Mergers and Acquisitions
HousesForSale.com partners with Dotloop and Contactually
Upstart real estate listing service, HousesForSale.com, is getting an extra vote of confidence from some big names in the real estate transaction business. The ZIP code, flat-fee-based listing service aunched to great fanfare this year, and now it just announced partnerships with Zillow-owned Dotloop and HousingWire Tech 100 winner Contactually to automate each step of the real estate transaction lifecycle. The partnerships are notable because it takes the tech-heavy lifting away from real estate agents so they can focus more on their online property sales.
LendingTree acquires Student Loan Hero
LendingTree closed on the acquisition of Student Loan Hero, a personal finance website that helps borrowers manage their student debt. Student Loan Hero is led by CEO Andrew Josuweit, who founded the company in 2012 to help manage the nation’s immense student debt burden. Over its six-year lifespan, Student Loan Hero says it has helped more than 200,000 borrowers manage and eliminate over $3.5 billion in student loan debt. LendingTree plans to leverage the acquisition to accelerate the growth of its student loan business, and to that end, it will pay $60 million in cash for the acquisition.
Milestones
Fannie Mae transfers risk on $23 billion in single-family loans
Fannie Mae announced its third credit insurance risk transfer transaction of 2017 on $23 billion in single-family loans. The GSE explained that the risk will be transferred to 17 insurers and reinsurers, a sign of growing interest in its CIRT program. This latest transaction is part of Fannie Mae’s ongoing effort to reduce taxpayer risk by increasing the role of private capital in the mortgage market. This transaction increased the total insurance coverage the GSE acquired to $5 billion on $305 billion in loans through the CIRT program.
Quicken Loans named top mortgage servicer
Despite recent technological advancements in the mortgage industry, servicers continue to fall behind in an already lagging industry. The latest survey from J.D. Power shows Americans are not impressed. On a 1,000-point scale, the overall satisfaction average is 758 in 2018, virtually unchanged from 754 in 2017 and 755 in 2016. But while servicers struggle to improve consumer satisfaction, some mortgage servicers stand out above the rest. To no one’s surprise, and for the fifth year in a row, Quicken Loans took the spot as best servicer with a score of 857. The company’s success is largely attributed to its marketing of Rocket Mortgage, a tool that walks consumers through the mortgage process.
Achievement
Women’s Mortgage Banking Collective releases new logo
The newly formed Women’s Mortgage Banking Collective just released its logo. The group was founded in April to bring together women working on all levels in the mortgage banking community to educate, connect and empower each other. Co-founded by Stacie Rankey and Toni Bramley, the group meets monthly in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. “We knew what we were looking for in a group, connecting women was the foundation, but also having a speaker share her story and offer practical applications was key,” said Rankey. “The format is casual, and everyone is welcome whether you live in Dallas/Fort Worth or you are in town for business,” added Bramley.
