Remember the delinquency and foreclosure issues we had several years ago? It is still part of the biz. Hubzu, an online marketing platform, released data ranking the top 20 U.S. markets by the highest percentage of REO properties bought and sold within 2017 (Jan 1 - Dec 31). The data shows that the most active buy, renovate and sell markets are dominated by areas in the South, with Huntsville (38 percent of REO properties bought and sold within one year), Clarksville (34 percent), Gainesville (30 percent), and Pensacola (28 percent) topping the list.

Events & Training

Times are changing. Are you ready for the change? See how the market has shifted and learn new ways to diversify your business and expand your revenue stream. Discover more about investment property loans and how they can help you win more clients, close more loans and earn more money. Join industry veterans Ryan McBride, Chief Operating Officer, and Sammy Bjelac, VP of Wholesale Lending, via live webcast on November 7th at 11am PST to explore this rapidly growing segment. Click here to RSVP for the free webcast: https://bit.ly/2ETmm3V. You can also visit the CoreVest website or call: 844.262.8177.

Here's a free webinar titled, "Maximizing Construction Loan Efficiency with Ellie Mae and Land Gorilla." Construction lending has experienced 20 consecutive quarters of growth and recent stabilization of year-over-year growth rates indicates continued expansion for single-family construction. For financial lenders to profitably meet consumer demand, they need the right technology to maximize efficiency and minimize risk for construction loan origination and draw management. Join Ellie Mae® and Land Gorilla on November 6 at 10:30a PST to understand the current construction lending landscape and learn how to leverage the integration of Encompass and Construction Loan Manager to create a powerful end-to-end solution. Register today!  

Register for Plaza's complimentary webinar, Best Practices: AUS Follow-Up, today, November 5th.

Washington Association of Mortgage Professionals (WAMP) is looking forward to its upcoming WAMP BREAKFAST MEETING on NOV 7th at the Bellevue Club. Register today to ensure you do not miss this unique opportunity so see keynote speaker, Brian Stevens, Host of the National Real Estate Post. Register here or reach out to Frank Percival for Sponsorship (206-484-6442).  (Brian Stevens, on 11/8, will also be at a lunch with MBA St. Louis. The lunch program topic is Business Planning & Marketing Strategies to Achieve Your Sales Goals.)

Are you registered for the November 7th MMBBA Fall Sales Webinar Series? The first class in the 2-part series, LinkedIn Part 1 walks you through the components of a complete profile and shows you how to use LinkedIn as a powerful networking and sales tool.  

Indecomm's latest Ask Me Anything webinar on Thursday, November 8th from noon to 1:00 p.m. EST. will focus on Income Analysis. Hosted in conjunction with Advanced Data, questions on income analysis and its impact to loans closing quickly and accurately will be covered. This webinar is free, and registration is required.

CoAmp is sponsoring a Lunch & Learn with Impac Mortgage on November 8th.

Compass Analytics announced CompassPoint Agile, a new, focused version of Compass' leading pipeline risk analytics that automates and demystifies the loan sales process.

CompassPoint^TM Agile is designed to empower lenders who currently outsource whole loan trading to bring trading back in-house, saving thousands in trading fees each month. Join Compass on November 14th at 1 PM ET for a webinar to learn more: register today!

If you're in the Philly area, join Holland & Knight and the Mortgage Bankers Association of Greater Philadelphia (MBAGP) for a dinner meeting on November 19th with a key member of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (OAG) enforcement staff. Nicholas Smyth, the assistant director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the OAG, is tasked with creating a "mini-CFPB" in Pennsylvania designed to identify unfair, deceptive and/or abusive consumer practices as well as generate enforcement actions. He will discuss the types of practices he is targeting, compliance tips for businesses and how to respond if your company finds itself under review. Please RSVP by November 15: click here. Cost is $50 for MBAGP members and $65 for nonmembers.

Total Expert will be hosting five events around the country called Accelerate 2019 including stops in San Francisco (Nov. 6), Chicago (Nov. 8), Dallas (Nov. 13), Charlotte (Dec. 4) and Boston (Dec. 6). At Total Expert's Accelerate 2019, you'll learn best practices to drive net new revenue with marketing, how to increase profits and productivity with customer journeys and strategies to "level up" on recruiting and retention of top talent. 

In Las Vegas, November 13-15, eSignRecords 2018 is the annual conference of ESRA, the Electronic Signatures and Records Association. The Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA) is the premier trade association representing organizations that adopt or provide electronic signature and document technology. The conference brings together leaders in technology, business, government, and law to educate and collaborate on the best uses of electronic signatures and digital records. Visit www.esignrecords2018.org for more details.

If you're in the Kansas City area, register for the MBAKC Luncheon on November 15th. Speaker Rob Chrisman, questionable industry newcomer, will discuss, "What the Industry can expect in the First Half of 2019 - Without Making Forecasts."

Don't forget to register for AZAMP's November 14th Central Chapter luncheon. Special guest and presenter Richard Fergus, Senior Financial Institutions Examiner - Mortgage Division with AZDFIwill help prepare members for the next AZDFI examination. Reservations and prepayment are required.

XINNIX Mortgage Academy is providing a free business planning webinar on November 14th. This ENERGY webinar will include discussion on the strategic reason, key components and top 7 recommendations for completing a business plan.

Take advantage of AmeriHome's Underwriting Core Jumbo webinar on November 14th.

On November 15th, VantageScore is offering a free webinar (use promo code ScoreVan) on trended data insights on consumer risk scores.

Register for the November 16th webinar to hear Ari Karen, Principal with the Offit Kurman law firm and CEO of Strategic Compliance Partners, discuss how to establish the ultimate lender/Realtor business relationship.

The 2018 NAMB National Conference will be held December 8-10 at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas. Larry King will be speaking, as well as many mortgage luminaries!

Don't miss your opportunity to receive an early bird discount (deadline November 23rd) to the MORE Conference 2019. Take part in the Executive Leader Experience on January 23rd for training corporate executives in the mortgage and real estate industries. Loan originators and agents will join the conversation in sessions and breakouts on January 24th and 25th. Click here to view details for the MORE 3-day conference in Dallas.

Lender products and services

"Everyone has heard of the phrase, 'Cash is King.' (And no, we're not talking about the legendary Johnny Cash.) Given today's challenging mortgage environment, originators should be proactively managing not only their earnings, but also the composition of their balance sheets as critical partners, such as warehouse lenders and investors, will be anxiously

awaiting year-end financial statements. Mid America Mortgage can help lenders convert loans held in portfolio or declined by traditional investors into much needed cash for operations or to improve their liquidity position. We are active buyers of whole loans, including scratch and dent or loans with minor compliance issues. Most recently, we have seen a lot of activity in unseasoned VA loans that no longer qualify for Ginnie Mae pooling, as well as FHA loans associated with a bond program. If you have loans you are interested in selling before year-end, please contact Michael Lima, Managing Director.  For more information on the loans we purchase, please see our website."

Capital markets

Isn't it time you take control of your loan sale process? Compass Analytics is excited to announce CompassPoint^TM Agile, a new, focused version of Compass' leading pipeline risk analytics that automates and demystifies the loan sales process. CompassPoint^TM Agile is designed to empower lenders who currently outsource whole loan trading to bring trading back in-house, saving thousands in trading fees each month. CompassPoint^TM Agile supports full mini-bulk bid automation, integrations to both the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cash windows, bulk & hybrid AOT automation, shadow and best efforts bidding, investor bid ranking, and much more. Additionally, CompassPoint^TM Agile offers an end-to-end solution to rate sheet publication, intuitive G/L reconciliation tools with the ability to report daily changes in profitability, and a real-time view of your hedged risk position, all supported by a bidirectional integration to your LOS. Join Compass on November 14th at 1 PM ET for a webinar to learn more.

Looking at bond prices from last week, and therefore rates, the jobs report on Friday confirms that the economy remains solid. The 30-year bond reacted, hitting its highest yield in over four years. The household survey indicates that the unemployment rate remains low and steady at a level last seen in 1969 and average hourly earnings accelerated over the year. The increase in earnings is a welcome sign for workers and is unlikely to stoke faster inflation given the steady improvement in productivity. We can all expect that the Fed will raise short term rates next month. Over the last 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen 3.1%.

This week we will be happy to see all the election forecasting go away as we actually have the midterm election. (For major news we will also have the latest FOMC decision on Thursday and the $83 billion quarterly refunding.) We don't start with much today (October ISM Services and the $37 billion 3-yr Treasury note auction results) or tomorrow (September JOLTS - job openings, and a $27 billion 10-yr Treasury note auction) or Wednesday (weekly MBA applications, a $19 billion 30-yr Treasury bond auction). Thursday things pick up with weekly Initial Claims and the November FOMC rate decision. Friday has October's Producer Price Index and Preliminary November Michigan Sentiment Index. We find rates this morning a smidge lower than Friday's close: the 10-year is yielding 3.20% and agency MBS prices are better nearly .125.

Jobs, promotions, & transitions

A very seasoned and successful warehouse bank is entertaining applicants that would be interested in joining its team. If your current employer is not meeting you or your clients'

needs, the bank would like to hear from you. Qualified applicants need to have experience in building a warehouse lending portfolio and be confident in bringing with them some of their current relationships. Applicant can reside anywhere in the U.S.  If interested in a confidential conversation, please submit resumes to me for forwarding.

"With all the talk of margin compression, everyone seems to be pointing at LO comp. But why isn't there more discussion about trimming the fat from bloated retail shops who employ too many layers of middle management at corporate, have too many people involved in the loan process, and have outdated tech layered on top of slow LOS's like Encompass. Check out this 5 minute video to see how Canopy Mortgage is trimming the fat from retail, keeping LO comp intact, and creating unheard of efficiencies with proprietary tech that allowed one loan officer to close 128 loans in one month. Do you believe there is a better way and need a fresh start? We're growing rapidly, let's have an exploratory chat." Contact Josh Neumarker (1-888-696-9076).Leslie Zerman today."

In retail news, Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group® is continuing its expansion throughout the Southeast. Atlantic Bay, headquartered in Virginia Beach, is looking for growth-oriented brokerage companies, high performing mortgage teams, and companies with less than $500 million in sales who want to focus on production by removing obstacles to growth. "Brokers who join Atlantic Bay experience growth rates in their personal production from 50 - 80 percent.  Direct access to underwriting, secondary support, and realtor-focused marketing have all been drivers for increased growth. Two popular benefits of the Atlantic Bay way are simplicity in the compliance process and a mortgage banker assistant program. Atlantic Bay places great importance on culture, loving where you work, and giving back to the communities it serves." Email Justin Caplan to find out more about working at Atlantic Bay. 

loanDepot Wholesale is looking for Account Executives to join its team! "We pride ourselves on a culture of innovation, transparency, and high-quality service. With the financial strength ofloanDepot, LLC, and a team of seasoned mortgage professionals with over 20 years of mortgage experience, loanDepot Wholesale provides Partners with industry-leading tools and resources including training, diverse loan products, and competitive rates. loanDepot Wholesale delivers a fast, integrated, and seamless technology-based lending experience for our Sales team and their Customers. Rise to the top with loanDepot Wholesale! Contact

The Correspondent Lending team at Caliber Home Loans, Inc. is pleased to announce that Holly Rittenhouse has joined its sales team in the West and will be working with Western Regional Vice President Margaret Chiavini. Holly comes to Caliber with decades of experience, knowledge and background in Correspondent Sales and Mortgage Insurance. Holly's ability to build relationships and provide support for her customers is why Caliber is excited to have her join the Correspondent Lending team. Holly will be sharing Caliber's mortgage products and programs as she assists her customers in meeting their production goals and achieving overall success in 2019. To congratulate Holly on her new role, you may reach out to her directly. 

Strategic Vantage announced that Sam Garcia has been hired as mortgage media specialist. "He will be a critical liaison to the press, ensuring the effective communication of client initiatives and will assist agency clients with their public relations, marketing and social media needs." Shoot him a congratulatory email!