Sagen Overtakes CMHC as Canada’s Largest Mortgage Default Insurer

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has reportedly lost its title as Canada’s largest provider of mortgage default insurance.

The national housing agency’s total market share has slipped to just under 30%, according to a report by RATESDOTCA. That marks a steep decline from CMHC’s market share of approximately 46% in 2019.

Meanwhile, Canada’s two private providers of mortgage default insurance have seen their market share jump. Sagen reported a rise in market share to about 43%, up from 30-35% a year ago, while Canada Guaranty President and CEO Andy Charles confirmed to CMT its share is around 30%, up from mid-20% a year earlier.

CMHC’s majority hold on the market had been gradually falling for years, but took a steep dive after it introduced stricter underwriting guidelines last June in response to the pandemic.

Those measures included reducing the maximum total and gross debt service ratios needed for an insured mortgage, increasing the minimum credit score to 680 from 600 and banning non-traditional sources of down payments.

“These actions will protect homebuyers, reduce government and taxpayer risk and support the stability of housing markets while curtailing excessive demand and unsustainable house price growth,” former CEO Evan Siddall said at the time.

But both Sagen and Canada Guaranty declined to follow CMHC’s lead, deciding that the current underwriting standards were adequate to manage the existing risk in the market.

Private Insurers are the Big Market Share Winners

As a result, many borrowers who could no longer qualify for default insurance through CMHC turned to the private insurers.

Not only did both Sagen and Canada Guaranty pick up business from high-debt-ratio clients, but many lenders were grateful that they continued to accept the deals that CMHC would no longer take, and as a result decided to reward the private insurers with more of their standard business to keep their portfolios balanced.

“It’s been great quality business, we’re very comfortable with what we’re underwriting today and we’re very grateful to the support we’ve seen from our customers,” Levings told CMT in an interview conducted last month.

Charles confirmed to CMT that CMHC’s underwriting changes “certainly did allow us the opportunity to deepen our relationships with our lenders and we were rewarded with increased volume to ensure a balanced portfolio.”

But Levings thinks the dust has settled for now, and doesn’t expect drastic changes in market share in the near future.

“I do think the market is now a lot more mature, and saturated, in terms of where the three players sit,” he said. “So, I don’t expect to see major shifts in market share at this point.”

–Steve Huebl

First-Time Home Buyer Incentive 2.0 Now Available

Long-awaited tweaks to the government’s First-Time Home Buyer Incentive came into effect on Monday.

Nearly five months after the changes were first proposed, the Department of Finance and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) have enhanced the eligibility criteria for buyers in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria.

As a recap, the FTHBI is a shared-equity program whereby the government contributes between 5% and 10% of a first-time buyer’s down payment, and shares in any increase or decrease in the home value until the loan is repaid. The buyer doesn’t need to make any monthly payments, though the loan must be repaid after 25 years or when the home is sold.

The new eligibility requirements include:

• the maximum eligible household income has been raised to $150,000 (an increase from $120,000)
• participants can borrow up to 4.5 times their household income, up from the current four times.

The changes are limited to those living in the three cities noted above, while the original criteria continue to apply to those living in the rest of the country.

“Our government recognizes that making the choice to own for the first time is a challenge, especially in major markets where housing costs are rising fastest,” said Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister responsible for the CMHC. “To that end, the new enhancements under the Incentive increases the eligibility of the program in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria.”

What do the FTHBI changes mean?

The increase in the maximum household income and borrowing limit means first-time buyers wanting to participate in the program can now theoretically qualify for a purchase price up to $722,000, up from roughly $505,000 for those under the original requirements.

This comes at a time when the average house price has soared to $716,000, according to March data from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Even without the high-priced markets of the Greater Toronto and Vancouver areas, the national average price still stands at $556,828.

The question, of course, is whether the changes will actually assist first-time buyers struggling with affordability as prices continue to rise nationwide.

“No. The program isn’t really assistive to first-time buyers,” says Paul Taylor, President and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada. “Even with the increased 4.5 times income, all eligible participants would actually be able to borrow more using a traditional 5% down insured mortgage. As such, it won’t really create any new market entrants. It will provide an option for those who already qualify, in very specific parameters, to reduce their monthly payments at the tradeoff of home equity.”

Taylor told CMT that the program is true to its name, being an “incentive” program as opposed to being “assistive.”

“The government is incentivizing first-time buyers to take on less debt and to reduce their monthly payments, but the tradeoff is reduced purchasing capacity and government co-ownership,” he added, saying the number of borrowers eligible to actually qualify for the new maximum purchase price of $722,000 “will be very small.”

A Pre-Approval Does Not Guarantee a Mortgage Approval

Many Canadians are under the assumption their mortgage is as good as done once they have a mortgage pre-approval.

But the truth is a buyer cannot expect a mortgage pre-approval will automatically translate into a mortgage. The lender now needs to consider the property itself, approve all the terms and review the documentation before you transition from pre-approved to approved.

Buyers often do not appreciate there is still some uncertainty when it comes to their mortgage. Unfortunately, once in a while this uncertainty bites back – with calamitous consequences.

Going in Without Conditions in a Hot Market

Not that long ago, when housing supply equalled or exceeded demand, the buyer would insert a clause requesting five business days (usually) to arrange mortgage financing – this is called a “condition of financing.” Even one or two days can make a world of difference.

These days across much of Canada, residential real estate is such a hot commodity it’s more likely offers to purchase will be firm and without a condition of financing.

The process is very skewed in favour of sellers at the moment, and it’s really not a comfortable or fair situation for the buyer. The fact of the matter is homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, are taking this risk every day. In many markets, it’s the only way you will win in a multiple-offer situation.

It is clearly in the buyers’ best interests to know in advance how much mortgage they might qualify for. This is achieved by providing complete information and documents to your bank or mortgage broker and allowing them a deep-dive into your personal finances and credit. They can then underwrite your application upfront.

Even when a thorough review has been conducted, and you are clutching a pre-approval certificate, there are many things that could happen to compromise your home purchase.

Insured Mortgage Approval

Suppose you are in line for an insured mortgage, which is always the case with less than a 20% down payment. Your mortgage approval is technically approved twice – first by the lender and then by the insurer. And please understand that no mortgage insurer has seen your pre-approval request.

The pre-approval considers your personal creditworthiness and borrowing capacity. The actual amount you qualify for also depends on the property itself: that plus the lender and insurer’s assessment of your application. Please remember, pre-approvals do not consider the specific properties.

Reasons Why the Property Can Hurt Your Mortgage Approval

To secure a mortgage, the borrowers and the property have to pass muster. No one knows the exact property you are going to buy when you are pre-approved. When it comes time for the lender to approve your mortgage, there are many ways the specific property can impede the approval.

There are several reasons why a specific property can cause concern. For more information, we defer to Dustan Woodhouse, whose passionate concern for this topic inspired this article and who lists many more here.

1. Value of The Home: When multiple buyers are competing on the offer presentation day, there can only be one winner. In this market, the winner often has to bid much more than the market value. When this happens, the appraisal may come back with a value less than you paid. That will not necessarily kill your mortgage approval, as long as you have additional financial resources to cover the shortfall, if necessary. Note: This market does not favour buyers who go in subject-free (firm) with no wiggle room. If you are using all your financial resources to come up with the down payment and closing costs, what can you do if the value comes back lower?
2. Property Condition: Have you ever seen an MLS listing that says “as-is” or “handyman special?” Those are red flags to a lender, and a mortgage may not be forthcoming at all. The appraisal may further report poor conditions, mold or even structural issues.
3. Property Specifics: There are many reasons a property may prove challenging. Here are some examples of property types that will seem problematic to a lender:
   • Log homes
   • Homes on leased land, First Nations, government or private
   • Rural properties with a hint of hobby farming
   • Properties containing asbestos, underground oil tanks, aluminum wiring
   • The remaining economic life of the property
   • Suppose the property was a one-time grow-op or drug lab. Good luck with that – no matter the price you pay, even if the property has been remediated.
   • One property earlier this year had an MLS listing that proudly mentioned a 15-foot fish pond in the backyard – with a fish farm permit. That mortgage was VERY hard to place.

4. Location: If a lender feels the property you picked is simply too far from your workplace, they may assume you need to keep a second home or place to stay, and in such cases they impute a “shelter cost” for you. This might also skewer your approval.
5. Condos: Mortgage insurers keep lists of condo buildings they do not want to lend against. Maybe the maintenance fees seem extraordinarily high or the condo status certificate reveals significant assessments; for example, something like Kitec Plumbing.
   
   The smaller the condo is means fewer interested lenders. Many lenders simply do not like to lend against micro-condos. Condos under 500 square feet are often a cut-off, but in recent years that number has shrunk to 400 SF or less with some lenders. It might depend if the unit has a separate bedroom. In some of these suites, the bedroom is a wall bed/Murphy bed.

Reasons Why You Might Hurt Your Own Mortgage Approval

Your mortgage may not be approved because of something to do with you, the borrower. Either something material has changed in your circumstances or new information has come to light, which changes the lender’s view of you.

The golden rule is to be very wary of change during the home-purchasing process. A shiny new car in the driveway or a new job might completely cast things in a different light.

Earlier this year, one of our clients quit his job and became a freelance contractor after their firm offer was accepted. This was a problem because now he is considered self-employed. Such income is assessed differently during the mortgage underwriting process. Typically, you will need to show two years of operating success to qualify for your mortgage.

We managed to save the mortgage, but only because the employed partner’s income was so high. This change from salaried employee to self-employed could have been disastrous for this couple.

You want to be sure your personal taxes are up to date and in good standing with CRA. You must also pay all of your credit card bills on time and ensure you do not miss any payments.

It is definitely not a good time to defer loan payments of any kind. Even though mutually agreed payment deferrals do not adversely affect your credit score, mortgage lenders might think twice about lending a considerable amount to someone who needs relief from their financial obligations.

The Takeaway

When you and your real estate agent are honing in on a specific property, make sure to first circle back to your mortgage broker and ask them to input the property’s specs into your application.

Clarify and understand the strength of your mortgage pre-approval. What factors might result in a mortgage offer for a reduced loan amount, or worse, not being extended an offer at all?

Take stock of your personal finances. Understand from your mortgage broker where your debt service ratios are at, and if your credit history and employment situation are still acceptable. Ensure your income is well understood – especially if you earn overtime, bonuses, commissions or have irregular hours.

If you are buying a condo, ask your real estate lawyer to carefully review the condo status certificate in advance and report any and all items of interest to you.

If you are buying a rural property, make sure your Offer to Purchase addresses the septic system and water potability. And check the zoning!

Insist your realtor provide you with an up-to-date market analysis of the property’s value and assess your ability to weather a lower-than-expected appraisal value.

An experienced mortgage broker can often tell whether or not your mortgage approval would be at risk and can help you assess when it is a risk worth taking. They can tell you the potential concerns so you can make an educated, informed decision to proceed with your offer to purchase.

At the end of the day, this decision is all on you, the buyer. You need to make a fully informed decision if you choose to go firm with your offer.

–Ross Taylor

Latest in Mortgage News: House Price Growth to Cool by End of Year: TD

TD Bank is forecasting that home prices have further to rise yet before finally starting to lose steam by the end of the year.

“…with markets remaining historically tight, more near-term gains are in the cards,” wrote TD economist Rishi Sondhi in a recent report.

But, with home prices already up 31.6% in March on an annual basis, and with sales up 76.2%, Sondhi added that such growth is “unsustainable.”

“Accordingly, we anticipate some cooling in sales starting in the second half of the year, as rising interest rates begin to bite,” he wrote. “This should also sap some steam from price growth.”

In the near-term, watch for some potential “pull forward” of sales as buyers try to get in before a stricter stress test takes effect June 1 for uninsured mortgages (those with a down payment of 20% or more). On the other hand, Rishi notes that the third wave of the pandemic could also weigh on activity.

Filogix Unveils Expert Pro and Expert Plus

Filogix announced recently that it has enhanced its Filogix Expert offering by launching Filogix Expert Pro and Expert Plus.

Expert Pro is largely a rebranding of Doorr, a company Finastra bought in 2020 that provided a client-facing portal, digital signatures, CRM, document management, broker workflow automations, online appointment scheduling, SMS and NOA retrieval.

Together with Expert Plus, both are being promoted as solutions to digitize the end-to-end mortgage process.

“Smaller lenders have been looking for a solution that provides a cost-effective and easy method to receive mortgage applications while at the same time ensuring their broker partners are able to submit an application in an efficient and secure manner,” said Siobhan Byron, SVP, Technology Enabled Managed Services (TEMS) at Finastra.

“Coming this spring, Filogix will bring to market a new solution that fulfills this need.”

The platforms will allow mortgage professionals to “centralize their business through workflow optimization,” Finastra says, adding that for broker-owners, this means improved visibility over brokerage operations, with insight into performance metrics and business analytics.

BCREA Warns Against Unconditional Offers

While housing activity in British Columbia isn’t as super-charged as some markets in Toronto, a “heightened level of activity” has caused provincial regulators to issue a warning to homebuyers.

A statement was released by the Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC) and Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate (OSRE), with the goal of encouraging buyers to do their due diligence when buying a home.

“Buying a home is one of life’s biggest financial decisions. There are potential risks at the best of times, but with the added pressure and stress of the current market conditions, those risks are amplified,” said Micheal Noseworthy, Superintendent of Real Estate. “In a competitive market, it’s more important than ever to do your research and make a well-informed decision.”

Some advice offered included understanding the risk of subject-free offers, being realistic about how much home you can afford, and being prepared for a multiple-bid situation.

“Purchasers who enter into unconditional offers without sufficient committed financing to complete their purchase risk losing their deposit and being sued for damages if they are unable to complete,” Samantha Gale, Chief Executive Officer of BCREA, said.

Majority of Homeowners Plan to Stay Put

Despite many homeowners sitting on newfound wealth in the form of highly valuable home equity, a majority say they have no plans to cash in and sell.

Just 6% of homeowners planned to sell their home pre-pandemic, and 77% say that hasn’t changed, according to a recent poll from CIBC. Additionally, three quarters (75%) say they have no plans to move in the next two years.

“As a potential homebuyer, these results suggest that supply won’t be improving in the near term…” Carissa Lucreziano, Vice-President, CIBC Financial and Investment Advice, said in a release.

But with homes serving as personal sanctuaries amidst the pandemic, a growing number of homeowners have turned their focus to renovating their current properties as opposed to buying new.

More than a third (31%) of homeowners said they carried out some form of renovation during the pandemic, while another 34% said they plan to remodel over the next 12 months.

The CIBC survey also found that half of renters say they are unable to purchase due to high home prices. Nearly half, on the other hand, say their lack of owning a home is not due to the current mortgage stress test.

–Steve Huebl

High Home Prices a Growing Obstacle for First-Time Buyers

The ongoing surge in home prices across the country is discouraging a large number of young non-homeowners, many of whom say they’re giving up on the dream of homeownership altogether.

More than a third (36%) of non-homeowners under 40 believe they will never own a home, while 62% of Canadians believe a majority of people are being priced out of owning a home for the next decade, according to a recent poll from RBC.

“The road to homeownership isn’t always easy, and the last year has created both challenges and opportunities for homebuyers,” said Amit Sahasrabudhe, Vice-President of Home Equity Financing, Products and Acquisitions at RBC.

The problem is that despite best efforts to save for a down payment, hopeful buyers simply can’t keep pace with today’s price gains.

In March, the average home price was up more than $172,000 compared to a year earlier. That’s a 25% annual gain, working out to more than $14,000 of price appreciation each month.

A majority of Canadians (61%) believe that prices will continue to go up in the immediate future.

That means many aspiring homeowners simply can’t save up money fast enough for their down payment. Non-homeowners who are likely to buy a home in the next two years say they are putting aside $789 a month towards their down payment.

A majority of first-time buyers (84%) are relying on personal savings for their down payment, according to recent data from Mortgage Professionals Canada. Other sources include withdrawals from RRSPs (26%) and relying on gifts from parents or other family members (25%).

Higher Home Prices Resulting in Higher Down Payments

It’s intuitive that the higher the home price, the larger the down payment that is needed.

But now, with average prices surpassing the $500,000 mark, down payment requirements have leapt higher. That’s thanks to a 2015 Department of Finance rule change that requires borrowers to put 10% down for the portion of the purchase price above the half-million-dollar mark. For the amount up to $500,000, the minimum 5% down payment applies.

To put this into perspective, in March the average home price in Canada was $716,828, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. A flat 5% down payment works out to $35,841. But factoring in the 10% down on the portion above $500k, today’s buyers have to put down a minimum of $46,682, or 6.5% of the purchase price.

Budgets Falling Short of Reality

Nearly half of current non-homeowners (48%) who plan to purchase a home in the next two years say their budget is less than $500,000, well short of national home price of $716,828, according to CREA. Even when the high-priced markets of Toronto and Vancouver are taken out of the equation, the national average is still above the half-million-dollar mark at $556,828.

While 86% of RBC’s survey respondents who plan to buy in the next two years have money saved up, it may not be enough to comfortably put an offer on a house, depending on the market, and have money left over for closing costs.

The average amount saved up is $42,000, according to the survey, although 40% have less than $25,000 set aside for their purchase.

“Building up a down payment can often be the biggest barrier to buying a home, especially as prices continue to climb in the pandemic environment,” Sahasrabudhe added.

Despite the hurdles, as of January more than a quarter of non-owners (27%) said they still plan to buy a home in the coming year, despite rising prices, according to the MPC report cited above.

–Steve Huebl

-Dr. Sherry Cooper

Blockbuster Canadian Jobs Report for March.

-Dr.Sherry Cooper

Homebuyers to Face More Stringent Mortgage Stress Test After June 1

Canada’s banking regulator has proposed changes that would strengthen the stress test applied to uninsured mortgages.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) unveiled its proposed changes on Thursday, which would require borrowers applying for uninsured mortgages—typically those with more than a 20% down payment—to qualify at their mortgage contract rate plus two percentage points or 5.25%, whichever is higher.

The stress test currently has a minimum qualifying rate of 4.79%, nearly 50 basis points lower.

Additionally, OSFI said it plans to “revisit the calibration of the qualifying rate at least once a year to ensure it remains appropriate for the risks in the environment.”

OSFI Superintendent Jeremy Rudin said the higher floor rate is based on an average of the qualifying rate in the preceding 12 months leading up to the pandemic, adding that financial markets must be prepared for a return to pre-pandemic conditions—i.e., higher interest rates.

“The main thing we have to be ready for is an increase in mortgage rates to the pre-pandemic range,” he told reporters. “We have interest rates that are extraordinarily low, even by recent standards.”

He added that the regulator is concerned about market conditions, which elicited this warning to lenders in OSFI’s statement: “OSFI will be looking for heightened vigilance from FRFI lenders in applying the principles of Guideline B-20 related to collateral management, income verification and debt servicing, combined Mortgage-HELOC loan plans and risk governance.”

“Rather than waiting to see any kind of deterioration in underwriting practices, we’re proactively out there reminding lenders that even in these conditions, the principles that we elucidated in B-20 are very important and that we’re going to be looking closely to see that they’re being respected,” Rudin said.

Reaction to the Proposed Changes

Reaction to OSFI’s announcement was swift, with some saying the increased minimum stress test went too far, while others said it didn’t go far enough.

“Increasing the qualifying rate by another almost 50 basis points will only serve to disqualify more aspiring middle-class Canadians and would-be first-time buyers,” Paul Taylor, President and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada told CMT. “While 46 basis points isn’t a tremendous difference, philosophically, we’re continuing with a structure that exacerbates the wealth gap and makes it even more difficult for those without a bank of mom and dad to rely upon to own a home.”

It’s estimated that this proposal would reduce purchasing power for uninsured borrowers by between 4% and 4.5%.

“The maximum amount that can be borrowed under the new rule would decrease by 4.5% (from $442K to $422K for a median-income household),” National Bank economists wrote. In comparison, they noted that the B-20 stress test implemented in January 2019 requiring homebuyers to qualify at the higher of either the 5-year posted rate or the contractual rate plus 200 basis points reduced purchasing power by 22%.

“Though the new measure is a step in the right direction for financial stability, we doubt this alone will significantly cool the housing market,” they wrote.

Still, some see the increase in the stress test’s floor rate as overreach, considering it is already about 300 basis points above some of the lowest uninsured mortgage rates still available today (and even more so for variable rates).

“I am struggling to see how this can be justified as a prudential regulatory measure. Prior to today, the hurdle rate used in the stress test was already far in excess of any credible scenarios for future market interest rates,” Will Dunning, MPC’s Chief Economist told CMT.

“As I commented recently, official data from the Bank of Canada shows that the highest actual average lending rate seen since the start of 2013 is 3.76%. This seems to me to be a reasonable interest rate to use in pursuit of prudent regulation.”

Dunning added that the stress test fails to take into consideration two key factors that will reduce the impacts of higher rates at the time of future mortgage renewals: “Repayment of mortgage principal will be more rapid than is implicitly assumed by the stress tests; secondly, borrowers will experience income growth.”

There’s no word yet if changes to the insured mortgage stress test will be forthcoming as well. But the Minister of Finance, who oversees the stress test applied to insured mortgages, said this: “We will continue to monitor housing market conditions across the country. To inform potential steps the government may take, we will closely examine the results of the consultation announced by the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.”

The public is invited to provide feedback to OSFI via B.20@osfi-bsif.gc.ca, which will be accepted up to May 7, 2021. OSFI will then communicate some of that feedback and any final amendments to the qualifying rate by May 24, 2021, prior to the new stress test taking effect on June 1, 2021.

–Steve Huebl

OSFI Considers Setting a Minimum Qualifying Rate of 5.25% For Uninsured Mortgages

-Dr. Sherry Cooper

The Latest in Mortgage News: OSFI to Re-launch Review of the Uninsured Stress Test

Canada’s bank regulator has announced it will restart a review of the stress test rate on uninsured mortgages.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) said it will “resume its policy work on the minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages by issuing a new consultation [Thursday] at noon (ET).”

Uninsured mortgages (generally those with more than a 20% down payment) are currently stress-tested on the higher of the borrower’s contract rate plus 200 bps, or the benchmark rate, which is currently 4.79%. Based on today’s rates, that means most uninsured borrowers are being stress-tested at 4.79%.

OSFI had initially started a review of the stress test in January 2020, but postponed the process as its priority shifted to dealing with the effects of the pandemic.

At the time, OSFI said the new formula for the qualifying rate would be “based on rates from mortgage applications submitted by a wide variety of lenders, which makes it more representative of both the broader market and fluctuations in actual contract rates.”

While the stress test rate has been criticized for being unreasonably high compared to today’s contract mortgage rates, that hasn’t stopped the red-hot real estate market that’s taking place across the country.

Toronto Home Sales Up 97% in March; Prices Post Double-Digit Gains

March marked the third consecutive month of record home sales in the Greater Toronto Area and another month of double-digit price gains.

The GTA saw a near doubling of home sales in March from the previous year (97%) to 15,652 sales, according to new data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). Meanwhile, the MLS Home Price Index Composite Benchmark rose 16.5% to an average selling price of $1,097,565.

With demand exceeding the current housing supply, TRREB said double-digit price gains can be expected to continue.

“With sales growth outstripping listings growth by a large margin, including in the condo market segment, competition between buyers in some market segments and the potential for double–digit price growth could continue without a meaningful increase in the supply of homes available for sale,” TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer said in a release. “This will become more apparent as population growth resumes over the next year.”

Meanwhile, here are the March results from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver:

• Home Sales: 5,708 (+126% year-over-year)
• Benchmark price (all home types): $1,123,300 (+9.4%)
• Benchmark price (detached home): $1,700,200 (+17.9%)
• Benchmark price (apartment home): $715,800 (+3.7%)

BluMortgage CRM Integrates with Velocity and Filogix Expert

A Canadian provider of consumer relationship management software (CRM) has announced a new partnership that will see its systems integrated with both Velocity and Filogix Expert.

BluMortgage, which provides a CRM tool specifically built for mortgage professionals, said this integration with two of the industry’s key deal origination systems will further enhance pipeline management for brokers and provide a more seamless transfer of data.

“We believe that how you manage your clients should be independent from how you submit deals to the lender,” said Tom Hall, co-founder of BluMortgage. “With these integrations, along with our existing integration with Lendesk, BluMortgage CRM is a truly agnostic solution to whatever tools and processes a broker is already using.”

Hall says the BluMortgage CRM tool provides powerful analytic capabilities while enabling custom sales and marketing options.

–Steve Huebl