Angel Oak adds non-QM prequal tool for third-party originators

Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions is now offering mortgage brokers and correspondent loan sellers a prequalification tool to determine borrower eligibility for non-qualified mortgages.

Its QuickQual technology is powered by LoanScorecard, a product and pricing engine provider. Decisions are provided in minutes, rather than in the up to 24 hours previously needed in the manual process.

A loan eligibility report is generated, which is also sent to the appropriate account executive at Angel Oak. An approved file can be submitted by a single click from the loan officer.

But if the system notes there is an issue, the account executive can view the full file, including the analytics that made the determination, so they can identify potential challenges and address them.

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"We realized right away that we couldn't use an off-the-shelf solution," said Tom Hutchens, executive vice president of production at Angel Oak. "QuickQual is synchronized with our current processes, including the Salesforce integration to ensure a smooth transition."

Angel Oak worked with LoanScorecard over an 18-month period in order to create QuickQual.

"In terms of productivity, QuickQual significantly reduces the time that would have gone into manual prequals. This enhancement frees up significant time each day — time that can now be spent working with clients and getting deals done," Hutchens said.

With the expected expiration of the government-sponsored enterprises' patch next year, estimates range from 15% to 33% of conforming loan volume that could be affected and needs to shift to the non-QM market.

Regardless of the patch situation, non-QM production continued its rapid growth over the past two-plus years.

Between its third-party mortgage origination company and its retail operation, Angel Oak Home Loans, Angel Oak Cos. produced $681 million in non-qualified mortgages in the second quarter and over $1.2 billion for the first half of 2019.

The second-quarter volume represents a 45% year-over-year increase. During the quarter, Angel Oak Capital Advisors issued a $381 million non-QM securitization, bringing its first-half total issuance to $1.6 billion. In July, it did another securitization of $558.5 million.