 National Mortgage Professional Magazine is proud to present its annual list of Top Mortgage Employers. They polled their readers about their employers based on the following criteria:
The Mortgage Collaborative is proud to highlight the following Lender Members & Preferred Partners that made the list. Nationwide (Lender Members)
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 The constant onslaught of new regulations over the past six years has forced lenders to become more nimble when adapting to change and innovations. Compliance concerns are tightly linked to nearly every technology decision, whether related to documents, data integrity or reporting fair lending.
Embracing the changes needed to address the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has become a critical imperative for lenders that want to remain in the business. Making the wrong choice when implementing a new technology platform can be as serious as letting older technology drive you out of compliance. Traditionally, the changes federal regulators made to protect consumers have involved changes to the documentation the borrower receives during the mortgage lending process. The changes we saw with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) followed that pattern. Even the CFPB’s eClosing pilot was about the paperwork, to some degree – getting disclosures and closing documents to the borrowers faster, so they have more time to review and understand them. These are the kinds of changes that drive lenders to investigate new, more powerful doc prep systems. But what functionality is essential? What must your next doc prep provider be prepared to deliver? Here are three things you should demand from your document partner. 1. Fully Dynamic Documents When automation first entered the mortgage industry, forms were typically created on x-y coordinate-based templates. There was no other way to automatically generate documents. While the templates worked great for compliance – when they were up-to-date – it was expensive and time consuming to keep up with every national, state and local document change. Within the last decade, much of the industry has migrated to dynamic docs, which allow documents to expand and contract based on the content required while remaining in full compliance. Since 2004, Docutech has been leading this movement because of the many advantages dynamic docs offer all stakeholders. First and foremost, document changes are easier to make and those changes are easier to track, which provides a tangible compliance benefit. For our customers, Docutech actually takes over the maintenance of their forms, ensuring that they are always in full compliance with all investor and regulatory requirements. 2. Superior Document Compliance While dynamic documents provide greater ability to easily make changes, someone still has to ensure that those changes are fully compliant. Document maintenance (both for standard forms and the lender’s custom forms) should be part of the offering provided by a qualified doc prep partner. This requires constant monitoring of changing laws and regulations and how they affect the entire document library. When a compliance change is made in one place, it often impacts many documents that are subject to the new rule. A dynamic solution will apply the change across all document types, making it a more responsive tool for lenders. Depending on your provider, making these document changes for either a standard document or a custom form can take days, weeks or longer. But using dynamic documents and the industry’s best tools, it can be reduced to hours or at most a day or two. In today’s evolving lending environment, a system capable of constant monitoring and applying those changes is the only workable solution. Additionally, your vendor should have a strong legal compliance team capable of actively monitoring all regulatory agencies for required changes, which underscores the importance of established, deep relationships with the GSEs, FHFA and the CFPB. The right vendor will have these connections and use them to proactively stay abreast of compliance changes that will ultimately affect the lender’s business. 3. Extensive Functionality Lenders today are working in highly digital and virtual environments, and their vendors must be capable of keeping up. The right vendor should succeed at providing a set of features that meets all of the lender’s needs. Choosing a partner that is unable or unwilling to provide all the required functionality will inevitably create problems for the lender over the long term. At a minimum, the vendor must be capable of providing:
Ultimately, your document partner must be capable of delivering the functionality that allows you to operate profitably, be fully compliant and includes the technology that evolves with industry to the newest eMortgage standards. This is the direction the mortgage industry is headed, as evidenced by Fannie Mae spearheading the development of a decisioning support tool for lenders who are considering moving to an eMortgage or an eClosing workflow and require the support of a third-party vendor.
We are pleased to announce that loans originated by lenders participating in Fannie Mae Day 1 Certainty™, are eligible for purchase by Wintrust Mortgage under our Fannie Mae (FN) program for delegated loan files as of January 12, 2017.
Day 1 Certainty provides representation and warrant relief for: Income, assets and employment validation through Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) Appraised value through Collateral Underwriter® (CU™) (with a qualifying CU risk score) Property value, condition, and marketability with enhanced waivers of property inspection requirements on refinances through DU. Wintrust Mortgage will not require additional documentation to support the income or assets outside of the requirements listed by Desktop Underwriter, provided there is validated Day 1 Certainty findings provided.
 Credit Plus offers a monthly edition of America's Mortgage News accessible to all through their YouTube channel. Click this link to view prior editions.
With our January 11th release, FraudGuard users can take advantage of Fannie Mae’s freedom from representations and warranties for employment and income verifications obtained through Equifax’s The Work Number® inside of FraudGuard.
How to FraudGuard Users access TWN in Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty Program A lender must opt-in with Equifax and activate the appropriate institution ID with Fannie Mae to allow for audited copies of employment verifications to be provided to Fannie Mae/DU upon request. The employment verifications are reviewed by Fannie Mae based on Social Security Number & Loan Number. If a successful validation is made, lenders may be relieved of having to collect pay stubs and W-2 forms as the verification will be accepted in lieu of these documents. 4506-T Status Update in the Day 1 Certainty Program We are pre-approved and officially registered with Fannie Mae as a designated vendor in their Day 1 Certainty program for Income Validation with our 4506-T Tax Transcript Service. The on-boarding process is in motion, to be followed by a pilot and production phase. We will continue to communicate progress as we move onto the next phase with Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty Background Last October, Fannie Mae launched their Day 1 Certainty program aimed at helping lenders who sell loans to Fannie Mae, providing Day 1 Certainty in the form of enforcement relief of certain representations and warranties for validated components. As part of the program, Desktop Underwriter (DU®) began a validation service designated to provide customers with enhanced loan origination controls, improved processes and certainty around the borrower’s income, asset and employment verification.
 2016 MOCSI Report – January 2017(spoken like moxy – Mortgage Origination Customer Satisfaction Index)
The mortgage loan process is complicated. For consumers, it can be 30 days or more of frustration. If a refinance is a maze, the home purchase transaction is an absolute labyrinth. The process begins with the home search, writing offers and entering into contract. Then the customer must complete the application, lock a rate, and collect documentation. On the professional side there is origination, processing, appraisal, underwriting, title, insurance, review, audit, closing, and funding. The consumer eventually gets to the settlement table and can move into their new home. Exhale. Finally! One thing is certain; along the way something didn’t go as planned. There are just too many moving parts for everything to run perfectly. Ever. Because of this, many lenders avoid asking their customers for post-closing feedback. Instead, they resort to allocating resources in reaction to upset customers’ online rants on Google, Yelp or the CFPB. There are some lenders who ask borrowers for feedback. What little data they get is poorly used. It either sits on an employee’s desktop or ends up in some quarterly report. That is not the case for the companies that have made the MOCSI list for 2016. All are happy to ask their customers for feedback and even more excited to share the true voice of their customer online. This was an extremely difficult list to make. All winning companies are using an automated system and meet the following minimum criteria;
Congratulations to the MOCSI Top Performers for 2016 Large Companies (250 or more Originators) #1 – Summit Funding An awesome performance with 4.8 out of 5.0 stars across 9,000 reviews, from over 52% of their customers. Equally impressive is that nearly 800 customers posted 5 stars reviews on Google in 2016. Congrats to the entire team at Summit. Your customers are speaking loudly, and they are doing it online! “SocialSurvey has simply amazed us with the speed and ease of integrating their easy to use customer surveys. We were thrilled to see over 10 X’s improvement… Many of our Summit branches have also vaulted to the top of Google’s searches. I am so impressed, that it is easy to say SocialSurvey is the biggest / fastest 3rd Party Software Integration Win we have deployed in quite some time.” Mark Graham, Director of Marketing at Summit Funding #2 – American Financial Network 4.8 out of 5.0 Stars with over 7,000 reviews and a 47% response rate. In the past 16 months, their reviews have been shared over 40,000 times online. “SocialSurvey has not only increased our referral business, but also allowed us at the executive level to engage with customers’ opinions, thanking them or helping them immediately. AFN’s high ratings… prove to us that our model of supporting various branch ideas and business plans is working. We also appreciate the instant feedback from our consumers directly to us so we know where we can improve every day.” Jon Gwin, COO of AFN #3 – New American Funding 4.9 stars across 3,700 reviews. And an amazing 52% customer response rate. “We’re thrilled to be named one of the best companies in the mortgage industry for customer satisfaction in 2016! Not only do we value our customer’s feedback but we understand the significance of generating quality online reviews,” said Rick Arvielo, CEO of New American Funding. “We’re always thinking outside of the box and how we can remain progressive as a company; so it’s exciting to witness the outstanding impact of Social Survey. In a short time frame, it has tremendously expanded the brand of our Loan Officers. We see this as an excellent beginning of great things to come.” #4 – Freedom Mortgage 4.9 stars and a calculated NPS score so ridiculously high we are afraid to publish it. Their customers are all happy to refer friends and family to Freedom’s originators. This was a hall-of-fame performance. Unfortunately, we don’t have data from all of their retail loan officers, so we cannot give them the crown. The information we have shows a nearly perfect performance. #5 (tie) – PRMG (Paramount Residential Mortgage Group) PRMG just recently launched their survey program, so they only had a couple of months of data to qualify for the 2016 list. That’s the bad news. The good news; they performed flawlessly with 4.9 stars and over 1,000 completed surveys from 48% of their customers. #5 (tie) – PRMI (Primary Residential Mortgage Inc) Another nearly perfect performance. 4.9 stars over 2,300 completed surveys from 51% of customers surveyed. Unfortunately, we only have data from a limited number of regions. “SocialSurvey has been a great addition to our online strategy of brand building and brand awareness. SocialSurvey helps keeps great originators focused on what truly matters, ‘The Customer Experience.’” Craig Steel, National Director Business Development for PRMI Small Companies (fewer than 250 Originators) #1 – Absolute Home Mortgage Corporation (AHMC) 4.9 out of 5.0 stars. 1600 Completed Reviews from 57% of their customers and hundreds of additional 5 star Reviews on Google. We told the AHMC leadership after this performance, “Just drop the mic and walk off stage. Your performance speaks for itself!” “The reviews have helped us increase our overall social outreach and exposure. Loan Officer’s family and friends are consistently commenting and interacting … which results in more business. SocialSurvey is the best dollar for dollar resource we have.” Matthew Van Fossen, COO of AHMC #2 – Centennial Lending Group 4.9 stars across 500 reviews, representing 57% of their customers. Another stat to celebrate is CLG’s reviews get shared online an average of 9 times! That is a nearly flawless performance. “Surveys have been an integral part of our business success this past year. Customers sharing their experiences brings us unparalleled recognition and business opportunities.” Susan Meitner, CEO of CLG #3 – Diamond Residential Mortgage 4.9 stars from 2,400 reviews, which is a completed survey from 52% of their customers. Their reviews were shared over 16,000 times online. “We are proud and delighted of our SocialSurvey results for 2016! The DRMC team has a commitment to excellence and to our customer and clients both internal and external. This commitment is demonstrated in the results achieved. Taking care of our customer is the passion, heart and soul that flows within the company. Our decision to put the SocialSurvey platform in place was one of our finest decisions!” Paul Diamond, CEO/President DRMC #4 – Allied Mortgage Group 4.8 Stars from 2,400 responses which represents 52% of their customers, many of which left a 5 star review on Google. Amazingly, their reviews were shared over 12,000 times online. #5 – Churchill Mortgage A WOW performance turned in by Churchill that must be acknowledged. 59% of their customers complete a survey. That is the best performance we have seen in response rate. They also have 4.8 stars across 2,100 reviews. “Customer relationships and the validation of value we bring to clients drive everything we do at Churchill Mortgage. Internally, our SocialSurveys allow us to monitor our customer service levels, proactively streamline operations, and highlight communication opportunities on a daily basis. We believe transparent customer feedback and continual training allow our team to serve clients better, and ultimately, build a more stable and efficient business.” L. H. “Mike” Hardwick, III, President of CMC So there you have it. Delivering a fantastic customer experience in an extremely complicated and highly regulated industry is not only possible, it is happening every day. Loan Originators looking for the right place to work in a ever-changing landscape need look no further than the 11 lenders listed above. If you are not already reviewing your customers, make it a priority for 2017. Collecting customer feedback is so valuable for your business. Sharing that feedback online is a crucial component of the process. Your customers are happy to write reviews and share their experience on Google and social media which will help you grow your business. SocialSurvey is the mortgage industry’s solution for automating survey requests and sharing reviews and testimonials online. To get a PDF copy of this report along with bonus content, visit: http://www.socialsurvey.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/MOCSI2016.pdf Keep an eye out for our February Report – Loan Officer MOCSI Awards!  The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it suspended the reduction of Mortgage Insurance Premiums, effective immediately.
HUD sent out an announcement just an hour after President Trump was sworn in on Friday, stating that the cuts have been suspended indefinitely. The letter stated that the FHA will issue a subsequent Mortgagee Letter at a later date should this policy change. “FHA is committed to ensuring its mortgage insurance programs remains viable and effective in the long term for all parties involved, especially our taxpayers,” the letter stated. “As such, more analysis and research are deemed necessary to assess future adjustments while also considering potential market conditions in an ever-changing global economy that could impact our efforts.” When Ben Carson, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs, appeared last week before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, one of the topics of discussion was the outgoing administration’s recent decision to cut Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance premiums on its way out the door. At the time, Carson said that the Trump administration plans to “really examine” the Obama administration’s decision to cut FHA premiums before determining a course of action. Source: Brena Swanson from HousingWire. Follow on Twitter @BrenaSwanson.  New tool gives lenders the data they need to improve products, strategies and terms
Credit Plus, a provider of intelligent insight for mortgage professionals, announced today the availability of its Lost Sales Analysis by Equifax*, a new product that helps lenders gain a better understanding of the applicants they’ve lost, who they lost them to, and why. It provides loan-level competitive intelligence that can help them maximize their marketing ROI while improving closing rates and customer retention. With the detailed data contained in the Lost Sales Analysis, lenders can determine if their applicants closed their loans with a competitor, monitor portfolio run-off trends, and assess pipeline fallout. The specific output contained in the Lost Sales Analysis includes:
*Lost Sales Analysis is a product of Equifax, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia and Credit Plus is a certified reseller. About Credit Plus, Inc. Credit Plus, Inc. provides intelligent insight to mortgage professionals so they can make smart lending decisions. Headquartered in Salisbury, Md., the company is a third-party verifications specialist offering more than 160 products and services for mortgage professionals, including credit reports, scoring tools, Deposit and Asset Verifications, Employment Verifications, Tax Return Verifications, fraud prevention tools, Undisclosed Debt Verifications, flood reports, appraisals, and more. Its expertise in the mortgage industry enables it to quickly assess current and future needs, and provide new solutions for a rapidly changing environment. Credit Plus moves mortgage professionals forward. For more information, please call Credit Plus at (800) 258-3488, e-mail info@creditplus.com or visit the company’s website at www.creditplus.com.  From Fannie Mae – 1.17.2017
Are You Getting Day 1 Certainty Yet? Day 1 Certainty™ gives lenders increased efficiency and freedom from representations and warranties on key mortgage loan components. Leverage the Day 1 Certainty™ offerings from Fannie Mae to serve your customers through even more efficient origination, processing, and closing of mortgage loans. Day 1 Certainty Benefits Lenders who tested the Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) validation service told us that it streamlined the loan origination process and brought efficiencies to their business processes. They reported: · Pre-approval process measured in minutes as opposed to days · Meaningful process efficiencies – processors save approximately 90 minutes and underwriters save 20-30 minutes of touch time as they’re able to focus on managing exceptions; 4-7 days saved overall · Enhanced borrower experience – save time by leveraging electronic data over paper Day 1 Certainty also gives you freedom from rep & warrants on appraised value for many loans, and more opportunities for appraisal waiver offers on refinances. Get Day 1 Certainty with: DU Validation Service for Income, Assets, and Employment Lenders must opt in to use the DU validation service. Just follow these simple steps: · Review resources on the DU Validation Service page DU Validation Service Page · Engage the report vendors of your choice · Complete and submit the DU Validation Service Setup Form Enhanced Property Inspection Waivers in DU No opt in is required to get more appraisal waivers on refinances – with enhanced PIWs, the offers issue automatically in DU for eligible refinance transactions. You may choose to exercise the PIW offer by delivering the loan with special feature code 801. An exercised PIW offer provides freedom from reps and warrants on property value, condition, and marketability. And – great news – there is no longer a fee for exercising a PIW offer. View details on the PIW page. Certainty on appraised value powered by Collateral Underwriter® (CU™) No opt-in is needed for this great new benefit. See how to get freedom from reps and warrants on property value with a CU risk score of 2.5 or lower, and learn more about CU. Get More Information or Assistance Visit the Day 1 Certainty web page for more information, including training resources, FAQs, and much more.
The Mortgage Collaborative has negotiated through The Prieston Group on behalf of its members, an exclusive comprehensive offering of Lloyd's of London rep and warranty insurance and related repurchase services.
Services included through the American Mortgage Law Group include:
Additionally, we invite you to join The Mortgage Collaborative & The Prieston Group for a special webinar: Fannie Mae's Day 1 Certainty Program - Thursday, January 19th @ 2pm EST/11am PST
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Rich Swerbinsky
TMC - Chief Operating Officer 
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