Month: February 2023

Congratulations to Matt Nader, Our New SVP, Director of Sales!

Posted on by Emily Andrews

First Home Mortgage is excited to announce that Matt Nader, Branch Manager of our Annapolis, Maryland office, has been named our new Senior Vice President, Director of Sales!

As a mortgage industry veteran with over 17 years of experience, Matt has distinguished himself through top-notch client service and world-class leadership. In his nearly five years with our team, he has earned the title of top originator for the last four consecutive years.

Those who have worked closely with Matt can attest to his professionalism and his qualifications for this well-deserved promotion to his new role, including the President of First Home Mortgage, Steve Lagana.

“As a co-leader of our Annapolis Branch, Matt has excelled,” said Steve. “The Annapolis team has grown under his leadership, delivering high volume and successful outcomes. Despite his busy schedule, Matt is generous with his time, and has a solid reputation for supporting and assisting our loan officers not only in Annapolis, but across the entire organization.”

As Senior Vice President, Director of Sales, Matt now joins the First Home Mortgage executive team, where he will work alongside other leaders to foster a vibrant and effective workforce dedicated to our customers and working partners.

“The last five years of originating at First Home have been the greatest chapter of my career,” said Matt. “I am looking forward to this new opportunity, and I can’t wait to dig in deeper with our sales force and marketing team to further build our origination business, open new relationships, and continue to be the best retail mortgage provider in the U.S.”

Congratulations on the new role, Matt – we can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish next!

First Home Mortgage Wins 2023 ICE Innovation Award!

Posted on by Emily Andrews

First Home Mortgage is proud to announce our latest achievement as recipient of the 2023 ICE Innovation Award in the category of Best Application-to-Closed Loan Conversion Process! 

The ICE Innovation Award “recognizes industry leaders who are pushing the envelope by creating extraordinary solutions with ICE Mortgage Technology to achieve their business goals.” Recipients of the award have utilized ICE Mortgage Technology solutions in revolutionary ways to improve the digital mortgage experience and enhance overall consumer engagement.  

Here’s what ICE Mortgage Technology had to say about why we earned this distinction: 

“First Home Mortgage discovered that the key to increasing conversion rates was to remove all roadblocks at the initial application stage and solve problems before they arise. By customizing applications based on service area, and even for individual loan officers, they were able to confidently direct borrowers to the Encompass Consumer Connect® portal knowing that they’ll get all the correct information they need right from the start. Being able to take complete applications and have the applicant upload their documentation right at the beginning is crucial for loan officers to quickly identify potential issues and deal with them early in the process. First Home Mortgage now delivers a smoother borrower experience and has achieved an outstanding application-to-closed-loan conversion rate.” 

The entire First Home Mortgage team is honored to have won this award from ICE Mortgage Technology, a leader in the mortgage technology space with a reputation for developing tools that modernize the real estate experience. “We’re thrilled to recognize forward thinking companies that embrace technology that deliver the American dream of homeownership to their customers and create competitive advantages for themselves,” said Jonas Moe, SVP, Marketing and Market Strategy, ICE Mortgage Technology. 

The award illustrates how industry leaders are acknowledging and appreciating our efforts to deliver exceptional experiences to our borrowers through the use of superior technological solutions, like the Encompass® loan origination software developed by ICE Mortgage Technology. 

“Just recently, one of my Encompass support specialists was on a three-way call with a borrower and loan officer,” said Eric McCall, VP of Operations at First Home Mortgage. “The borrower was having some trouble navigating the system and she was blown away by the loan officer’s ability to walk her through the system. With his knowledge of the product, the loan officer was able to quickly resolve the issue and avoid frustrating the borrower.”  

We couldn’t be more excited to begin 2023 with such distinguished recognition for our longstanding commitment to supporting our customers in making their dreams happen! Contact us today to see how the experts at First Home Mortgage can put our technical innovations to work by getting you pre-qualified and into your dream home! 

The Federal Reserve Increases Federal Funds Rate – Here’s Why It Matters!

Posted on by Emily Andrews

The Federal Reserve’s latest meeting just wrapped up, so what are the key takeaways for you?

This afternoon, the Federal Reserve increased the Federal Funds Rate by .25%. It’s critical to understand that when you might see headlines about the Fed increasing their target rates, it usually doesn’t directly impact the mortgage rate you’re able to obtain. In fact, rates for 30-year conventional mortgages have declined by more than 1% over the last few months according to major market surveys.

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee implements policies that help to speed up or cool down the overall U.S. economy. Because inflation has been reported at levels above the Fed’s stated target, the Fed has been trying to slow down the economy and get inflation back under control. Their primary mechanism to do this is to raise the Fed Funds Rate – the rate that banks charge each other to lend money back and forth. When this rate increases the economy tends to slow down, which helps get inflation back in line.

Believe it or not, today’s announcement of a .25% increase in the Fed Funds Rate is actually the smallest increase the Fed has made in almost a year (since March 2022)! This means that the Fed is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in our current economy, and we’re likely approaching the end of the rate-hiking cycle. Lower inflation means we all have more purchasing power, and our paychecks can stretch further month-to-month!

While today’s news is positive, it can still be tricky to navigate our current market. Contact the experts at First Home Mortgage today to stay informed on your homebuying decisions!

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