Lending Announcement: October 21, 2021

Topics in the Announcement

  October 21, 2021

• Introducing: Howee!

We are excited to announce the launch of a new resource for all employees: Howee! You may have noticed the chat bubble on VDMC.net – Howee is a chat bot on our home page, available to take questions 24/7. Previously, many of VanDyk’s resources were spread across different sites like Vamba and SeaFile. Howee is going to help us centralize these resources.

Howee can answer questions about any department: “Where is the employee handbook?” “Where is the VA matrix?” “How do I lock a loan?” “What days is corporate closed for holidays?”  Howee makes it easier to find these answers in one place. Our team leaders help to maintain Howee to be sure that the most up-to-date information is available. If there is a question that is unable to be answered, Howee will create a ticket for the appropriate department to respond to. Once the answer is provided, that user will receive an email – and the knowledge will be added to Howee for the next time the question is asked. Howee User Guide – 10.21.21

• INCREASED Loan Limits – Conventional Financing

Effective immediately, VanDyk Mortgage is offering conforming high balance loan amounts up to $625,000. Counties with high cost limits for 2021 that are already greater than $625,000 are not changing. This means your borrowers can buy a $658,000 with only 5% down or a $781,250 home with 20% down.

Notes:

• DU and LPA will return an ineligible result. VDM will accept Approve/Ineligible (DU) and Accept/Ineligible (LPA) due only to the loan amount in excess of the 2021 loan limits.
• Minimum 660 FICO
• A full appraisal is required for the expanded loan limits. Appraisal waivers are not allowed with an ineligible decision. In areas where the loan is within the current 2021 high cost limits, appraisal waivers remain eligible.
• 30 year fixed, 1 unit, Single Family Residence, detached, condos, PUDs and attached PUDs only. 2 – 4 family properties and manufactured homes are not eligible for the expanded high balance program.  Properties located in the state of NY are not eligible.
• At the time of publication: Radian, Enact, Arch, MGIC and Essent are all offering insurance for the expanded loan limits.
• Changes to locks which result in a program change will be treated at current market.  This product will not be eligible for relock when new county limits are released by FHFA.

• TEXT YOUR BORROWERS FROM ENCOMPASS:

Yes, you read this right! We are working on partnering with a vendor which will allow us to do LIVE text messaging with the borrowers directly in Encompass and we are looking for volunteers to help us test the application. Mortgage Messaging sits directly inside the Encompass loan files and will allow any LO, LOA, TC, LP the ability to send texts to and receive replies directly from the Borrowers. There are several use cases where it can help with collecting a last minute document (ex. a photo of the driver’s license), answer a quick question, or send a simple reminder to return a phone call, sign a CD, check an email, etc.

If you are interested in helping us test, please send an email to Production Support and we will set your team up with the application and do a training.

• REMINDER: Suggestion Box!

Do you have an idea to improve our workflow, or a change in Encompass that you would like to see and will also help your colleagues? We want to hear from you! The Suggestions Inbox is LIVE and available to everyone at https://suggestionsbox.vdmc.net/ – Please submit your ideas! Suggestions are reviewed weekly by management and we are looking for suggestions with 5 or more votes. Any suggestion implemented as a business improvement that was upvoted by peers or accepted by management will win a $50 gift card.

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Self-Employed Documentation – Reminder

If we are unable to obtain a VOE for a self-employed borrower, any other form of documentation used for verification (such as invoices, receipts, or bills) must be signed by the borrower.

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Broker Trainings – Recordings

Did you miss a broker product training session? Ask Howee “Where are the broker training recordings?” for access to recent sessions.