Katie Sweeney joins Rocket Pro as broker advocate

Sweeney, the former CEO of the Broker Action Coalition, is joining Rocket Pro as executive vice president of strategy and broker advocacy. The change comes 10 months after she moved over to the BAC as it separated its leadership from the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts. "My role is generally going to be focused around creating more opportunities for our broker partners," Sweeney said. "A lot of that will come from aligning with the government affairs and policy teams here at Rocket." Sweeney will also work with the technology and product teams to determine how Rocket can bring enterprise-level solutions to small mortgage brokers, small businesses and individual loans officers.

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Voxtur ends deal to sell Blue Water Financial Technologies

Voxtur Analytics, a Toronto-based mortgage technology company that operates on both sides of the border, has terminated the definitive agreement to sell a majority stake in Blue Water Financial Technologies to University Bancorp. The deal was first announced last July 26, and some of the proceeds were to be used to pay off debt owed to Bank of Montreal. The announcement came shortly after Voxtur leadership averted a board takeover led by the company that sold it Blue Water, Rice Park Capital Management.

Mortgage applicants still won't cross the 7% barrier

Home shoppers aren't caving in to higher-for-longer mortgage rates. The average contract interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate conforming mortgage was stuck at 7.02% for two weeks in a row, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group reported application volume down 2% for the week ending Jan. 24, compared to the seven days prior. On a seasonally adjusted basis, both the MBA's refinance and purchase indexes fell 7% and 0.4% week-over-week.

Decade-old Rocket appraisal suit kicked to lower court

An appeals court reversed a previous decision that found Rocket Mortgage guilty of interfering with the appraisal process more than a decade ago. The prior determination had resulted in awarding class members over $10.5 million. The Fourth Circuit reversed a West Virginia district court's class certification, finding insufficient evidence of concrete harm caused to each class member. It also reversed previously granted damages. The original suit argued Rocket Mortgage and Amrock put pressure on appraisers to inflate home values to obtain higher loan values.?

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