HomeTown's top branch heads for the door, legal woes brew

HomeTown Lenders' top-performing branch appears to have left the mortgage shop in late July. HomeTown's Mokena, Illinois branch, which is said to originate close to $20 million in volume monthly, is now employed by Ixonia Bank, according to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. It is uncertain why the branch called it quits with the lender. The branch did not respond to a request for comment. HomeTown responded in an email that it wishes "nothing but the best for the former HomeTown team members that were part of the Illinois branch."

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Flagstar announces graduates of latest mortgage tech accelerator

Flagstar Bank revealed the fintech graduates of its latest MortgageTech Accelerator program , which is designed to assist startups whose work aims at driving innovation in home lending technology. Hailing from the East and West Coasts, the four companies going through the accelerator specialize in processes related to facilitating the renter-to-homeownership pipeline, audit review and compliance, renovation lending and income verification. The latest class includes two New York-based firms: Housetable, who offers tools to help issue equity-backed second liens for renovations; and Landis, whose platform provides a rent-to-own model to assist aspiring buyers achieve homeownership.?

TV-starring real estate firm swaps preferred lenders

The Agency, the luxury real estate brokerage featured in reality TV show "Buying Beverly Hills," just crowned New American Funding its preferred lending partner. The move comes only eight months after they gave that same title to CrossCountry Mortgage . Burke Smith, the real estate brokerage's executive vice president of affiliated businesses, confirmed the news. He said it's in The Agency's clients' best interest. "Not to sound too cliche, but we believe that when mortgage companies compete, our clients win," he said in a statement to National Mortgage News. This "dual endorsement strategy" will ensure that The Agency can cover a broader spectrum of financing options, he explained, as two mortgage partners means more variety.

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American Financial Resources sells entire stake to investment group

National lender and construction-loan specialist American Financial Resources announced Monday it had agreed to the business' sale to an investment group led by a Denver-based fund manager. The Parsippany, New Jersey-based mortgage company who offers wholesale, correspondent and consumer-direct channels , will sell 100% of the business to Proprietary Capital, whose institutional platform gives investors exposure to the residential mortgage market and related assets. "With the support and investment of Proprietary Capital, AFR will begin a new phase of rapid growth that will directly benefit our borrowers, wholesale and correspondent clients, and employees," said American Financial CEO Rich Dubnoff in a press release.?

Mortgage credit tightens on jumbo concerns, loan costs

Originators continued to reduce their loan product offerings in July in an effort to manage costs while origination volume lags, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. Its Mortgage Credit Availability Index fell to 96.3 in July, compared with 96.6 for June and 108.8 one year ago. "Mortgage credit availability declined to its lowest level since 2013, as lenders pulled back on underutilized loan programs and as liquidity concerns remain for some jumbo lenders," said Joel Kan, deputy chief economist, in a press release. "Declining origination volumes have led to lower profitability for many lenders, resulting in narrower loan product offerings to reduce operational costs."

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