Industry Watch: Lenders locking down conforming loan limits

Large lenders have begun raising their conforming loan limits in advance of official guidance by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). That announcement regarding the maximum mortgage amounts Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowed to purchase typically comes in late November.

Rocket Mortgage was the first to strike, raising its conforming loan limits to $845,000.

Pennymac soon followed, upping the ante on its conforming limits to $850,000 across all production channels for single-unit properties in the 48 contiguous U.S. states. The current national baseline limit is $832,750 for the lower 48.

United Wholesale Mortgage essentially split the difference, settling on $847,440 for one-unit conventional loans.

Others opting for the $845,000 limit included CrossCountry Mortgage, Newrez, Fairway Independent Mortgage, Guild Mortgage and Movement Mortgage. BankSouth Mortgage initially announced that level but then boosted it to $850,000 several days later.

Vice Capital Markets, a mortgage hedging advisory firm, announced that bid tapes on its capital markets platform now support VantageScore credit scores, providing lenders and secondary market investors with enhanced loan-level credit characteristics. The move follows FHFA Director Bill Pulte’s Sept. 3 instructions to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to immediately approve all lenders to use the VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring system.

In other VantageScore news, TransUnion is extending its 99-cent VantageScore 4.0 pricing through the end of 2028. The pricing applies per mortgage origination score when ordered on a stand-alone basis.

Geraci LLP, a California-based private lending law firm, has been named a strategic partner of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. The partnership entails conference space exchanges, promotional support and a direct pipeline between the broker community and legal support in the private lending space.

June Point Lending has expanded its debt-service coverage ratio offerings to California. That marks the 19th state where DSCR products are available for the New York-based non-QM lender.

Another DSCR-related announcement came from Seattle-based mortgage tech company Friday Harbor, which has added support for DSCR loans and other investor products to its AI-based pre-underwriting platform. That software reviews leases, appraisal-based rent schedules, property information and other deal details against applicable program guidelines before underwriting.

Sendzie LLC announced its official entry into the mortgage market. Designed to give borrowers a digital space to connect with their loan officer, Sendzie creates automated video and audio messages from the LO while providing continuous engagement and sentiment metrics. The company was established by Allen Pollack and Howard Conyack Jr., known for co-founding mortgage fintech firm LoanLogics.

Checkr has launched a new tenant screening platform that combines identity verification, background checks and other screening services into one centralized system. Checkr, which acquired Truv in August, says the platform should help property managers fill vacancies three to five days faster on average.

Newrez announced that HomeHub, its homeowner engagement platform, is now available to protected wholesale borrowers. The centralized platform, where homeowners can monitor equity value and explore home and financing options, is designed to maintain a touch point with the original loan officer the borrower already worked with on their home purchase.

Milhaus, a national developer, owner and operator of Class A multifamily properties, has acquired Broadshore Capital Partners, an investment management and lending platform with more than 35 years of experience in equity and debt investment strategies. Milhaus completed its merger with Sares Regis Group Residential in July.

Atlas VMS, a valuation and mortgage solutions company, is acquiring CloseClear.ai, an early-stage platform designed to continuously monitor active mortgage loan pipelines against live federal disaster data to flag repurchase risk for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As part of the move, Atlas is planning a product line for property-level flood zone identification alongside appraisal workflows.