:

1. Documented History of Receipt of income for the most recent one-year
2. When documenting continuance where the borrower is the Trustee, a letter from the Trustee is not acceptable documentation.

 

• ACE (appraisal waiver) Eligibility is being updated to allow for cash-out refinance mortgages.  The parameters of this offering will be 70% LTV for C/O refinances secured by a primary residence and 60% LTV for C/O refinances secured by a second home.

 

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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
  • Reminder: Tuesday, February 13 is our special CONDO Deal Desk, covering FL Condos and Milestone Phase Inspections as well as Master Insurance issues.  Realtors are invited to attend. Invitation is attached, please forward as needed!
• VanDyk Mortgage Newscast: Thursday, February 8 at 1pm Eastern
• Iron Sharpens Iron: Tuesday, February 20 @ 11am Eastern
• Pump Up the Volume! Monday, February 26^th to Friday, March 1^st

*There will be no mandatory Round Table for February. Processors/TCs will be notified of the mandatory virtual fly-in sessions being assigned to them.

 

 

 

Prism Income Calculation Help

When submitting a request to askuw@vandykmortgage.com for income help, please ensure that you have already completed Prism or Prism Plus (Tax Return borrowers).

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EPO Scenario – Calculating Proceeds, Can They Pay Off REO?

We are seeing many EPOs (early payoff) in situations where the borrower is purchasing a new home and has a property that is pending sale or will be sold.

EX:  Sales Price (if listed) OR Value (if not listed) multiplied by 90% less any lien payoffs = Projected Net Proceeds.

If those Net Proceeds are enough to pay off our loan, we should be having conversations with our borrowers.  This quick calculation early in the loan process can help identify those loans that could be subject to an EPO and allow us the opportunity to set expectations with our borrowers to prevent an early payoff from happening.

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Halcyon Reminder: Photo ID Required 

Reminder, a photo ID is REQUIRED when placing an order for transcripts with Halcyon. A how-to guide is attached.

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aiUW and Soft Pulls: Reminder

For loans where you’ve used a soft pull for initial underwriting submission, we need a full tri-merge credit report and AUS run in order to resubmit (as you already know). We also need to re-run aiUW for updated conditions based on that credit report that may need to be addressed. Don’t forget to re-run aiUW prior to resubmittal!

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