Now that tax reform legislation has been passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate this past week and signed into law by the President to be effective January 1, 2018; here’s what homeowners need to know about what is in the final bill:

• The standard deduction increases to $24,000 for married couples and $12,000 for an individual.  This may shelter more income for many of you and hopefully put more cash in your pockets each paycheck. Over all, this is a big win for many taxpayers.  (In addition, child tax credits were increased and the “refundable” amount is also higher.  This will be especially helpful for those with children and income below $400,000/year.)
  
• Thanks to the hard work of AHA and its allies, the mortgage interest deduction (MID) was preserved.  For all existing mortgages, there will be no change to the current MID deduction.  For new mortgages on a first or second home, the MID will apply up to a maximum $750,000 in mortgage amount.  This will present a new factor when considering whether to refinance (or to sell) for those with large mortgages.
  
• AHA also successfully worked to preserve the capital gains exemption for owner-occupied properties.  Earlier versions of the bill had lengthened the time of occupancy to qualify for the exemption (5 of the last 8 years), but AHA is happy to report that requirements remain unchanged in the new bill – occupancy for only 2 of the last 5 years is required.  This especially helps homeowners when a sale may have been unplanned due to relocation, death, divorce or other unforeseen events.
  
• Deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) continue as they do today –but, only to a maximum deduction of $10,000.  This will potentially have an adverse effect on higher income taxpayers especially in high-tax states and municipalities.
• There are many other provisions regarding charitable deductions, the alternative minimum tax (AMT), business tax rates, estate taxes, etc. that are not exclusive to homeowners.  While on the surface, most of these changes seem positive, it also seems likely that due to the complexity and probable unintended consequences, there will need to be future clarifications and corrections to this Tax Reform Bill. 
  
• One thing that is certain is that the goal of simplification of the tax law does not seem to have been achieved.  Requirements and conditions continue to apply to many provisions and are still a major factor in this rule – and most have changed from previous law – so you may continue to need expert tax advice and/or tax preparation services to know how these changes specifically impact you.
• There are still seven tax brackets for varying income levels, and tax rates for all of them are lower than current tax rates.
  
• The IRS has said that it will aim to have new tax withholding tables available by February so, if you are a W-2 wage earner, these changes may show up in your paycheck as soon as a few weeks from now.
  

As these issues that impact homeowners continue to develop -- and many others emerge in the coming months, help AHA grow a stronger voice at Your AHA. 

Home Improvements
If you find that the tax law changes give you a little more room in your budget, you might want to think about home Improvements.  Be sure to go to AHA Member Rewards for discounts and cash back offers on decorating supplies, furniture, white sales and daily supplies.
 
To register for membership: Click Here!    
Membership Code specifically for TMC Members & Partner Companies: tmc2017

• To learn more about the benefits of AHA membership, contact Rod Luckhart.
  

QUESTION:
Currently, the Know Before You Owe/TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (“TRID”) does not permit changes to a Closing Disclosure (“CD”) to cure a tolerance violation more than four (4) business days prior to consummation.  Did the 2017 TILA-RESPA Rule eliminate this issue known as the “Black Hole”?
 
ANSWER:
No.  Although the proposed 2017 TILA-RESPA Rule included language which would have permitted a lender to reset tolerances using a CD at any time, so long as the lender issued a corrected CD within three (3) business days of learning of a valid Change of Circumstance, this language was removed from the final 2017 TILA-RESPA Rule.
Rather, the CFPB issued a separate proposal to address the “Black Hole” issue and has asked the industry to comment on various issues, including:
(1) how the current four business day timing element has prevented creditors from resetting tolerances;
(2) the costs involved when the timing element has prevented creditors from resetting tolerances; and
(3) whether creditors are providing the initial CD so that it is received “substantially before the required three business days prior to consummation with terms and costs that are nearly certain to be revised.”
Lenders who have repeatedly been forced to absorb increased costs when closings are delayed will need to monitor whether this proposal is adopted by the CFPB.

Schedule time to speak with MQMR's team:

• Britt Haven - 818.940.1200 Ext. 421
• Alan Ridenour - 818.940.1210
  

Office Depot December specials are here for the TMCSavingCenter! Register for online ordering to save up to 79% off additional kitchen, breakroom and office products.

• Need to register? Visit: TMC.SavingCenter.net

As the House and Senate begin their negotiations over tax reform, important issues to the homeowners of today and tomorrow will continue to be debated.  For example, the potential value of the mortgage interest deduction and the state and local tax (SALT) deduction vie with the increase in the standard deduction and other changes that will be favorable to certain segments of taxpayers and homeowners.  
 
AHA believes that any changes to the mortgage interest deduction need to include provisions that are equal to or better for current and prospective homeowners and provide the incentives to homeownership that Americans have supported since 1913.  It is unlikely that we will know the final “verdict” until a bill reaches the President’s desk, but rest assured AHA is working on it – everyday – on your behalf!
 
You may be asking yourself, your neighbors, or folks in line at the grocery store, “What can I do about tax reform?  Seems like it is happening pretty fast.”  Surely, writing to or calling your members of Congress is helpful - just click here to reach out to your representatives to share your views.  
 
But voices magnified are more effective in Washington. That is the precise reason why America’s Homeowner Alliance exists.  AHA is here to put in clear terms to policymakers exactly who, how and when tax proposals will affect you, the homeowner and aspiring homeowner.  When AHA sits down with policymakers, numbers matter.  That is why AHA asks their members to talk to their friends and family to ask them to join AHA.  
 
Please heed this as a call to action to ask your “network” today to join our AHA members to further support our mission:  to protect and promote sustainable homeownership for all segments of America. AHA has been working hard to build up membership so that your voice and that of Homeowners everywhere would have an impact on the outcome of Tax Reform and so many more issues in Washington. 
 
The next big issue for homeowners that is likely to be addressed by Congress after Tax Reform is Housing Finance Reform.  More specifically – the reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA.  One could argue that few people buy a house “because” of the mortgage interest deduction.   But no one can refute that homeownership is more affordable and accessible because of the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, low down payment mortgage options, historically low mortgage interest rates -- and competition from a wide spectrum of lenders.  All of that is at risk in the upcoming next big debate and another reason for AHA to aggressively grow its membership and voice.
 
Again – AHA needs your friends and family members and co-workers to join the AHA so they can be ready with an army of voices that will be necessary to dictate the right outcome for Homeowners and aspiring Homeowners as well on the next big issues as they arise . . . and they will continue to arise in 2018.
 
Thank you for your support – AHA is proud to represent you!
 
To register for membership: Click Here!    
Membership Code specifically for TMC Members & Partner Companies: tmc2017

• To learn more about the benefits of AHA membership, contact Rod Luckhart.

In an era when writing checks at the grocery store is an anomaly and having cash available is something people have to plan ahead for, many borrowers are jumping at the chance for a more digital mortgage process. When Fannie Mae rolled out Day 1 Certainty™ just over a year ago, it brought with it an industry-changing standard for a more efficient and certain loan origination process, plus freedom from paper-based processes with digital validation of income, assets, and employment.
 
A couple of decades ago, applying for a mortgage meant gathering up paper paystubs and bank statements and delivering them to the lender by hand. Even today, most borrowers are still scanning hard copies or collecting electronic documents and emailing them to their loan officers or uploading them to web portals. The Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) validation service is making all of that obsolete for many loan applications. Instead, borrowers can consent to digital validation, avoiding the task of amassing either electronic or paper documents, and speeding up the approval process.
 
“This is a win-win,” said one Fannie Mae mortgage lender. “The customer’s experience is improved through reduced documentation and accelerated closing dates while we receive reps & warrant [relief] and operational efficiencies.”
 
The user experience is now not unlike the online financial tasks that have become routine for most of us: banking, paying bills, filing our taxes, sending money to a friend or relative, and budgeting.
 
Whether you’re just starting to think about digital data validation or already using it every day, here are five DU validation service tips and tricks to make sure that both you and your borrowers are getting the maximum benefits of digital validation:
 
1. Know the benefits; share the benefits.
You know that digital data validation supports rapid loan closing, reduces non-data documentation, minimizes the back-and-forth between the processor and the underwriter, and may even support shorter rate lock periods – and you know how those improvements benefit you and your loan officers. But make sure your borrowers know how digital validation can benefit them, too. Loans with income and/or employment validation close 13 percent faster than loans without validation.
 
2. Figure out your process.
To make the most of digital validation of borrower data, you’ll need to determine where it fits in your origination process. Many lenders are obtaining borrower consent and ordering validation services very early in the loan application process: if employment, income, and/or assets can be digitally validated, your borrower won’t need to submit or upload non-required documents.
 
“We are seeing an increase in customer satisfaction driven primarily by ease of use, less paperwork needs, and accelerated turn times,” said one Fannie Mae mortgage lender.
 
The best way to figure out what works for you might be to start small. For example, try the process out with online applicants because they are comfortable with technology, or maybe with existing banking customers only. See what works and what doesn’t, and make changes to make the process work best for you and your borrowers.
 
3. Look to your validation vendors for resources to help educate borrowers.
Remember that you’re working with third-party service providers to validate the borrower’s information. Work with your vendors to see what information they can provide to help educate your borrowers about the digital validation process.
 
4. Make sure your loan officers are in the know.
Adopting digital validation will only help you and your borrowers if your loan officers are on board and ready to roll. Empower them to succeed with best practices, tips and tricks, and rules of the road – and create a feedback loop so they can help you analyze what’s working and what needs attention.
 
5. Be prepared to talk the borrower through the process.
First, set proper expectations. Your loan officers should be able to help borrowers understand the value of digital validation, what they’re consenting to, and what to expect. For example, asset validation involves providing personal login information for digital access to financial accounts. The process is similar to online banking, but if the borrower is unprepared it may disrupt the process and delay – instead of speed up – the loan process.
 
Someday soon, supporting loan applications with paper or uploaded documents will be a thing of the past. Use these best practices to be one of the first in the industry to adapt to digital data validation and get ahead of your competition by offering a better borrower experience.

​Visit Fannie Mae's website for more information and resources.

New TMC Preferred Partner – PHH Mortgage – is helping TMC members significantly reduce servicing expenses.  With origination costs up and expenses at an all-time high, PHH is taking the guesswork out of understanding your true servicing costs – whether servicing in-house or with a subservicer. 
 
As a value-added service of The Mortgage Collaborative, TMC Lender Members are eligible for a Free Servicing Cost Analysis.  By answering 4-5 questions about your portfolio, PHH can provide a detailed analysis to determine if you’re leaving money on the table with your current subservicer or should consider shifting from servicing in-house.  Here are some of the results:

• PHH clients are realizing an average savings of $2.00 - $5.00 per loan per month, depending on the size of the portfolio and whether servicing is done in-house or by a subservicer.
  
• PHH clients are averaging a 25-30% savings when shifting away from their current provider.
  

• PHH is helping clients save up to $250,000 per year for every $1 billion in UPB serviced
  

 
PHH has among the strongest customer service levels in the U.S., maintaining a 95% Customer Satisfaction rating across more than 700,000 homeowners every month.  They work hand-in-hand with TMC members for an easy, smooth transition – onboarding new clients’ portfolios in 90 days or less!

To take advantage of this TMC member benefit from PHH Mortgage, contact:

• Chris Sabbe at 415.828.1222
  
• David Burruss at 703.286-9389
  

Great Place to Work® has announced their annual list of The Best Workplaces in Diversity, collecting feedback from 442,624 employees on more than 50 survey questions anonymously rating their employers. This years list of companies offers the very best workplace experiences according to the diverse employees who work there. Congratulations to these four members of The Mortgage Collaborative for making this year's list!

• Cornerstone Home Lending, Inc.
  
• First American
  
• New American Funding
  
• PrimeLending

Check out the full list of The Best Workplaces in Diversity here: https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/diversity/2017

As rumblings of lower volume continue to persist, forecasts point to compressed new revenue/profits for 2018. Conversations around how to do more with less are starting to increase as year end projections start to firm up. In times like this, lenders need to look internally and assess how to capitalize on systems already at their fingertips that are not maximizing functionality. If you are on the Encompass system, and feeling like you are not getting the most out of it, this is a perfect example of a system that can be utilized to do more with less.

Matchbox & Ignite have a number of toolkits and packages that have been developed to help lenders better utilize the system. As an example, Matchbox has developed a HMDA 2018 toolkit for Encompass clients that can, and will, reduce HMDA preparation turn times, reduce data integrity exposure, and inevitably increase yield heading into 2018. As you start looking to the 2018 budget, you need options for how to do more with less. Matchbox & Ignite have those options for you!

By the way, check out Matchbox's new website and let them know what you think!

Ignite Tools - What is in your toolbox? 
 
Capital One has a slogan, "What's in your wallet?" and Ignite is starting a new campaign, "What's in your toolbox?" Over the past few years, they have built a number of Encompass based tools that have been created with one thought in mind- How do they make the user experience better or easier. Each tool is developed with that premise and any tool they offer is built to dramatically reduce cost, improve efficiency, and/or reduce exposure. All of Ignite's tools are customizable and able to be updated to meet your business model requirements. With volumes dropping and industry contraction/acquisitions ahead, lenders are looking to do more with less effort. Our tools do exactly that. Whether it is updating a series of loans with a click of a button, seeing who did what on a file within seconds, seeing what task(s) are open on a file without opening a loan, or referencing a custom data set without jumping to different forms, Ignite's tools make a difference in your user experience. Not only do these tools present a cleaner, more efficient user experience, but they know that every lender is looking for an edge in hiring talent and bring on branches / top producers.  It's time to give them something unique in 2018.  Below are links to flyers to review a sample of Ignite's tools. 
 
Ignite Data Import Tool - Update loans in bulk/batch via csv or txt with custom templates while maintaining business rules, triggers & error log functionality. 
 
Ignite Audit Explorer-  A real end-to-end loan history log- with or without leveraging the RDB or audit-able fields
 
Ignite Task Tracker -  Customized task list accessible from the pipeline view i.e. see what items are outstanding without entering a file!
 
Ignite Loan Information Panel - A customized Encompass header panel - customized by persona to show users all critical fields in clean format.
 
Last by not least, in an effort to have a tool under everyone's Encompass tree this year, Ignite is offering multiple package discounts for December. Getting an Ignite Tool may be a much better grab bag gift for someone this year as it is the gift that keeps on giving!

• For more information on Matchbox & Ignite Integration Solutions, contact Frank Fiore or Ashley Moeakiola.

Congratulations to the following eight members of The Mortgage Collaborative for being recognized as 2017 Vanguard Award Winners by HousingWire!

• Patty Arvielo, New American Funding
• Rick Arvielo, New American Funding
• Terrell Cassada, LoanLogics
• Casey Crawford, Movement Mortgage
• Stavros Papastavrou, The Money Source
• Brad Rable, Stewart Title
• Crystal Summer, Blend
• Steve Thompson, PrimeLending

Although each of HousingWire's Vanguard winners excels in a wide range of skill sets, from overseeing technological advancements to managing legal departments to lobbying for industry change, all share one common trait: the ability to lead, motivate and rally their employees.

Click here to view the complete list of HousingWire's Vanguard award winners!

Ignite Integration Solutions has a special offer for the month of December to arm TMC Lender Members with all the Encompass based tools needed to succeed in the new year!

Doc Viewer Tool (DV)
Task Status Tracker Tool (TST)

• Contact Frank Fiore or Ashley Moeakiola today to learn more or to request a demo!

To learn more about who Ignite & Matchbox are and all that they offer, view their websites:

Ignite Integration Solutions: www.igniteintegrationsolutions.com or Matchbox: www.matchboxllc.com