Rocket Fuel Newsletter – 04/02/22

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7 Things To Remember As Rates Rise – With Austin Niemiec

Rates have been aggressively rising.

Below is a rate sheet from 1985, when Rocket Mortgage® was an independent mortgage broker.

We are all in a cyclical business. This is normal.

As mortgage pros, there are a few key things we must remember in times like these:

  1. When American families lay their heads down at night, they aren’t thinking about the interest rate on their mortgage. They are thinking about cash flow, debt and how much money they have in the bank. Many times, we focus more on rate than consumers do.
  2. 64% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. 48% of six-figure earners are living paycheck to paycheck. Equity and cash-out is an incredible vehicle to help alleviate this, regardless of rate.
  3. Now more than ever, focus on the things you can control: your marketing, your sales skill, conversion, understanding your product inside and out. The inches matter; they add up to miles.
  4. Credit reports are critical. Go very deep with each and every prospect. Solutions are no longer rate reduction equations. They are story problems – the solutions are inside the credit report.
  5. Humans always need homes, regardless of rate. Although inventory is light, plant as many preapproval seeds as possible. Work with them on their credit and follow up consistently.
  6. Today's rate increase is tomorrow's refi boom. Rates must go up to be able to take someone’s rate down. Persistent patience is key. 
  7. Find the right partnerships. Whether its strong lenders who will persevere through thick and thin … or talented peers in the industry. Lean on the best. 

These are truly the times when companies and LOs separate themselves, grow and gain market share. Ignore the noise.

2022 will be an exciting year. Embrace it and attack it. We’ve got this. 

Onward and upward.

Fuel Up! 🚀 

Biz Buzz

The Good: Fulfilling The American Dream 🏡

Thuan Nguyen describes his journey from immigrating to the U.S. without a firm grasp of the English language and no brokerage experience to founding the successful mortgage brokerage Loan Factory, Inc., here.

His first dive into the mortgage experience? In 2006, right before the housing market crash and recession. Highlights from the article include his motivation behind his work and some sage advice:

“I love helping other people. ... I know that people are struggling now with home prices so high and interest rates also so high, so whatever I can do to help them out is my motivation. ... Very rewarding.”

“Right now is not the time to get depressed. Right now is a time to learn and improve so that next time the rates drop you are ready. Keep learning, keep maintaining relationships with clients, try to network and the future will be there.”

The Bad: Fannie And Freddie Ain’t Foolin’ You

On April 1, Fannie and Freddie began charging more to guarantee loans for vacation homes and high-balance loans. For vacation homes, upfront fees increased between 1.125% and 3.875% vs. between 0.25% and 0.75% for loans exceeding $647,200 (or $970,800 in high-cost areas) for most single-family homes.

The Ugly: Fraud And Conspiracy And Short Sales, Oh My!

Finally, a couple housing-related stories of people NOT doing the right thing:

Seth Levin, owner of Norse Holdings, was sentenced to more than 8 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release for a decade-long $60 million fraud scheme. Norse Holdings and its subsidiaries managed at least 70 multifamily properties, refinancing them based on falsified, overblown rental data. 

Meanwhile, Gabriel T. Tavarez, cofounder of the mortgage short sale assistance company Loss Mitigation Services, LLC, was sentenced to 7 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of nearly $475,500 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. 

The U.S. Census Bureau released new population estimate data last week, revealing continued domestic outmigration in large population centers. In fact, seven of the nine most populous metros experienced outmigration, with six of those seven accelerating from 2020 to 2021.

The New York combined statistical area had an outflow of 378k (up from 233k in 2020), while the Bay Area had an outflow of 182k (88k in 2020), and Los Angeles lost 174k (118k in 2020).

Southern metros continue to benefit most from domestic migration trends, with Florida holding four of the top nine spots for increased domestic in-migration.

With housing affordability and availability becoming an increasing concern, we should expect this trend to continue.

Purchase Power Play extended until April 30, 2022: 30 bps credit on all purchase loans.

Purchase season is in full swing, and we are here to help you strengthen and grow your business. That’s why we’re helping you dominate this purchase season by extending our Purchase Power Play!


Get the Purchase Power Play! Now through April 30, 2022, get a 30 bps credit – that’s industry-leading pricing on ALL purchase loans types,including Jumbo Smart and high-balance loans.1 You also get unbeatable purchase support from Crews: your dedicated team that helps you close purchase loans faster and provides incredible accessibility.

Hop on the portal and lock a loan!

1Valid on all purchase loans (FICO ≥740 and LTV ≤90%). Available on all products. Primary residential property loans only. Rate lock must occur between Tuesday, March 1st at 9:00 a.m. and Saturday, April 30th, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Promotion is non-transferrable. Rocket Mortgage reserves the right to change or alter the end date and any conditions of this promotion. Additional restrictions/conditions may apply. This is not a commitment to lend.

Partner Spotlight

Atul Gupta, President & Vinay Kumar, VP of Marketing, DMV Home Funding

Caffeine fix:

  • Coffee, one cream, 1 cup/day (Atul and Vinny) 

First jobs: 

  • Selling shoes (Atul)  
  • Delivering newspapers at age 14 (Vinay)

How did you get your start in mortgages?

I (Atul) had a choice to become a realtor or a loan officer. I liked the numbers better, so I chose to be an LO.

It is no secret that we are in a purchase-heavy mortgage environment; earlier this month marked the first time since June 2019 that purchase applications were over 50% of the nation’s mix. DMV Home Funding, located in Chantilly, VA., has prepared for this shift over the past year, positioning themselves as a purchase maven even as the COVID-fueled refi boom continued last year. 

For them, succeeding in the purchase game is all about how you are perceived by the real estate agent community. Home buyers need to feel confident in their team, from their real estate agent to their lender, which means both entities need to work as a cohesive team.

“There has always been a big gap in communication between LOs and realtors. … If a problem arises, you need to talk to the realtor and figure it out together. Treat the loan as if it is your own loan – it helps the realtor understand your strategy.” 

This strategy has paid off – beginning in spring 2021 when home buying began its post-COVID comeback, Atul, Vinay, and their team have turned into a purchase powerhouse. For every month but one from April 2021 through January 2022, DMV Home Funding had a greater purchase mix than the rest of the market, including a purchase mix of at least 50% in each of the last 4 months.

Atul and Vinay credited this sustained rise in purchase business to keeping a long-view mindset of their business – every industry has its ups and downs, which means even though refinance is currently down, it will be back at some point. It also means that during refi-heavy times like the COVID boom, establishing and maintaining quality relationships with real estate agents is crucial for consistent production during purchase-heavy times.

For those brokers out there still adjusting to the purchase-first mortgage environment, Atul and Vinay offered three pieces of advice that has served them well.

  1. Control what you can control. 
    “Rate is whatever it is going to be, and there is nothing you can do about it. So as long as you’re competitive, it all boils down to how you can help the buyers close smoothly. That is the confidence you need to instill in your clients and their realtors.”
  2. Get active on social media. 
    “The badges [that Rocket Pro TPO gives out] for closing within 15 days, being a top broker, etc., are things we leverage on social media. They help position us as people who know what they are doing and are successful.” 
  3. Find your niche and home in on whom you serve best. “This knowledge is important – it affects how you structure the loan, letting the client know how we should approach it, and thinking outside the box to see how we can achieve their goals.”


Want to share your story? Reach out to your Account Executive and you could be in a future Partner Spotlight! 

Pro Puzzles

For the first time, we have a two-time winner! John F. clocked in at 23 seconds on last week’s puzzle after leading all solvers a couple of weeks ago. One other solver finished in under 30 seconds last week – magnificent work!

Who will win this week?

Click here to solve!

This week's puzzle gets 1 Rocket out of 5 (1 = easiest, 5 = hardest).