Good Morning!  

Please see an important email from Drew below about passing the Points and Fees Test for QM Loans.  If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Drew.  

----

Management Message - Points and Fees Tests

Recently we have seen several loans fail the POINTS AND FEES QM TEST

As you all should know, the maximum allowable points and fees for a QM loan are 300 bps.

That seems simple enough but the truth is it is a bit more complicated than that.

I want to highlight what you need to pay attention to here:

Start with the assumption that BOX A fees cannot exceed 3% of the loan amount

BONAFIDE POINTS up to 2% do not get calculated into that

ADMIN FEE and LENDER FEE do get calculated into that

PROCESSING FEE if it is needed to be added to BOX A for licensing reasons do get calculated into that.

So if you are using a processor that is getting paid as an Innovative Processor in Box A, you need to pay close attention to this.

Example:   Loan amount 150,000  

Origination fee 2.75% = $4,125

Processing fee $1,195  = (1195/150000) .80%

Admin Fee $895 = (895/150000) .60%

Total fees = 2.75+.80+.60 = 4.15% 

Therefore this would be a fail and you would need to reduce the fees by 1.15% which comes from your Origination Fee!!!

HOW YOU CAN FIX or OFFSET THIS

You can Remove the Origination Fee at Lock and do a COC and disclose as Points on the Locked LE.  Up to 2 POINTS will be considered as waived from the calculation provided you can show that the 2 points would be a YSP at a rate that is higher by 2% or less than your locked rate. SCREENSHOT OR PRINT TO PDF rate stack and send to your Processor so they can confirm.

If you do this you should pass the Points and Fees Test.

********* THIS IS USUALLY AN ISSUE ONLY WHEN NEEDING TO CHARGE PROCESSING IN BOX A, WHEN YOU HAVE A LOW LOAN AMOUNT, OR YOU HAVE A LOCKED RATE THAT HAS A COST  ******************

Note:  Loan amounts 60k-100K have a $3000 (points & fees) limit.  20k-60K have a 5% (points & fees) limit.  12,500k-20k $1000 dollar (points & fees) limit.

ARIVE does not have a QM test, so if you have a question please get with your AE or Drew PRIOR to disclosing!

Good evening-

In these current times, each and every IMS LO and Processor wants to be paid timely.   I ask that you read through this entire email so that you are aware of the expectations we have set in order for all our 300+ Loan Originators, Processors, and Vendors to be paid expeditiously and without error.  To that end, we have created the attached Commission Workflow to assist  you in the steps that need to be reviewed and/or taken before reaching out to the Accounting Department.  It is our goal to be transparent in our approach, minimize the time we spend on each file, and increase our speed and productivity.

My contact information is:

Email: john@innovativemlo.com

Phone: 727-344-9317

Please note that Innovative Mortgage Services has a formal accounting department, of which I am the Chief Accounting Officer.  Commission payments are in my sphere and germane to my department.  If you reach out to any other department or manager, they will refer directly back to me.  Therefore, communications with regard to commissions and payments should be taken up directly with me and solely me, once you have completed all the relevant steps in the Compensation Flowchart.

         For Correspondent Files:

           1. All files are reviewed the next business day after funding.  If there are any issues or problems, I will email you as to the issue or discrepancy.

           2. If after 2 business days you have not been contacted by me, please reach out to me via email first.  If I fail to respond within 24 hours, please contact me via telephone.

         For Brokered Files:

            Brokered transactions are compensated within no later than 5-business days after all funds have been received and a complete file is in Arive. We have processes in place to work on each Brokered file. 

            They are (as per the Commission Workflow):

            1.  We deposit funds twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. Arive is updated accordingly.  If funds are received via wire, Arive is updated the day we are advised of the wire.  On a forward                     

            basis all funds for brokered transactions should be wired based on the wiring instructions provided last week. Instructions are attached.

            2.  Once funds are in, we can then start the process of checking for all relevant documents in Arive.  If anything is missing, this will delay the process.

            3.  When Operations reviews the file, they check to make sure that ALL documents are present before advising Accounting that the commission is ready to be processed.  If some/all docs are              

            missing, Danna reaches out to both the LO and Processor on the file.  Reminder: Both Docs AND Funds need to be in for the 5 business day time frame to start.

            4. Once funds and file are complete, we make the best effort to process within 24 hours.  This is dependent upon Correspondent Files (which always have first priority) and other duties I take                  

            care outside of Commissions.

            5.  I review the file to make sure there are enough funds and if any outstanding fees need to be paid.  If everything is in balance, I process and notify you via email.

         I am advising so that I am totally transparent on our processes.   The key here is that this does take some time, and that is why when using the Commission Workflow that the LO:

            1. Verify docs and funds are both in.

            2. Give us time to be able to process the commission before the LO reaches out to us. (We ask for 5 business days)

            3. Either the LO or Processor reach out to title if funds ARE NOT documented in Arive

Sometimes files do fall outside this window, and if not already communicated to you already, we ask you to reach out to me at this time. 

When sending a commission inquiry, please include the following 

ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE FOLLOWED ALL THE STEPS IN THE COMPENSATION FLOW CHART TO THEIR LOGICAL STOPPING POINT:

           1. Full Name and Subject Property Address.

           2. Whether the file is a Correspondent or Brokered file.

           3. Dates from Arive as to when both the Check and Docs were loaded.

           4. Whether you have reached out to title if the check is still not showing up.  If you have reached out to title, where did they send the check  ***All checks should be sent to the Tarpon Springs                 address.

We ask you to follow these guidelines so we can get you paid quickly!

Please let me know if you have any questions about the process.   I do ask that if you do have a query in regards to a particular file, that you send me a separate email.

**Please see the original email from John Tredo for the attachments.**

Good afternoon and happy holidays!  I trust this email finds you well and ready for a nice long weekend!  ☺️

Happy Friday!  I have some quick announcements.  Please read this complete email.

I'm excited to share that Innovative has moved our operating account to Plains Commerce Bank.  John Tredo, our Chief Accounting Officer emailed yesterday with wiring instructions.  They are completely legit, so no need to worry.  Effective immediately funds from brokered closings can be wired to the account with the information provided in John's email.  The good news is that there will no longer be any charges for incoming wires!  That means wired closing proceeds will be settled instantaneously and without any additional cost to the LO.  This will help speed up the turn-time on commission disbursements too.  That said, keep in mind that correspondent transaction commissions always take precedence over brokered commissions since quality control and fund settlement are completed much sooner.  Innovative is transaction from paper checks to wires for all closings.  So, if you have a brokered closing be sure the loan processor provides the wire instructions to the title company and instructs them to wire any funds due to Innovative.  The title agent should include the borrower's full name and the subject property address in the memo or notes section of their wire so that our accounting department can readily identify the transaction.

More exciting news.  Effective January 2, 2024, commission disbursements will now be settled the same day at no extra cost to the LO.  So long as the commission is approved and authorized in the morning, it will reflect as a deposit in your designated account later that same day.  Later day (afternoon and thereafter) commission disbursements will continue to settle on the next business day.

Effective for all HELOC/HELOAN stand alone transactions originated January 1, 2024 and thereafter Innovative's transaction fee will be the greater of $100 or 10% of the total loan revenue.  For example, if the loan revenue is $5000, Innovative's transaction fee will amount to $500.  If the loan revenue is $900 Innovative's transaction fee will be $100.  This applies ONLY to stand alone HELOC/HELOAN transactions.  The great news continues because Innovative WILL NOT BE increasing the transaction fee for all other types of transactions.  Innovative's transaction fee for 2024 will remain at $595.  So, if the transaction is any type other than a stand alone HELOC/HELOAN it is still subject to the $595 transaction fee.  Simultaneous HELOCs/HELOANs are not subject to any transaction fee.

Just a reminder that wire fraud and identity theft are on the rise.  We hear about these cases every week. Protect your borrowers.  Your email account should be multi-factor authentication enabled.  But you don't always know if the borrower's, realtors, or title's email is secure.  Discourage your borrower from using their email account to send personal financial documents.  Minimize financial conversations in emails because they may not be secure.  Warn your borrower's from day one to never wire any funds without verifying the requestors information.  Borrowers should use their Arive account or a secure cloud service (i.e. googledrive) to provide you with supporting documents.

Just a quick reminder.  All loan transactions (regardless of the type of transaction) must be entered into Arive upon application in real time.  All initial, interim, and final disclosures and supporting documents must also be added to Arive as the file progresses in real time.

Be sure to check Innovative's Restricted Parties List on the company portal support page before beginning a transaction to make sure that ALL parties are not restricted or prohibited due to misrep or fraud.  You will want to check the title, realtor, seller, and borrower parties.  If they are on the Restricted Parties List you must contact management before proceeding with the transaction.

Thanks for an amazing year.  I know it was a challenging environment but you soldiered through like a champ.  Let's keep building on our success in 2024.  G-d bless and happy holidays!

NOTE:  Please do NOT reply to this email for any queries.

We are in the process of transitioning operating banks, and attached is the NEW INFORMATION.

This is only for Brokered files

The new bank is Plains Commerce Bank.

We will no longer be accepting Fed Fund Wires to BayFirst Financial.  Please remove/delete that information from wherever you store the instructions.  If a title company calls us to confirm wiring instructions and they have the BayFirst instructions, we will not confirm with them.

Thank you.

(Please see original email from John Tredo for the attached set of wiring instructions.)

It's come to our attention that spam messages (similar to the one below) have been circulating using Bryan's name and/or likeness to send money requests via text and email and may even go as far as requesting funds through a digital money, requesting app. Please do not fall prey!

We would never ask for money in this kind of format or for this kind of purpose. We have done fundraisers in the past for good causes but that comes through an announcement from a management email and there’s a very specific process to contributions either directly to or through profitability ledger contributions. 

This is also a good reminder for everyone to please double check your two-step or multi factor authentication!  I've attached instructions on how to do that to this email if you aren't sure.  

Remember you should not be requesting documents from borrowers via email, which is unsecured. Borrowers should upload documents to a secure cloud provider or use Arive which has the ability to securely upload documents.  

**Here is an example of a spam email I received that claimed to be from Bryan:**

(Please see original email sent from Danna Kerns-Streett for example image.)

I am forwarding this again to make certain everyone understands the recent change/update for Arive.  PLEASE read Danna's email below and govern yourself accordingly when pricing loans in Arive.

Also, I will be sharing some more exciting news in the coming days with regard to closing funds and commission/processing disbursements, among other things.  Keep an eye out for an email from me in the coming days.

Great NEWS from ARIVE!

When pricing a loan on ARIVE on the NON-DELEGATED/CORRESPONDENT channel, the YSP, which is your revenue, was applied to the FEES WORKSHEET as a "Lender Credit"

The instruction that we gave in the past was to click on the Rate/FinalPoints number on the top right of the Review Fees screen and manually REMOVE The Final Price by entering a $0.

This removed the YSP from showing as a lender credit on the LE and CD 

**********************************

Starting today, any YSP on NON-DELEGATED/CORRESPONDENTpricing will no longer show up as a lender credit by default!!!!!

You no longer need to make any manual changes to remove the unwanted Lender Credit in Box J!!!!

Now when you click on the Rate/FinalPoints blue number you will see a Manual Adjustment to remove the YSP from the lender credit  - See below

As always if you have any questions please reach out to Drew or Bryan 

(Please see original email sent from Danna Kerns-Streett for the original example.)

Good evening.  I'm pleased to share that Innovative has a new wholesale lending partner, CV3.  Since they are a new lender to IMS the 25bps new lender surcharge does apply to any transactions originated with CV3.  That said, feel free to check them out.

(Please see the original email from Bryan Ehrlich for more information from CV3.)

Attention Processors, 

You MUST review the purchase contract for all parties including the title company to make sure they are not on our restricted parties list.  We had two files close with Vic Title recently and they are on the restricted parties list.  

I've attached a copy of the Restricted Parties list to this email (please review both tabs of the Excel sheet) but please also make sure to view our website for the most up to date version.  https://www.innovativemlo.com/support-and-process-manuals-innovative-mortgage-services-inc

(Please see the original email sent from Danna Kerns-Streett to see the attachment.)

Good Afternoon, 

I just wanted to send a very important reminder that before you proceed with a transaction you need to view the "Restricted Parties List" on the company website.  (This link can also be found on the Resources, Process Manuals, and Training page of our website.) 

Please make sure to review BOTH the "Individuals" and "Entities" tabs to confirm that the Realtors (buyer's and listing agents), seller(s), borrower(s), and title company are not coming up as restricted. If you do find a restricted party you should immediately cease any additional activity on the transaction and contact senior management at Innovative. 

You can use the 'control f' keys to search for names and entities quickly.

This is a responsibility for ALL originators and processors. 

You should keep a record of having checked the list. It will save you enormous frustration from having proceeded with a transaction that will ultimately blow up at the last minute.

Thank you and have a good holiday!  

(Please see the original email sent from Danna Kerns-Streett for the attachment.)

Happy Thursday!  

We've been receiving a few questions about the Service Provider List so we wanted to send out some guidance on how to make the list print properly in Arive.  Please see the attached document and as always, if you have any questions after reading it, please reach out to myself or Drew.  

Enjoy the long weekend!  

**see original email sent from Danna Kerns-Streett (dannaks@innovativemlo.com) for the attachment.**

Good Morning!  

Just a quick reminder regarding locks.  Please make sure you check our Correspondent Investor List for Innovative's lock policies, as they are not always the same as the investors.  Also, with the holiday season upon us, please make sure you're accounting for the holidays correctly when you're locking loans.  

Thanks! 

Hi All, 

Happy Friday!!  We just wanted to send out an update regarding Correspondent Disclosures.  As you know, most correspondent files will be disclosed in Arive through the integration with DocMagic.  However, the following investors are exceptions:

-EPM

-Kind

-Mega

-Plaza

-Towne

-UWM

-Windsor

You will be required to use these 7 lenders to do the disclosures for you, EVEN on correspondent loan files.  

As a reminder, you should NOT be generating a disclosure package in Arive unless it is correspondent and the investor requires us to. Repeat offenders will be charged $15 per incorrect package.  Suzanne will only be sending out notifications to those individuals that are generating disclosure packages incorrectly. 

Please reach out to the correspondent team if you have any questions!  

Have a great weekend!

Good afternoon Innovators!  Some brief announcements.

Correspondent with PennyMac

Innovative is now formally approved to originate correspondent/retail transactions through PennyMac.  Effective immediately, any new loans submitted to PennyMac must be on the correspondent channel (except FHA which will remain brokered).  The Correspondent Investor List on the company portal will be updated before the day is over to include the latest PennyMac information.  Be sure to reference the Correspondent Investor List whenever writing a correspondent transaction for the latest and key information pertaining to contacts, lock requirements, products, portal link (correspondent portal is separate from the broker portal), etc.  All originators have been added to PennyMacs correspondent portal and credentials are being sent out as of today.  Be sure to authenticate your credentials once you receive them.  If you have a loan to submit at the present time and need credentials immediately please reach out to DannaKS@InnovativeMLO.com.  Reminder that all correspondent eligible loans with PennyMac must be submitted on the correspondent channel with PennyMac.  Correspondent eligible loans placed on the broker channel of correspondent approved investors are subject to a 50bps penalty.

Approved States

Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,  Tennessee, and Texas.  You must have a license and Innovative must have a license to originate in any of these states.

Innovative is adding licenses in more states as our growth continues!  Have you considered getting licensed in another state?  It is easy!  Navigate to the NMLS State Licensing Portal.  Select the state you are interested in and scroll down to "Individual Licenses".  Click the link for "New Application Link" to the right of Mortgage Loan Originator License.  You can view the process and requirements right there in the "Application".  Be sure to take advantage of discounted education (and continuing education) by using the UWM discounted MortgageEducators.com link.  Click here to see a list of all the states Innovative is licensed in as well as state license designations and license numbers for marketing and advertising.  Not licensed in a state but have a lead?  Reach out to me and I will connect you with a licensed originator in that state so that you can earn an in-house referral bonus.  Do you know of a licensed mortgage originator in a state where Innovative is licensed?  Let me know and I can share Innovative's amazing compensation plan and platform with them.  We love originator referrals!

Fraud for Housing & Fraud for Income

Fraud for housing (borrower fraud) and fraud for income (realtor and originator fraud) are on the rise.  I've attached the Red Flags Checklist.  Review it and apply it on every transaction.  Don't get stuck working on a transaction with misrep or fraud.  It is not worth the time or trouble, let alone the consequences.

Thanks for your attention and have a fantastic weekend!

**Please see the original email from Bryan Ehrlich for the links that were mentioned in this email**

Effective immediately, Jen Bronson will be maintaining the company's lender list.  If you learn of an account executive change, or any other relevant information requiring modifications, please email the information directly to Jen.Bronson@InnovativeMLO.com.

The Lender List can be located here.*

Please keep in mind that the mortgage space is constantly evolving.  Consequently, information is always changing.  We do our best to keep the list updated, but it is nearly impossible to keep it current 24/7.  Please keep this in mind when accessing the list and the information provided therein.

*Please see the original email from Bryan Ehrlich for the Lender List or visit the Originator Support Portal on our website at www.innovativemlo.com

UWM

Effective immediately, Innovative Mortgage in collaboration with UWM, has reduced the pricing impact to UWM transactions for Jumbo and non-QM transactions.  The reason we have done this is to pass improved pricing along to our originators with the hope that you will capture more business.  UWM has agreed to improve its pricing if Innovative improves pricing in concert with them.  Innovative has reduced the pricing so that rebates should be improved by at least .375 between UWM's incentive and Innovative's reduction.  That said, Innovative, in order to stay minimally profitable on the correspondent channel with these transactions, must account for .125.  

HERE IS HOW IT WORKS:  

JUMBO - either add .125% to the price/YSP  ABOVE your selected comp or add .125% to the fees in BOX A - ****** DUE TO THE PRICE IMPROVEMENTS THIS WILL STILL RESULT IN A NET PRICING BENEFIT TO YOU OF AT LEAST .25%!!!

NON-QM - PRICE IT DIRECTLY ON THE UWM SITE AND ADD THAT PRICE TO THE ARIVE PRICING.  Arive is set up to collect .125% on the fee sheet automatically for this when you select Non QM.  You can leave the .125% fee in BOX A or you can collect it in addition to your compensation in the price/YSP.  

Therefore, effective immediately, when you price a jumbo or non-qm loan with UWM on the correspondent channel, please be sure to collect an extra .125 which John, our Chief Accounting Officer, will deduct from the total loan revenue upon issuing your commission.  Please understand that this is a net pricing benefit to originators by at least .25, if not more.

The good news doesn't stop there.  You can use Control Your Pricing (CYP) to improve the pricing even further.  Furthermore, UWM will improve your CYP in the following manner for JUMBO!!!!

Control your pricing multiplier formula and calculator.

3xCYP

            Rate Rebate+ Discount + Origination Section A – Lender Credit <  $5000 after CYP 

2xCYP

            Rate Rebate+ Discount + Origination Section A – Lender Credit <  $10,000 after CYP

20-40CYP – Standard comp no Multiplier

Best practice lock at a rate costing so when the multiplier is applied it offsets the cost for rate.

            With a final rebate of <  $10,000 or <  $5000

Better to lock at a final comp of $4900 with 3xCYP then miss at a comp of $5001 with 2xCYP

Please reach out to your UWM account executive if you have any questions regarding CYP.  Please reach out to John in accounting if you have any questions regarding the .125 to be deducted from the jumbo and non-QM UWM transactions.  Please reach out to Drew Kashella or me if you need assistance with pricing.  The Correspondent Investor List will be updated with a notation regarding the .125. 

KIND

 The 25bp surcharge for Kind is NOT APPLICABLE  to FHA transactions and Correspondent channel transactions. It is only applicable to transactions that are ineligible for the correspondent channel.   

Kind has been pricing very well so please check them out and call Dee for any assistance

Dee Albanese

Account Executive

Mobile: (727) 243-8460

DAlbanese@kindlending.com

Effective immediately, Innovative Mortgage has reduced the holdback (pricing impact) to UWM transactions for Jumbo and non-QM transactions only.  The reason we have done this is to pass improved pricing along to our originators with the hope that you will capture more business.  UWM has agreed to improve their pricing if Innovative improved pricing in concert with them.  Innovative has reduced the pricing so that rebates should be improved by at least .375 between UWM's incentive and Innovative's reduction.  That said, Innovative, in order to stay minimally profitable on the correspondent channel with these transactions, must account for .125.

Therefore, effective immediately, when you price a jumbo or non-qm loan with UWM on the correspondent channel, please be sure to collect an extra .125 which John, our Chief Accounting Officer, will deduct from the total loan revenue upon issuing your commission.  Please understand that this is a net pricing benefit to originators by at least .25, if not more.

The good news doesn't stop there.  You can use Control Your Pricing (CYP) to improve the pricing even further.  Furthermore, UWM will improve your CYP in the following manner for jumbo and non-QM transactions.

Control your pricing multiplier formula and calculator.

3xCYP

            Rate Rebate+ Discount + Origination Section A – Lender Credit <  $5000 after CYP

2xCYP

            Rate Rebate+ Discount + Origination Section A – Lender Credit <  $10,000 after CYP

20-40CYP – Standard comp no Multiplier

Best practice lock at a rate costing so when the multiplier is applied it offsets the cost for rate.

            With a final rebate of <  $10,000 or <  $5000

Better to lock at a final comp of $4900 with 3xCYP then miss at a comp of $5001 with 2xCYP

Please reach out to your UWM account executive if you have any questions regarding CYP.  Please reach out to John in accounting if you have any questions regarding the .125 to be deducted from the jumbo and non-QM UWM transactions.  Please reach out to Drew Kashella or me if you need assistance with pricing.  The Correspondent Investor List will be updated with a notation regarding the .125.  UWM pricing should be updated tomorrow to reflect the imp

Quick Correction sent out in a follow up email from Bryan Ehrlich:

Quick correction, the CYP improvement applies only to Jumbo loans.  It does not apply to non-QM transactions.

It's almost that time of year again!  Please make sure that you know each of your state's specific CE Deadlines!

If you haven't already signed up for your CE courses, you can use UWM's link to get a discount through Mortgage Educators and Compliance (MEC):  https://mortgageeducators.com/17-products/475

**See the original email from Danna Kerns-Streett for the image with the CE dates for each state.**

Good Morning!  

Effective immediately all marketing and advertising must include the following state designation for the state(s) that the originator is licensed in. This is, of course, in addition to the additional marketing and advertising requirements. This has been updated in the compliance guide on our website. 

Alabama Consumer Credit License, California Financing Law License, Colorado Mortgage Company Registration, Connecticut Mortgage Lender License, Florida Mortgage Lender License, Georgia Mortgage Lender License/Registration, Louisiana Residential Mortgage Lending License, Maryland Mortgage Lender License, Massachusetts Mortgage Broker/Lender Licenses, Michigan 1st Mortgage Broker/Lender License & 2nd Mortgage Broker/Lender Registrant, Nebraska Mortgage Banker License, New Jersey Correspondent Residential Mortgage Lender License, North Carolina Mortgage Lender License, Ohio Residential Mortgage Lending Act Certificate of Registration, Pennsylvania Mortgage Lender License, South Carolina Mortgage Lender/Servicer License,  Tennessee Mortgage License, and Texas Mortgage Company License.

As a reminder, all marketing must be approved by Bryan before it can be printed or published.  Please send Bryan (bryan@innovativemlo.com) an email with your marketing and the state(s) that you'll be marketing in listed in the subject line of the email.

If you have any additional questions, please let me know.  Thanks!  

Investors and lenders are lengthening early payoff periods. Be careful to look for potential EPO signs and caution your borrowers not to proceed with a loan unless they will have it outstanding for at least the period through the EPO. EPO’s trigger commission clawbacks because investors and lenders seek reimbursement for their losses. As rates go higher the likelihood of future EPO’s increases due to the potential for lower rates in the near term. Be sure to reference the Correspondent Investor List or reach out for written guidance from your account executive should you become aware of any EPO red flags.

Here's an example of a lender going beyond 180 days to 210.  

**see the original email sent from Danna Kerns-Streett for the example.**

Good afternoon-

I would like to apologize for lack of advance notice regarding my time off last week.  We are diligently working on finalizing the remaining commissions.   If you have not already contacted me on any outstanding payouts beyond the normal time frames (see attached), please email me back with the following information so I can make sure to have your payment processed to you:

Borrower Name

Subject Property Address

Correspondent/Brokered

(If Brokered- date of check received)

It is my intention to have any outstanding items from last week cleared by tomorrow for you.

Thank you.

Good morning.  The Correspondent Investor List has just been updated to the company portal.  Here's the direct link.  You can also find it here on the Correspondent and Wholesale Lending Page.

Be sure to review each column of the correspondent list for the investor for each correspondent transaction that your originate.  There's important information in each column that is likely relevant to your transaction, such as Innovative lock requirements which vary from investor to investor.

Have a wonderful day!

**Please visit our website for the most updated correspondent investor list:  https://www.innovativemlo.com/correspondent-and-wholesale-lending-innovative-mortgage-services-inc  **

Happy Friday!  I just wanted to send out a couple of friendly reminders for things we're starting to see more frequently across the board in Arive.

1)  Please make sure that as many dates as possible are updated in real time on the Audit and Dates page, but especially the dates listed with "MCR" next to them.  They are required for our Mortgage Call Reports.  The one we're most frequently seeing left off is the Credit Import Date and I think it might be because it's not visible unless you scroll down.  Processors were also made aware of this but since LOs are the ones typically pulling in credit I wanted to make you aware because you might be the one who needs to update this date on the Audit and Dates page.

2)  Please double check that your file is on the correct channel (either Non-Del or Brokered)...especially when a loan file has been cloned.  

The easiest way to check which channel the file is on is to scroll all the way to the bottom of the "Setup and Contacts" page. You can see the channel and MERS number there.  

Most loans change to the correct channel automatically as long as you choose the lender and product correctly without you needing to do anything, however we're asking that you please double check.

(see the original email sent from Danna Kerns-Streett to view the screenshots that go with each step)

This should go unsaid.  Management Message:  Kickbacks are ILLEGAL and a violation of RESPA.

(Please see original email from Bryan Ehrlich to view the image from the National Mortgage News article)

Hi friends!  Hope everything is well with you and that you are having a productive week.

Just a few Arive public service announcements.

Arive requires that you use a virtual private network (VPN) in the event that you are traveling outside of the United States and are attempting to access the network.  Norton Utilities is an excellent virus protection suite and also provides VPN features as part of its package.  Check them out at Norton.com.  I like Norton because it is easy to install, use and the pricing is right.  If you don't have virus protection installed be sure to sign up for Norton or something similar.  Don't risk exposing your data and clients data to a security breach.  State and federal penalties, fines and customer liability are astronomical!

Arive requires that your computer clock matches the actual time and time zone that you are working from.  If your clock in the bottom right of your windows based machine doesn't match the time on your phone you need to do the following.  Navigate to "Settings".  Select "Time and Language".  Then click on "Date & Time".  Next, uncheck "Set Time Automatically" and check it again.  That should reset your computer time in a few seconds to the correct time.

Be sure to use the support tool at the bottom right corner of your Arive screen.  You can chat in real time with support for common issues.  I recently worked with a loan originator to quickly resolve adding a non-occupant co-signer.  Arive support walked us through the steps.  It was fast and efficient!

Our Innovators and contract processors are amazing!  We are crazy about you guys (in a good way ☺)!  Have a fantastic Friday and excellent weekend!  

This is VERY important so PLEASE PAY ATTENTION

In some cases, our Correspondent and Wholesale lending partners will ask for a SSPL - DO NOT USE DOC MAGIC TO REPRINT THE INITIAL DISCLOSURE PACKAGE

*** If a lender asks for this, go to the Disclosure Forms Tab on the Arive file

Select Arive Forms

Go to the upper right corner and search the letters "IMS" and select the following forms:

• IMS- List of Service Providers You Can Shop For Copy
• IMS - List of Service Providers You CAnnot Shop For Copy

*****YOU NEED TO ENSURE YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE FEES SCREEN WITH THE "PAID TO" SECTIONS FILLED OUT - most people use the Smart Fees Function and I highly recommend that.

***** YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE YOUR BUSINESS PARTNERS ADDED ON THE SETUP & CONTACTS SCREEN

This is what causes the dynamic fields in the 2 forms to be completed.

(Please see the original email sent by Andrew Kashella, which included screenshots of each step of this process.)

I wanted to alert everyone to a potential pricing issue for primary residence transactions.

The Arive point of sale link that you can provide to your clients to make an application online has a section that requires the borrower to indicate whether they are a first time homebuyer (FTHB).  If a borrower is NOT a FTHB but they answer the question as "YES" the application will populate in Arive with the borrower's status indicated as a FTHB.  Consequently, when you request pricing, the FTHB LLPA price improvement will be applied to the transaction when it shouldn't be applied at all.  Alternatively, if a borrower is a FTHB but they answer the question as "NO", the application will populate in Arive with the borrower's status indicated as NOT a FTHB.  Consequently, the FTHB LLP price improvement will not be applied to the transaction when it should be.  To avoid this issue follow the instructions below.

Log into Arive.  Open the application. Navigate to "Products and Pricing" on the left hand column.

Next select "Price" or "Reprice" on the top right corner. 

Scroll down the page and select "Advanced Options". 

Scroll further down the page on the bottom right and select or deselect (as appropriate)  "First Time Homebuyer".

This information has been added to our Arive company manual "MLO Arive Process Flow, Notes and Tips Updates".  You can click this link to view the complete manual.  Take care when you are pricing transactions.  Stop immediately and contact Innovative management for support if you have questions, issues or concerns.  Thanks for your attention to this issue and have a great rest of the week!

Just a quick heads up, because quite a few of you have been inquiring about this.  Please note that due to the fact that HTH limits compensation to loan originators that Innovative considers this a valid exception to the compensation rule (something beyond the originator's control that's a benefit to the borrower).  Therefore, whichever lender you choose for HTH, please note that Innovative will make an exception and compensate loan originators the lesser of their elected compensation or the total permissible loan revenue less Innovative's $595 transaction fee. 

Additionally, there have been some recent changes to processing fees and HTH.  Now HTH permits contract processors to be compensated up to $500 for loan processing.  Please note that we will permit originators to pay any additional processing fee (the balance of any processing fee between the $500 collected and the processor's total regular fee) from their profitability or to deduct it from the total loan revenue as a valid compensation exception.

Please email John@InnovativeMLO.com if you have any questions.  John is Innovative's Chief Accounting Officer and can provide additional information if necessary.

This is a mass email sent by Bcc.  So please don't take this personally, unless it applies to you.

Generally speaking, loan originators should not be uploading conditions to a lender/investor.  I understand that there are a few circumstances that may appropriately call for the originator to be the party uploading conditions to lenders.  For example, where a loan originator is validly (with advance management approval) self-processing a loan.  Sometimes a processor may be out or unavailable and the matter is urgent (not every condition needs urgent attention).  That being said, generally speaking, loan originators should NOT be uploading conditions to a lender/investor.  Among the many benefits of having a processor, they provide an extra layer of validation to information and documents within a file.  Loan originators must respect this neutral zone and allow processors to do their job.

Furthermore, when a loan originator validly or reasonably uploads conditions, the loan processor MUST be copied on the condition.  Innovative's expectation is that loan processors will review any and all documents that a loan originator may validly upload to a lender/investor and of course all documents that processors directly upload themselves.  Part of originating and processing includes validating and verifying documentation.  Processors (and loan originators) should carefully review documents for red flags.  When red flags are detected the processor should make supervening calls to Innovative management so that we can get involved and help ascertain if there's a true red flag that requires further attention.  

I also want to reiterate that loan originators and processors should NEVER accept supporting loan documents from any party other than the borrower.  If realtors or unrelated third parties are providing documentation that is a clear red flag that something is awry.  One would also reason that it is unnecessary for me to mention that loan originators and processors should NEVER alter a supporting document or manufacture a supporting document.  Well . . . we recently had a situation arise where a loan originator modified a document.  I think it bears reminding for all loan originators and processors that Innovative Mortgage will NOT TOLERATE LOAN FRAUD.  Lenders will blacklist you, we will report it to the authorities and terminate our relationship with you and you will lose your license and livelihood.  We've done it before.  We will do it again if necessary.

That said, I want to assure you that I know the majority of our loan processors and loan originators are highly ethical and moral professionals.  It's usually just a few bad apples that spoil the bunch.  I'd prefer we have no bad apples at all.  Please leave if you are one of the few bad apples that can't comply with highly ethical and moral professionalism.  You know who you are.  No sense in postponing the inevitable.  We will catch you sooner rather than later, and the consequences will be unpleasant.  My team and I have a duty to keep Innovative viable for all our loan originators and processors and I won't allow a few bad apples to ruin it for everyone.

Thank you for your attention to this email.  I know it is strongly worded and I don't intend to be harsh or unpleasant, but considering the circumstances, I thought it was necessary to remind everyone of our ZERO FRAUD TOLERANCE policy.