Trigger Leads Still Aren’t Dead & Vesta Lands a Whale

A note to subscribers: Happy Friday! We’ve got a big mortgage tech scoop in this edition - New American Funding internally announced that it is moving to Vesta. We’ve got details just for paid subscribers. Plus, an update on when VantageScore might actually make an impact, continued trigger lead woes & loads of other mortgage nuggets in this edition.

If you’re not already a Mortgage Scoop Insider, what are you waiting for?!

The daytime speed limit around my son’s Brooklyn neighborhood's elementary school is 20 mph, but drivers routinely blow through at 35 or faster. Almost every speeder I clock has temporary tags, defaced plates, or no plates at all —> so-called ‘ghost cars.’ 👻🚗.

I've yet to see a single one pulled over. Speed cameras & lower limits do slow most people down ('24 actually saw fewer camera tickets even as more cameras went up), but ghost-cars will continue to menace the city until enforcement arrives.

The landmark trigger lead bill might be heading down the same road. Matt Gehr, an LO w/ PrimeLending in Montana, has a VA client who is getting absolutely hammered 🔨 by VA calls & texts.

“It's my understanding that those are illegal as of March 1st of this year,” Gehr wrote on LinkedIn. “They are also receiving mailers with loan offers that are blatantly deceptive at best (I know, I know - it's a thing). Any ideas on how they can put a stop to the solicitation? TCPA complaint doesn't seem to have done much so far - the solicitors just use a new number or call from numbers that can't be called back.”

Gehr told me he does not believe the triggers are coming from the servicer, which did offer his client a regular VA refi, not an IRRRL b/c it wouldn’t work for that borrower. (The client didn’t take the servicer’s offer b/c a 3.3% funding fee on $750K is quite high, Gehr said.) These triggers are likely not coming from the credit bureaus, so where? Maybe deed-of-trust records?

I asked some regulatory sources in D.C. 🇺🇸 what they’ve heard about trigger leads post-March 1. They said not much.

Clearly trigger lead volume is down significantly & that’s a good thing. But w/ enforcement gutted at the CFPB, I would expect some trigger leads to continue. Like the ghost car drivers, these dudes are also hard to track. “It's so hard to get an NMLS, last name, or company name” from the harassers, Gehr said. Are your clients still dealing w/ trigger leads? Email me at [email protected].

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Is the champagne flowing in San Francisco? Vesta has landed a massive new client: Patty & Rick Arviello-led New American Funding.