AI Ass’t, Home Equity, Servicing, Borrower Capture, Audit Tools; MISMO & DPA
“I ordered a book online titled, ‘How to Scam People Online.’ It’s been six months and I still haven’t received it.” Being scammed, and fraud in general, isn’t a laughing matter. Companies like SoFi publish information on how to recover afterward. People over 60, as always, are more susceptible. The FBI has a website on mortgage fraud which is well-regarded. Good loan officers are instrumental in teaching their clients about it. I mention all of this because I continue to hear from LOs about how artificial intelligence has increased fraud more than reduced it. Generating one’s own paystubs online takes about 20 seconds, and has for many years, hence the increase in reputable verification services. Third party providers have increased their range and scope: Firstline Compliance, FraudGuard, FundingShield, ACES Quality Management, and Secure Insight all jump to mind. There are even companies like Private Eyes to check the background of those checking the loan. Remember: you have the money, they want it. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are presented by Experian. Experian Verify’s integration with Workday gives mortgage lenders broader access to reliable, up-to-date income and employment data, streamlining verification, enhancing efficiency, and delivering a smoother borrower experience from application to closing. Today’s has an interview with NFTYDoor’s Tim Rowan on home equity lending and how digital technology and human support can improve borrower and loan-originator experiences.)
Lender and Broker Products, Services, and Software
Most QC automation answers the checklist. Your auditors answer the requirement. That gap is why checklist automation rarely delivers the time savings it promises. An answer auditors can’t rely on gets checked again, and two reviews take longer than one. Indecomm’s AuditGenius | ai automates the audit. Every checklist question is evaluated against the agency, investor, and overlay requirements behind it, using logic our QC specialists approved before any loan runs. When auditors open a file, every item is already answered with a finding, a severity, and the supporting page, so they verify instead of re-perform. In our own prefunding QA work, reviews that took 90 to 120 minutes now take 15 to 20 once auditors are up to speed. Same loan, same answer. The Glassbox shows how each finding was reached, and your auditors stay in control. Book a demo for an early look at AuditGenius | ai.
What do your agents need most from you right now? Buyers, for starters. (Don’t we all?) But also, fewer hurdles and simpler processes. The average buyer’s agent spends 80–100 hours helping one buyer purchase a home. Listing and buyer’s agents alike need help finding buyers and more time to focus on clients. Before asking for their next referral, ask: “How can I help you grow your business? What can I take off your plate?” Inside Real Estate acquired BoomTown three years ago and serves over 400,000 real estate professionals. It understands agents’ needs. Now, it’s helping lenders support their agent partners, too. That’s the thinking behind Streams: bringing loan officers, agents, and their systems together through connected workflows that help uncover buyer opportunities, coordinate follow-up, and simplify communication. Be the partner who helps agents build their business and makes their day easier. Explore a more connected approach.
The 2026 ServiceLink Loan Officer Report sheds light on the growing demand for a more efficient, transparent, and digitally driven mortgage process. For the first time, ServiceLink surveyed more than 500 loan officers (in addition to 1,500 recent homebuyers) to gain valuable insight into the housing market from both lenders and borrowers’ perspectives. The research found that today’s homebuyers are looking for a faster, more streamlined digital mortgage experience than many lenders realize. The findings also highlight that there is opportunity for originators to provide greater transparency, innovative technology, and in-depth education, ultimately giving borrowers the ease and guidance they desire. To learn how lenders can better meet borrower expectations and improve their experience, download the full report.
Average cost to produce a loan has held between $10,700 and $12,600 for three straight years, per MBA data, even as production income swings quarter to quarter. ICE commissioned independent research firm MarketWise Advisors to dig into what’s driving results, and the 2026 Encompass ROI Study, now in its sixth year, found that every dollar spent on Encompass returned approximately 7.5 times that amount, up to $1,154 per loan. The study answers three questions lending leaders are asking right now: Can we scale without adding headcount? Where is the money actually being made or lost in our process? Can we defend this investment when volume or rates shift again? Read the findings.
More Units. More Opportunity. More YSP This October. For the month of October, Asset Based Lending (ABL) broker partners can earn an additional 25 basis points of YSP on DSCR loans and there are even more deals that may qualify. ABL recently expanded its DSCR program to include 5–9-unit multifamily properties, opening the door to investors ready to move beyond the traditional fourplex. For brokers, that means now is a great time to take another look at your pipeline. That small multifamily deal that didn’t fit before? It may now. Plus, ABL broker partners can get borrowers pre-approved within 24 hours, with no cap on referrals. October won’t last forever and neither will the extra 25 bps. Have a deal in mind? Learn more about ABL’s Broker Affiliate Program and put this month’s opportunity to work.
When a lender, bank or credit union decides to move away from self-servicing, it’s a decision that isn’t taken lightly. Their customers, compliance obligations, and reputation are all on the line. That’s why lenders turn to Servbank. As the nation’s premier bank subservicers, Servbank combines the strength and stability of a regulated bank with the transparency, service, and operational excellence today’s lenders demand. From proven compliance expertise to dedicated relationship management and exceptional customer experience, we help our clients protect their portfolios while keeping their customers at the center of everything we do. As one of the few subservicers that is also a bank, we deliver the confidence and surety lenders need in an increasingly complex environment. Ready to partner with a subservicer that serves to a higher standard? Learn how Servbank can support your servicing strategy.
Informative Research (IR) provides the expert knowledge and reliable tools lenders need to build strong operations with live monthly trainings. The next session is October 21 at 1 pm Eastern and delves into using AccountChek® with Encompass Partner Connect. Attendees will explore automation best practices, VOA/DVOE ordering, borrower experience, and proven strategies for achieving validated findings, including AUS validation messaging, and ordering the DVOE in lieu of an updated asset statement for the final 10-day VOE. Whether onboarding new team members or sharpening skills across the organization, these sessions deliver actionable guidance from experts who know the platform and the industry. Register for the October 21 training and keep your team performing at its best with AccountChek.
“NFTYDoor is built to be the best home equity partner an MLO can have, because our job isn’t simply to fund the loan. It’s to support you and your borrower every step of the way. Every NFTYDoor partner has a dedicated Client Success team that treats your volume goals as our own. From processing to funding, you get dedicated end-to-end service designed to scale your HELOC business. This is a platform built around exceptional service, not just speed and technology. Our goal is simple: to become the partner you can’t imagine growing without.”
Adding more people to your call center won’t drive the kind of growth you’re seeking. And neither will bolting an out-of-the box AI onto your existing workflows. In a new conversation with HousingWire, Total Expert CEO Joe Welu lays out what he calls the “10x lender model,” which doesn’t just try to iterate on existing lender workflows, but reimagines the entire engine powering their businesses. AI assistants can handle outreach, scheduling, and follow-up for thousands of borrowers at once, driven by the contextual data you already have. This frees loan officers to get back to what they do best: building relationships one meaningful conversation at a time. It’s not a “someday vision.” It’s possible today with the right platform, the right strategy, and the right mindset. See what’s possible with the 10x lender model!
The next Chrisman Demo Day is November 19 and is a free perk for all Chrisman Marketplace members. If you’re a technology or service provider and haven’t joined the Marketplace yet, reach out to Chloe Murray at info@chrismancommentary.com to learn more.
The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the 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.
Next Steps for Down Payment Assistance
Brian Vieaux, the President of MISMO, wrote, “Rob Chrane recently used these pages to make the case for standardizing down payment assistance data through MISMO. His submission explained the opportunity and the expertise Down Payment Resource is prepared to contribute. Having also discussed the idea with Rob on MIC’d Up, I want to pick up where he left off: who will help make it work?
“Rob’s proposal would establish a common way to represent foundational DPA program information. Its usefulness will depend on the people who help shape it, particularly those who administer programs, build mortgage technology, and work directly with homebuyers. During my first year at MISMO, I have encouraged more business practitioners to participate alongside our technology and data experts. We need both. A specification must reflect how people actually work, and business requirements need experts who can translate them into something systems can use.
“For lenders, my request is straightforward: bring a workflow. Show where your team researches assistance, reenters information, or leaves the system to resolve a question. An anonymized example can contribute more than another general observation that DPA is complicated.
“Loan officers belong in this discussion, too. You know when borrowers ask about assistance and what information helps you explain their options. Your perspective should influence the work from the beginning. For loan origination system and point of sale technologists, help us understand implementation. Where would information enter your platform? What would another system need to receive? What could you realistically test in an initial version?
“Housing finance agencies and authorities, state housing authorities, municipal housing authorities, and other program administrators bring equally essential expertise. You understand where program descriptions can lose meaning as information moves between organizations. We need your help preserving the details that matter.
“That invitation includes smaller organizations with limited resources. A useful standard should account for the practical constraints of a local program administrator or smaller lender alongside the needs of larger institutions. The initial assignment should be manageable, with a specific exchange of information participants can implement and test. We should identify potential implementers early and agree on how to evaluate improvement. Less repeated data entry or less time resolving program questions could be useful measures to consider.
“The proposal still needs to move through MISMO’s process, including consideration of its organizational home, scope, resources, and priority. This is an early invitation to help shape the effort. Expressions of interest can demonstrate demand and identify missing perspectives before the work becomes more formal. As Rob said during our interview, “Lend Your Name Not Your Calendar.” You can express interest now and determine how to participate as the proposal develops.
“If this touches your business or the communities you serve, reach out to Rob or me. Share the challenge you encounter and whether you could contribute expertise, review requirements, or eventually help test a specification. Rob has put the idea before the industry. Your experience can help turn it into something people can use to serve homebuyers more effectively.” Thank you, Brian: #VieauxPoint
Capital Markets
U.S. Treasuries and Agency MBS surrendered some of last week’s gains on Monday as early advances gave way to sustained selling pressure. Initial optimism surrounding technology stocks and a brief oil-price dip on speculation of a potential U.S.–Iran deal faded. The lack of confirmation pushed oil prices back toward September highs, renewing inflation concerns and weighing on fixed-income markets. With limited near-term economic data, focus will be on technology earnings, the trajectory of AI infrastructure investment, and Treasury issuance dynamics.
AI companies have been borrowing plenty to expand. The unwinding of the AI financing boom could ease upward pressure on long-term interest rates by reducing the massive borrowing and hedging activity tied to AI infrastructure investments, potentially benefiting banks and residential mortgage lenders through lower funding costs and improved borrowing affordability. The nearly $2 trillion in estimated AI-related debt, combined with more than $40 trillion in federal debt and elevated borrowing costs, poses growing risks to housing, household finances, and economic growth. This leaves policymakers balancing the need for further tightening against the possibility that weakening consumer demand, housing-market stress, or an AI-driven market correction could force a shift toward easing.
Accordingly, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee is expected to pause in October, raise rates by 25-basis points in December, and potentially deliver another hike in March 2027 before holding steady. Persistent services inflation, wage growth, and increasingly hawkish messaging are reinforcing the central bank’s commitment to price stability and policy credibility. The combination of uncertain Fed policy, elevated government and AI-related borrowing, and geopolitical risks warrants caution, although select 30-year MBS offer attractive relative value amid continued volatility, appearing particularly inexpensive relative to other maturities and seasoned, mid-coupon securities and offering potential value.
Today’s economic calendar is already underway with September Housing Starts (1.221 million, below expectations, -5.2 percent) and Building Permits (1.40 million, as expected, -.2 percent). Later today brings September Pending Home Sales, Redbook same store sales, and the Atlanta Fed GDPNow for Q3. As the ongoing tension between inflationary energy risks and demand for safe-haven assets continues, after these weak housing numbers we begin the day with Agency MBS prices better than Monday’s close by .125-.250, the 2-year yielding 4.73, and the 10-year yielding 5.08 after closing Monday at 5.14 percent.
