Just Say Yes!

Explore uncharted territories using Non-QM to qualify would-be borrowers

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Senior Vice President

In a challenging mortgage market filled with obstacles, mortgage brokers and loan officers can either throw up their hands or find new ways to get around the hurdles and keep growing.

That is what lending ingenuity is all about, and outstanding mortgage women are harnessing it every day. Yes, they realize that limited inventory, higher interest rates, margin compression and bank consolidation could block their success. But by using their own ingenuity and partnering with a mortgage lender focused on lending ingenuity they are moving ahead. By lending ingenuity, we mean a combination of innovation, adaptability, agility, and problem-solving through utilizing non-QM.

Reaching Into New Markets

Part of their success comes from tapping into solutions that can help them reach into new markets that could really use their services.

Consider self-employed borrowers. According to Pew Research, there are approximately 15 million self-employed individuals across the United States. Many of these borrowers could be ready to purchase a home and afford what they want, but they might not qualify using their tax returns due to the deductions they take. In this case, they would require a Bank Statement loan. Many lenders might turn them away. Others will quickly pivot to a Bank Statement option because they have the ingenuity and access to the product to do so.

Consider business purpose real estate investors — the individuals or corporations, such as limited liability companies (LLCs) that want to purchase homes for income-generating purposes. These represent a significant market. Consider just a few statistics:

According to CoreLogic, in September 2023 alone, investors made 28% of single-family-home purchases.

• Close to half of the 49.5 million rental housing units in the U.S. are in one-to-four-unit properties, and individual investors own about 70 percent of them, according to the 2021 HUD/Census Bureau Rental Housing Finance Survey.

• In both these situations, prospective borrowers either may not qualify for an Agency loan or may prefer an alternate product that empowers them to move with more speed and agility.

Whatever the reason, mortgage women who pivot into the Non-QM market can find multiple opportunities to expand their revenues.

Self-employed borrowers, such as real estate investors, doctors, lawyers, & small business owners are potential leads for non-qm loans.

The Creativity Inherent In the Non-QM Sector

Non-QM loan products are a study in ingenuity themselves. These products are tailor-made for borrowers who need out-of-the-box solutions to purchase or refinance a home. Non-QM underwriters are unique in that they are experts in unique circumstances. They conduct manual application reviews where they not only evaluate borrower income but also assess the borrower’s financial holdings such as marketable securities (stocks/bonds), retirement accounts, and rental income. Non-QM underwriters have the flexibility to allow gift funds to be applied to the down payment or as cash reserves that may be required for loan approval. They have the ability to take the borrower’s entire financial picture into consideration and are free to be more collaborative and responsive. While traditional mortgage underwriters can take several weeks to make a determination, Non-QM lenders can respond within 72 hours or sooner. This is particularly important in a market where self-employed borrowers and business owners must compete with homebuyers securing traditional mortgages. Having a fast answer from underwriting on a bank statement loan application can make the difference between getting, or not getting, the deal done. It takes a certain type of ingenuity to do this.

A combination of 12–24 months of bank statements, 1099s, and P&L statements can be used for self-employed borrowers in lieu of tax returns. Real estate investors with complicated documentation or more than 10 financed properties have options outside of submitting tax returns also. They may be well-suited for a Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loan. To qualify for a DSCR loan, they don’t need to produce salary/bank statement information at all. Instead, they can qualify solely on the basis of the rental income that the subject property will generate. That makes approvals more streamlined — offering an additional advantage to business purpose investors who want to secure their next property before a competitor does.

Ensure Partner Expertise

When innovative mortgage women enter this segment for the first time, having expert partners will only enhance their ingenuity to say yes to borrowers they once turned away. It is helpful to seek out Non-QM partners that:

• Have a long-term history of innovation exclusively in the Non-QM/Non-Agency space, working both with brokers and correspondents.

• Provide multiple Non-QM webinars and training programs for their partners, as well as marketing support.

• Can consistently pivot at a moment’s notice, make exceptions, and change underwriter guidelines based on new market conditions.

• Structure their internal teams so that they can work collaboratively with their partners on every individual transaction.

• Offer a live scenario desk to help brokers maximize options for each borrower based on different products, features, and terms.

When women lenders partner with the right lender they will understand what lending ingenuity means and additional business opportunities follow. The first step is to be open to the new and different — bolstered by Non-QM partners with the same mindset.