Housing Wire

OCTOBER 17, 2024

Better Home & Finance, the parent company of digital lender Better.com , launched its voice-based artificial intelligence loan assistant on Thursday. ” The AI loan assistant, dubbed Betsy, was built through Tinman, the company’s proprietary loan origination platform, where information and facts on loan applications are stored.

Loans 435

Loans Loan Officer Lending Mortgages 435

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 23, 2024

Even as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prominent in the mortgage industry, most millennial and Generation Z homebuyers are hesitant to rely solely on a fully automated application process to get a loan, according to a new study. About 58% of respondents still relied on loan officers to guide them through the process.

Mortgages 459

Mortgages Loan Officer Loans Technology 459

Housing Wire

MARCH 11, 2025

Federally registered broker and correspondent lender Milestone Mortgage Solutions has acquired Willow Home Loans and is looking to join the $1 billion origination club this year. ” Russell Petty, the founder of North Carolina -based Willow (formerly Grow Mortgage), said he expects to do $1 billion in origination volume in 2025.

Loans 370

Loans Mortgages Loan Officer Technology 370

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Reverse mortgage industry leader Finance of America (FOA) announced updates on Thursday to the interest rate for HomeSafe Second, its proprietary second-lien reverse mortgage product. The interest rate on the loan has been lowered from 9.99% to 9.49%. The interest rate on the loan has been lowered from 9.99% to 9.49%.

Mortgages 434

Mortgages Equity Loan Officer Loans 434

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Entering the mortgage industry as a loan officer can be both exciting and overwhelming. Dress & act like you mean business There is no dress code to be a loan originator, but there is for you. Final thoughts Success in mortgage sales is not about luck its about discipline, persistence, and strategy.

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Loan Officer Loans Industrial Development 277

Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2025

Self-branded “financial fitness” platform FinLocker announced Wednesday that it will cover 100% of the verification costs for mortgage borrowers who use lenders’ FinLocker-powered apps. This is about fundamentally transforming how the mortgage ecosystem works together.” ”

Mortgages 363

Mortgages Loan Officer Technology Loans 363

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

Higher-for-longer mortgage rates have claimed their first victim of 2025. Ally Financial announced Wednesday that it would exit the mortgage origination business as part of a broader strategy to pursue higher returns on investments. It had no sponsored loan officers. Bloomberg was the first to report the developments.

Closing 418

Closing Mortgages Loan Officer Development 418

Housing Wire

MAY 21, 2024

NEXA Mortgage , the largest mortgage brokerage firm in the U.S., will pay its loan officers 100% of the commission splits “without any per-file fees or other hidden fees,” according to co-founder and CEO Mike Kortas. NEXA usually pays loan officers 220 basis points (bps) out of 275 bps on most loans.

Loan Officer 459

Loan Officer Loans Brokerage Equity 459

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Founder and CEO Vishal Garg made a eye-popping statement when he opined that “in the next 10 years, 99% of the (mortgage) tasks will be completed by bots and 1% by humans.” “The bulk of the tasks that are required to process a mortgage are going to be performed by AI bots over the next 10 years,” Garg said in an interview with HousingWire.

Mortgages 369

Mortgages Loan Officer Loans Technology 369

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 22, 2024

Guaranteed Rate Affinity announced a promotion on Tuesday as the joint venture company named 22-year industry veteran Mark Rawls as vice president of mortgage lending. Rawls’ prior experience spans several companies — including Movement Mortgage and WR Starkey Mortgage.

Lending 430

Lending Mortgages Loan Officer Development 430

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

In a new episode of “The Loan Officer Podcast,” host Dustin Owen chats with John Cornish of Iowa-based Key Mortgage Group about his path into the industry, tips for scaling a mortgage lending business and how to avoid stagnation as a loan originator. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Mortgages 370

Mortgages Sales Loan Officer Lending 370

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Tim Nelson, a longtime reverse mortgage industry professional and reverse department manager at VIP Mortgage in Scottsdale, Arizona , spent 20 years in the home lending arena before shifting his focus entirely to reverse. Nelson is now a reverse mortgage borrower in addition to being an industry professional.

Mortgages 370

Mortgages Loan Officer Equity Lending 370

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 20, 2023

Mortgage rates had climbed close to the 7% range and he was determined to remain competitive on pricing with rival loan officers in North Carolina. After Mike paid his loan officer assistant, he was clearing just 40 bps. It was late 2022 and Mike was feeling the pressure. The lower comp rate stung.

Loan Officer 482

Loan Officer Loans Lending Mortgages 482

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 15, 2024

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the regulators’ allegations of mortgage lending discrimination in majority-Black neighborhoods of the Birmingham, Alabama , metro area. The agreement, which was submitted for court approval, requires the Madison, Wisconsin-based mortgage lender to pay a $1.9

Lending 468

Lending Loan Officer Loans Finance 468

Housing Wire

APRIL 2, 2024

New American Funding (NAF) has snagged top Chicago loan officer Larry Steinway as it looks to grow its presence in the Chicagoland area. billion of loan volume in his nearly 30-year career, started at NAF on April 1 as its vice president producing area sales manager tasked with expanding the lender’s footprint in the Chicagoland area.

Loan Officer 448

Loan Officer Loans Finance Mortgages 448

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 20, 2024

The state of leadership in the mortgage industry When people say, Theres no such thing as a perfect company, are they really acknowledging an inherentflaw or are they feeling the void left by inadequate leadership? Four months later, the branch was still struggling, and worse, my top loan officer now the branch manager quit.

Industrial 393

Industrial Loan Officer Mortgages Loans 393

Housing Wire

JANUARY 3, 2025

Reverse mortgage professionals made more inroads into the forward mortgage industry in 2024. This happened through dedicated conversations, partnerships between reverse and forward mortgage companies, and expanded activities in reverse that stemmed from acquisitions and expansions of existing divisions.

Mortgages 418

Mortgages Lending Loan Officer Loans 418

Housing Wire

MARCH 14, 2025

The mortgage professional of the future goes beyond the transaction. Our mortgage industry is experiencing a fundamental shift. Traditional loan officers who focus solely on transactions are being replaced by mortgage professionals who act as financial strategists, long-term advisors, and educators.

Mortgages 355

Mortgages Loan Officer Marketing Loans 355

Housing Wire

MARCH 21, 2025

housing market remains challenging for prospective buyers as concerns over mortgage rates , home prices and affordability persist in 2025. The affordability crisis extends beyond mortgage payments. Jones, a Colorado-based LO for Lower -backed Universal Lending Home Loans. ADU is a big requirement now.

Debt-to-income ratio 301

Debt-to-income ratio Loan Officer Marketing Loans 301

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Movement Mortgage has named Steve Smith, a mortgage veteran who most recently served as Movement’s executive advisor, as its new president and chief financial officer. compared to the same period last year, according to Inside Mortgage Finance (IMF). The announcement was made Wednesday.

Mortgages 370

Mortgages Loan Officer Finance Lending 370

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

CrossCountry Mortgage , a top-10 U.S. mortgage lender, has hired a team of former Pennymac Financial Services executives to lead its capital markets and investment-related activities. Fartaj stepped down as Pennymac’s senior managing director and chief investment officer in March 2023 , after 15 years at the company.

Mortgages 370

Mortgages Loan Officer Loans Banks 370

Housing Wire

AUGUST 29, 2024

Polly/ AI: AI-powered copilot for loan officers Fueled by Polly’s proprietary technology and data, Polly/ AI leverages powerful, state-of-the-art AI/ML and natural language processing (NLP) to transform the way loan officers conduct business and provide consumers with superior mortgage products and prices.

Loan Officer 429

Loan Officer Loans Technology Mortgages 429

Housing Wire

MARCH 3, 2025

Introduction As part of our ongoing discussion on the concept of movement in the mortgage industry, it is readily apparent that the failure of mortgage companies to pivot or tweak their business models to satisfy changing market and other conditions has resulted in consolidation based on liquidity, buyback, financial and other concerns.

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Purchase and sale agreement Closing Industrial Mortgages 413

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Top 10 mortgage lender Rate — previously known as Guaranteed Rate — announced a new promotion on Wednesday. The company named veteran mortgage professional Connie Lindsay as its senior vice president of mortgage lending in Washington state. Most recently, Lindsay served as a mortgage loan officer at U.S.

Lending 397

Lending Mortgages Loan Officer Loans 397

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

With mortgage rates moving closer to 7% once again, recent homebuyers are finding creative ways to lock in lower rates. This comes despite rising mortgage rates and a 115% increase in the typical mortgage payment compared to pre-pandemic levels. There are also nontraditional loan types such as an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

Mortgages 321

Mortgages Finance Loan Officer Loans 321

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 30, 2024

A California regulator has revoked the residential mortgage lending license of LoanSnap , the latest in a series of difficulties for the fintech lender. The company — which is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California — also lost its mortgage lender license in Connecticut earlier this month.

Lending 448

Lending Loan Officer Banks Loans 448

Housing Wire

APRIL 4, 2025

Reston, Virginia -based mortgage software company RETR announced this week that it has hired two new senior leaders to guide the company’s growth efforts. Before joining RETR, she founded PlacedE, a boutique mortgage recruiting and coaching firm. RETR was founded in 2022 by Wynands and chief technology officer Steven Mincemoyer.

Mortgages 350

Mortgages Technology Loan Officer Loans 350

Housing Wire

APRIL 24, 2025

The HECM Tool a software platform designed to serve as a reverse mortgage sales conversion tool announced this week that it has integrated the proprietary reverse mortgage offering from Smartfi Home Loans into the platforms existing visualization and comparison capabilities.

Mortgages 300

Mortgages Loan Officer Loans Principal 300

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 17, 2024

LenderLogix , a provider of mortgage point-of-sale and automation software for lenders, said that borrowers generated 49,392 preapproval letters through its QuickQual preapproval program in third-quarter 2024, a 15% decrease from the second quarter. The average number of preapproved borrowers per loan officer decreased slightly to 28.5

Loan Officer 468

Loan Officer Loans Sales Mortgages 468

Housing Wire

JULY 15, 2024

Loan originators in today’s mortgage market have weathered significant challenges. For loan originators , managing the narrative is crucial. Register now for AMPCON and be part of the conversation that’s shaping the future of mortgage banking.

Loan Officer 433

Loan Officer Loans Banks Mortgages 433

Housing Wire

MARCH 19, 2025

Better ‘s fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings call showcased the company’s growing revenue and its plans to further integrate artificial intelligence into the mortgage process. The current demo of Betsy takes someone all the way from inquiry through preapproval to loan amount, rate and locking.

Loan Officer 284

Loan Officer Mortgages Loans Equity 284

Housing Wire

APRIL 21, 2025

Veteran mortgage executive Randell Gillespie has been named president of Kansas City -based mortgage shop LeaderOne. Gillespie joins LeaderOne following a long stint at Thrive Mortgage and Lower , which merged in early 2024. According to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data , LeaderOne originated $1.32 billion last year.

Loan Officer 397

Loan Officer Banks Mortgages Loans 397

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Fluctuating interest rates and a fast-changing market Last month, we saw the Federal Reserve deliver their long-awaited decision to lower interest rates with a 50 basis points cut, and 30-year mortgage rates reached as low as 6.08% according to ICE’s 30-year fixed conforming rate index.

Loan Officer 435

Loan Officer Pre-approval Technology Loans 435

Housing Wire

MARCH 11, 2025

Tomo Mortgage on Tuesday announced the closure of $20 million in Series B funding that was led by three existing investors and a new participant. Tomo touts its use of artificial intelligence in streamlining loan underwriting and closing processes. and it has existing offices in Detroit and Seattle.

Closing 350

Closing Mortgages Investor Loan Officer 350

Housing Wire

JANUARY 31, 2025

Evergreen Home Loans , which is based in Washington state and has a presence in seven Western states, announced a major expansion of its footprint on Friday. John Porath “John’s leadership and ability to connect with loan officers will be instrumental in driving our core conviction of growth and success for the region.

Loans 310

Loans Loan Officer Construction Banks 310

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 19, 2024

What drives the secondary market and mortgage industrys top innovators? This series unveils the personal and professional moments shaping Pollys executive team and their vision for a better mortgage future. Jon Foys journey from Montana to Polly is driving innovation in the mortgage industry.

Mortgages 390

Mortgages Loan Officer Technology Industrial 390

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

The new partnership begins in January and aims to expand economic opportunities in low—and moderate-income, diverse and underserved communities through loan subsidies, grants and donations. and we are honored to support these efforts through our loans, investments and grants.” million to certain California markets.

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Loan Officer Lending Banks Loans 418