Sep. 2: LO jobs; Loss mit, data mining, pre-approval letter tools; jumbo, HELOC, non-Agency news; watch those student loans
What’s old is new again? In Vermont, one man is refurbishing payphones for people to use for free. Very cool. Debt isn’t old or new, but how we treat it is. On today's episode of Advisory Angle at 2PM ET, STRATMOR experts Garth Graham, Nicole Yung, and Sue Woodard explore how home equity fits into today’s mortgage landscape. With refinancing largely on hold in a high-rate environment, home equity products are giving lenders, and their borrowers, important new options. The team looks at where the opportunities are right now. Reported numbers vary somewhat, but there are roughly 6 million delinquent student loans. The Treasury & Department of Education are allegedly going to start garnishing wages in October. That impacts mortgages how? 35-40 percent of GNMA borrowers have student loans, and HUD’s guide states no loan modifications if a borrower is delinquent on their student loans. So if a lender is trying to help a client, not only are they dealing with mounting homeowner insurance costs ($500-1,000 a month), but if their wages are being garnished ($500 a month) then what does that do to both their ability to qualify and their delinquencies in other consumer debt categories? (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week is sponsored by Gallus Insights. Mortgage KPIs, automated, at your fingertips. Gallus allows you to turn data from your various databases and systems into automated business intelligence and actionable insights. Hear an interview with Elysian Fields’ Jordan Higgins on how intentional micro-wellness can combat burnout, boost focus, and bring accessible, joyful wellness to today’s screen-heavy workplaces.)
Employment & transitions
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MegaStar Financial Services appoints Mickey Schilling, CMB®, as Chief Revenue Officer! MegaStar Financial Services announces Mickey Schilling, CMB®, as Chief Revenue Officer. With over 25 years in the mortgage industry, Mickey brings exceptional expertise in driving retail growth, building high-performing teams, and developing transparent, results-oriented business models. In her new role, she will drive production, oversee revenue initiatives, and lead MegaStar’s strategic push into new markets, positioning the company for sustainable expansion while continuing to deliver exceptional support to loan originators and branches. “Mickey brings a rare blend of strength, leadership, and care,” said Anita Padilla-Fitzgerald, CEO of MegaStar Financial Services. “Finding a woman who embraces leadership at this level is inspiring. MegaStar offers an amazing platform for growth, and Mickey will be the connection to the great loan officers we need to take our business to the next level.” Mickey shared, “I chose MegaStar because of its strength, stability, leadership, and technology… the perfect foundation for growth.”
loanDepot continues to demonstrate its commitment to growth with another key retail leadership hire in the Mid-Atlantic: the addition of Gaurav Mahajan as Area Sales Manager, leading growth across the greater Washington, D.C.–Baltimore region. A top-performing sales leader and individual producer, Gaurav brings deep expertise in the builder space and a strong network of partners that will help accelerate the company’s expansion in this key market. loanDepot is well-positioned for future growth and is actively recruiting—whether through individual hires, acquisitions of high-performance teams, or strategic partnerships with independent companies. Sales leaders interested in exploring opportunities are encouraged to contact Shane Stanton.
The Chrisman Job Board is the go-to platform for employment opportunities across the mortgage industry. For employers, adding a job listing is easy. Simply create an account and drop in your existing application link, or forward the details to our team and we’ll take care of it for you. For job seekers, joining our Talent Community is completely free. Upload your resume to be visible to hiring companies across the industry and stay connected to new opportunities as they go live.
Products, services, and tools for lenders and brokers
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There are fewer than 30 days until servicers must comply with a new set of loss mitigation requirements. As laid out in the HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-12, these changes include complex provisions and conditional logic that can drastically impact how loss mitigation workflows are implemented, and are intended to “prevent foreclosures while protecting taxpayers and mitigating financial risks to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF).” ICE has been collaborating with clients to prepare them for the impending loss mit changes and make sure they are ready for the Oct. 1 deadline. Read about the five considerations all servicers should pay attention to in this article by Vicki Vidal, regulatory associate general counsel at ICE. Are you ready for October 1?
Instantly find refinance opportunities with Optimal Blue’s Capture for Originators. Capture for Originators, available within the Optimal Blue® PPE, actively monitors loan officers' past closed loans with speed and precision. By automatically reviewing your portfolio each month, it analyzes home value, closing costs, and break-even periods for various rate options to identify borrowers who qualify for a “make sense” refinance. Opportunities are delivered directly to you with a ready-to-send presentation. No more manually reviewing loans, updating spreadsheets, and building presentations. Pre-filled borrower outreach emails and integrated point-of-sale links make engagement effortless. Developed in partnership with Uplist, Optimal Blue’s Capture for Originators helps you act quickly, stay competitive, and close more loans with less effort. Learn more about Capture for Originators and start turning refinance opportunities into closed business today.
Credit unions have the trust. The loyalty. The community connection. So why are so many members still getting their mortgage somewhere else? For a lot of credit unions, it comes down to timing. Borrowers are house hunting after hours and on weekends, and if your team isn’t available, someone else is. At Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, 33 percent of pre-approval letters were generated after business hours using LenderLogix. No chasing. No logging in late. Just the tools doing their job automatically. With LenderLogix, credit unions are delivering 24/7 lending experiences without adding headcount or complexity. If your mortgage process stops at 5PM, you might already be behind. Learn more here.
The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the mortgage industry to be viewed by lenders in a very cost-effective manner. We’re adding new providers daily, so check back often to see what’s new. To reserve your place or learn more, contact us at info@chrismancommentary.com.
Jumbo, HELOC, bridge, and non-Agency news doesn’t stop
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Want to help your borrowers buy first with $0 down and make cash-like offers to win? Flyhomes is hosting a live webinar on Sep 10 to walk through Buy Before You Sell with Flyhomes Cash Offer, a purchase bridge loan that helps unlock equity from both your borrower’s current and future homes, enabling up to 105% LTV with no contingencies and no asset liquidation. Save your spot now or book a call today to learn more. Over the past 10 years, Flyhomes has helped 5,000+ buyers move into their next home. On average, LOs close 1.2 more loans per month with Buy Before You Sell, now available nationwide.
The HELOC market is changing fast. Some lenders promise “pure digital” experiences, but borrowers quickly learn that those often break down and don’t close. Others remain manual, taking 4-6 weeks to close! Neither deliver what today’s borrowers, or MLOs, really need. At NFTYDoor, we built a smarter way: a digital-first platform with human support where it matters most. It’s the perfect hybrid. You get the Fastest HELOCs on the market (powered by instant digital verification of property, credit, income, title, and funding.), highest conversion rates (because real experts step in at the right moments, keeping deals moving), and MLOs win, with happier borrowers, faster closings, and stronger relationships. Thousands of MLOs already trust NFTYDoor to deliver the HELOCs that traditional systems can’t. Isn’t it time you gave your clients the same advantage? Contact seth@nftydoor.com to get started.
Radian Mortgage Capital LLC (RMC) announced significant enhancements to its Jumbo AUS product. Effective today, September 2nd, RMC offers a Jumbo AUS with an expanded credit matrix (broadened eligibility criteria with minimum FICO scores of 660 to help support a wider range of borrower profiles), flexibility to use DU & LPA (You can leverage findings from both Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter (DU) and Freddie Mac's Loan Product Advisor (LPA)),and minimal overlays: further aligned guidelines with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giving you more flexibility. This is a product summary; the applicable RMC Sales Guide must be referenced for complete underwriting guideline requirements. Information is accurate as of the date of publishing and is subject to change without notice. © 2025 Radian Group Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mortgage purchases and sales completed by Radian Mortgage Capital LLC, 1700 N Lincoln Street Suite 2500, Denver, CO 80203. Corp NMLS#: 1982356. This communication is provided for use by real estate or mortgage professionals only and is not intended for distribution to consumers or other third parties. This does not constitute an advertisement as defined by Section 1026.2(a)(2) of Regulation Z.
Pennymac updated Jumbo LLPAs effective for all Best-Efforts Commitments taken on or after Thursday, August 28, 2025. View Announcement 25-84: Updates to Jumbo LLPAs.
Logan Finance updated its overlays for NY counties Brooklyn, Orange & Rockland, and NJ counties Bergen & Essex due to recent concerns over unsupported values. Overlay updates affect appraisal orders, ineligible transactions,
Effective with AmeriHome Mortgage Product Announcement 20250806-CL, the Non-Agency program guides have been updated, and new guideline expansions added.
Effective with this announcement, AmeriHome LTV/CLTV updates will apply to Non-QM Expanded Interest-Only product offerings. See AmeriHome Mortgage 20250709-CL Product Announcement for details.
Enhance your offerings with the Advanced Second program. Available for borrowers with first mortgages owned by Freddie Mac, this financing solution allows homeowners to tap into their equity without disrupting their low first mortgage interest rate. Contact Freedom Mortgage Wholesale and take advantage of this cost-effective refinancing alternative to help borrowers access equity. Note: The first mortgage must be owned by Freddie Mac. Confirm on this website.
Capital markets: The 10-year/mortgage spread may help rates
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Markets were highly focused on last week’s economic indicators as the September FOMC meeting nears. Second-quarter GDP was revised upward from 3.0 percent to 3.3 percent, driven by stronger investment in intellectual property and non-durable goods. Inflation remained relatively steady in July, with core PCE creeping up to 2.9 percent, likely keeping the central bank on track to lower interest rates at the conclusion of its meeting later this month. Consumer spending rose 0.3 percent in July and is up 2.0 percent year-over-year, supported by wage growth, though data suggests households are still facing financial strain.
Consumer sentiment is weakening amid concerns over inflation, tariffs, and labor market uncertainty. 63 percent of survey respondents expect higher unemployment and more Americans reporting difficulty finding jobs. New home sales fell 6.0 percent in July, as builder incentives struggle to offset rising inventories and declining builder confidence, the lowest since 2012. August’s data will be critical in shaping expectations for the economic outlook and future Fed policy decisions.
Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) spreads have continued to narrow, reflecting a gradual normalization in the relationship between mortgage rates and benchmark Treasury yields. MBS spreads are approximated as the difference between the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (an imperfect, but commonly used proxy) and 30-year fixed mortgage rate. Currently, this spread stands at approximately 235-basis points, which, while tighter than in recent years, remains elevated by historical standards (roughly 50 to 60-basis points above long-term historical norms). Over the past four decades, typical spread levels have been notably lower, including during the pre-global financial crisis period and especially during the zero-interest rate policy (ZIRP) era prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wide spreads suggest continued dislocation in mortgage markets relative to risk-free benchmarks. But if this spread heads back toward historical levels, mortgage rates will be helped even if Treasury rates don’t budge.
This holiday-shortened week includes economic updates on PMIs, construction spending, factory orders, JOLTS, ADP employment, the trade deficit, productivity/unit labor costs, and the August payrolls report on Friday. The list of scheduled Fed speakers is relatively limited, while Treasury supply consists of just T-bills. August Agency MBS prepayment data will be released late Friday. Today’s economic calendar has the non-market moving final August S&P Global manufacturing PMI, and will be followed by the ISM equivalent, construction spending, and several short-duration treasury auctions. We begin Tuesday with Agency MBS prices worse than Friday’s close by about .125-.250, the 2-year yielding 3.65, and the 10-year yielding 4.28 after closing last week at 4.23 percent based on U.S. government budget concerns and political alliances between Russia, China, North Korea, and India.
When my son was about 5, he asked me where poo came from.
I gave him a short concise answer on how you eat, and the food goes down into your tummy where the good stuff gets taken out of it to fuel your body, then what's left passes down to a long tube called intestines where it is mixed with nasty stuff, all which comes out of your rump when you go to the toilet.
He looked at me in horror and asked, "What about tigger?”
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(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes, visit the Chrisman Job Board. This newsletter is intended for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For the latest mortgage news, visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.ChrismanCommentary.com. Copyright 2025 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Paid job & product listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold, or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman. The views and opinions in this newsletter are mine alone unless otherwise specifically stated herein.)