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

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 new states are Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Utah.

Mortgages

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

Housing Wire

JUNE 25, 2025

In mortgage, that playbook often mirrors sports—one side wins, the other loses. A smaller market still full of opportunity According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s May 2025 forecast, total mortgage originations are expected to reach $1.397 trillion by year’s end, a slight downward revision from earlier projections.

Mortgages

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

Housing Wire

JULY 21, 2025

Mortgage technology company Mobility Market Intelligence (MMI) announced on Monday its launch of ChatMMI, which claims to be the industry’s first conversational artificial intelligence interface built specifically for lenders, recruiters and other mortgage professionals. of all counties in the U.S.

Loan Officer

Housing Wire

JUNE 19, 2025

Technology is accelerating change across the financial services industry, and United Wholesale Mortgage is at the forefront of mortgage innovation. Can you describe these tools and how they will benefit mortgage brokers ? The first one we rolled out was LEO, which stands for Loan Estimate Optimizer. Jason Bressler: Yes!

Lending

Housing Wire

MAY 12, 2025

Bidding wars for producing mortgage loan officers are back with a vengeance and it’s largely in the hopes of capitalizing on an upcoming refinance wave, recruiters and executives tell HousingWire. Mortgage companies are competing for a shrinking pool of talent. The task would be difficult in any market. million.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

MARCH 5, 2025

Leading mortgage technology provider Uplist recently announced a new integration with fellow tech firm Polly. This move grants loan officers access to real-time insights that are designed to improve borrower assistance and engagement. The integration comes at a time of rising refinancing activity.

Loan Officer

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

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

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

Housing Wire

APRIL 28, 2025

Bay has encouraged us to start looking [for a job] as Rocket is really only offering loan officer positions at this time, an employee told HousingWire under the condition of anonymity for fear of affecting job prospects. billion in loans in 2021nearly 10 times Redfins in-house mortgage volume. They will be a great fit.

Loan Officer

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Entering the mortgage industry as a loan officer can be both exciting and overwhelming. Final thoughts Success in mortgage sales is not about luck its about discipline, persistence, and strategy. With a 100% commission-based structure, success isnt guaranteed its earned.

Loan Officer

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Jonathon Haddad, chairman and CEO of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), is one of the owners of Next Door. The Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) shows that Michigan-based brokerage firm Next Door had 61 sponsored loan officers as of Thursday, along with four branches in Arizona, Nevada, Ohio and Texas.

Lending

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. ADUs are also gaining popularity as homeowners seek rental income to offset mortgage expenses. ADU is a big requirement now.

Debt-to-income ratio

Housing Wire

JULY 14, 2025

the parent of Guild Mortgage , has left loan officers wondering how the traditionally purchase-focused lender would integrate refinance capabilities to leverage the $770 billion servicing portfolio of soon-to-be sister company Lakeview Loan Servicing , the nation’s second-largest mortgage servicer.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

The combined cost of mortgages, taxes and insurance now takes up a larger share of household income than it has since the early 1980s, according to an affordability index from John Burns Research & Consulting. High-cost markets, for example, may be less keen on accepting FHA or VA loans over their conventional counterparts.

Debt-to-income ratio

Housing Wire

MAY 21, 2025

Mortgage lending has long catered to a bygone era of steady paychecks and W-2 forms, leaving millions of self-employed and gig economy workers underserved. But as the gig economy booms, lenders are finding success in the nonqualified mortgage ( non-QM ) sector by engaging with AI-powered tools like Prudent AI.

Mortgages

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

Housing Wire

MAY 8, 2025

Todays best loan officers operate differently and expect more. If you believe you can originate mortgages today in the same way they were done in 2018, youve probably been on a very remote island since then. Naturally, this means loan officers (LOs) dont work the same way anymore, either. But wait, theres more!

Loan Officer

Housing Wire

APRIL 22, 2025

Today’s mortgage lending environment is shifting rapidly. Purchase loans are now outpacing refinances, and interest rates are reaching the stratosphere. However, one mortgage company is in a prime position to transform the market and deliver value to mortgage professionals. The goal is simple yet profound.

Lending

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

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

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

Housing Wire

JULY 8, 2025

Union Home Mortgage (UHM) is extending its reach into the Cincinnati, Ohio , market, the company announced on Tuesday. ” Patel, who has previously worked with Guaranteed Rate and UMortgage, brings a decade of experience in the mortgage industry to UHM. billion in mortgages last year. UHM originated about $7.6

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JULY 18, 2025

A newly released NextGen Homebuyer Report — compiled by National Mortgage Insurance and financial literacy nonprofit FirstHome IQ — highlights how Gen Z and millennials are creatively navigating a changing real estate landscape. Trust in loan officers has plunged even further, down to 19.5%.

Loan Officer

Housing Wire

MARCH 3, 2025

Union Home Mortgage (UHM) on Monday announced its acquisition of Nations Reliable Lending , aka NRL Mortgage. By coming together, we expand the reach of that promise further, while also continuing to build a unique workplace culture in the mortgage industry,” UHM CEO Bill Cosgrove said in a statement.

Mortgages

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

Housing Wire

JUNE 26, 2025

Analysts, economists and mortgage professionals are coining this quarter’s activity as one of the most “calm” periods for mortgage rates in recent memory. It follows nearly three years of borrowers being sidelined by higher rates or “stuck” in loans with historically low rates.

Mortgages

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

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2025

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. , mortgage lender, announced a deal on Wednesday to acquire Hallmark Home Mortgage in an asset sale. Jacobson and Sturges worked together at Waterfield Mortgage “decades ago and have remained industry acquaintances ever since,” Jacobson said in a statement. a top 20 U.S. year over year.

Mortgages

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.

Purchase and sale agreement

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

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. While other mortgage lenders tout automation, facilitated by way of call centers or outsourced service providers, Tomo is the real deal, said Pete Flint, general partner at NFX.

Closing

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

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. And that’s pretty groundbreaking for the mortgage industry. I see us being 40 times more productive for our loan officers.

Loan Officer