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November 2023 » thefivestar.com 27 November 2023 I N D U S T R Y U P D A T E not be feasible due to increased costs to purchase or rent. » Refinancing and traditional home equity loans are less attractive options given higher interest rates. » Moreover, qualifying for home equity products can be difficult with nearly half of applicants (46%) failing to qual- ify for a HELOC. For older homeown- ers, receiving home equity financing is even more challenging, with one-third of all senior refinancing applications denied due to income-based criteria. HomeSafe Second was intentionally developed to address these barriers and serve homeowners 55 and older in today's climate. "Today's market conditions are unique- ly challenging, and innovative financing is needed to fill gaps between consumers and traditional loan products. This is especial- ly true for homeowners over 55 who are not well served by typical home equity solutions despite home equity generally hitting record highs," said Kristen Sieffert, President of Finance of America. "We're proud to address that gap with HomeSafe Second and help retirees and pre-retirees access the wealth tied up in their equity without adding a new monthly mortgage payment to their cash obligations." Direct-to-Consumer and Wholesale Partner Expansion Beginning in November, HomeSafe Second will be offered through Finance of America's direct-to-consumer division, AAG, with its advertising reach of more than 20 million consumers annually. The increased availability means more homeowners will have access to tools that may help them accomplish key goals, such as renovating their homes. Given that older cohorts hold more than $12 trillion in home equity, extending the product through AAG is a strategic step to unlocking more of this market. In addition to the AAG expansion, HomeSafe Second will be made available to wholesale partners via the Reverse Vision loan origination system used daily by thousands of reverse mortgage profes- sionals across the country. Bringing the product to the point-of-sale environment will enhance a third-party originator's ability to compare a second-lien reverse mortgage to other products and to walk through scenarios with their customers. "If you're 55 or older and considering a home equity loan or home equity line of credit, I absolutely recommend you work with a trusted advisor to do the math and consider HomeSafe Second instead," said Paul Fiore, Chief Retail Sales Officer at FAR. "As high interest rates continue to make refinancing and other second-lien options unattractive for would-be bor- rowers, HomeSafe Second fills the gap by providing access to their housing wealth without affecting the favorable rates they may have on a primary mortgage. While similar to a home equity loan or home equity line of credit, HomeSafe Second brings the added benefit of stable financing with no extra monthly mortgage payments required." SYNOVUS BANK EXTENDS SAGENT SOFTWARE DEAL TO POWER MORTGAGE SERVICING & ANALYTICS S agent, a Warburg Pincus-backed fintech software company modern- izing mortgage servicing for banks and lenders, announced a five-year part- nership extension with Synovus Bank, (Synovus) to power its core and consum- er mortgage loan servicing, and add new real-time, cloud-based data services. Synovus has long relied on Sagent LoanServ as its mortgage servicing system of record, and after adding Sagent CARE to power its consumer experience in early 2023, will also now add DataScape for real-time analytics to make faster operational and customer service decisions. With over $2 trillion in outstanding mortgage balances on its platforms, Sagent and its customers collaborate on open-API models that ensure servicing operations are aligned with cost control, optionality, and real-time policymaking. "Sagent and Synovus work together to automate complex high-volume tasks, power best-in-class customer self-service, and remain real-time compliant with real-time policymaking," said Dan Sogor- ka, CEO of Sagent. "Synovus Bank's granular custom- er service and operational processes constantly influence how Sagent builds our flexible mortgage servicing plat- forms. This enables Synovus and all Sagent customers to run their business their way while never missing service or compliance details. We're proud to grow our Synovus partnership and build the future of mortgage servicing with them." "Today's market conditions are uniquely challenging, and innovative financing is needed to fill gaps between consumers and traditional loan products." —Kristen Sieffert, President, Finance of America