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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 2 April 2024 F R O M T H E E D I T O R A LOOK AT THE WHITE HOUSE'S HOUSING PROPOSALS A s spring emerges from the shadows of winter, those in the mortgage marketplace await what Realtor.com has dubbed "Best Week to Sell a Home," the week of April 14-20. Coming out of a winter season riddled with numerous storms, any break in the weather may make it an opportune time to buy or sell. But to the homebuying public ... is it? Redfin recently commissioned a survey conducted by Qualtrics in February 2024, and found that of the 2,995 homeowners and renters polled, 49.9% of them sometimes, regularly, or greatly struggled to afford their housing payments. President Joe Biden, in his March 7 State of the Union Address, tackled the topic of the state of U.S. housing, outlining several initiatives his Administration has taken and plans to take in order to assist more in achieving the American dream of homeownership. In this month's cover story, MortgagePoint assembled a number of industry execs and think tanks to assess the Biden Administration's plans, break down the impact on the market, and gauge the true feasibility of these plans on both the consumer, industry stakeholders, and taxpayers nationwide. In addition to our deep dive into the Biden Administration's approach to equitable homeownership, we offer several other interesting features in this month's issue of MortgagePoint. Angel Hernandez, Chief Strategy Officer at Stavvy takes a look at how disjointed tech stacks are costing every stakeholder in the closing process, from lenders to homeowners in his submission, "eClosings as a Solution ... Not the Problem." Sheila Klostermann, Director of Quality Assurance at Enact Mortgage Insurance, in this month's article "Bridging the Homeownership Gap in the LGBTQ+ Community," explores ways that education and outreach between the LGBTQ+ community and real estate professionals will help advance the homeownership rate within the community. In his article, "The Importance of Vacant Property Registrations," Jeff Connell, First VP of Mortgage Operations at MCS, explains how tracking vacant properties can help owners avoid the expense of violations, while keeping their properties maintained and up to community standards. MortgagePoint also sat down with Wil Lewis, Global Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Talent Acquisition Officer for Experian, and Gwen Garnett, the Executive Director of the HomeFree-USA HBCU Center for Financial Advancement, to discuss closing the homeownership gap in diverse and underserved communities in this month's Expert Insights column. All of this and much more can be found in this month's issue of MortgagePoint. And to get your daily dose of the latest in industry news and updates, visit MortgagePoint.com. David Wharton Editor-in-Chief Magazine EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David Wharton ART DIRECTOR Jason Stone MANAGING DIGITAL EDITOR Eric C. Peck REPORTERS Kyle G. Horst Demetria Lester MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS Jeff Connell Matthew Fleck Angel Hernandez Sheila Klostermann COPY EDITOR Brandy Scott ADVERTISING 214.525.6700 EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Daren Blomquist, VP of Market Economics, Auction.com Benjamin Gottheim, Director, Mortgage Servicing Policy, Freddie Mac Kevin Bowen, Head of Home Lending Product & Innovation, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Michael Keaton, SVP, Default Subservicing, Ocwen Jane Larkin, VP, Default Servicing, Colonial Savings Michael Merritt, SVP, Mortgage Default Servicing, BOK Financial Candace Russell, VP of Post-Sale Activities, Default Servicing, Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC Bryan Bolton, Chief Administrative Officer and SVP- Mortgage and Consumer Servicing, U.S. Bank Jacob Williamson, SVP Single-Family Collateral Risk Management, Fannie Mae Kim Yowell, EVP of Servicing, Fairway Independent Mortgage Servicing EXECUTIVE ADVISOR Michael S. Waldron CORPORATE OFFICERS PRESIDENT & CFO Jonathan Hughes ART DIRECTION Jordan Funderburk, Jason Stone No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. © 2024 Five Star Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved This publication is intended to provide accurate, authoritative, and detailed information in regard to the subject matter covered. All written materials are disseminated with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal advice or other professional services. Under no circumstance should the information contained herein be relied upon as legal advice as it is designed to be a source of information only. MortgagePoint strongly encourages the use of qualified attorneys or other qualified experts with regard to the subject matter covered. MortgagePoint does not guarantee the accuracy of the information and is not liable for any damages, losses, or other detriment that may result from the use of these materials.