“Hey Chet, since you’re the new guy here with the park U.S. Geological Survey in Hawai’i, you’re going to be the one placing the live cam on the volcano for our YouTube feed. Splendid! We’ll be behind you all the way.” (Apply to mortgage banking however you see fit.) Scooting back to lending, I am occasionally asked about high balance conforming conventional loans, and why so much of the country doesn’t care about them (to be somewhat blunt). The MBA put out a fine map showing “high-cost areas” defined by the FHFA as “areas in which 115 percent of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit.” The loan limits are permitted to be higher than the baseline loan limit until a ceiling of 150 percent of the baseline limit is reached. That said, remember that 20-25 percent of the nation’s home loans come from California. (Today's podcast is brought to you by SimpleNexus, an nCino company and award-winning developer of mobile-first technology for the modern mortgage lender, and today’s features and interview with Candor’s Sara Knochel on creating the first Loan Quality Services (LQS) underwriting engine, increasing efficiencies for mortgage lenders in a tight market.) Lender and Broker Software and Services Recently, a Massachusetts woman was accused of assaulting officers with a swarm of angry bees, Exhibit A, in an ill-advised “hive-jacking” of collective strength. On the other hand, mortgage lenders are focusing on putting their real estate agent network to far better use to increase referral pipelines. Fortunately, SimpleNexus, an nCino Company, helps lenders like Genesee Regional Bank (GRB) connect with more partners to execute productive referral strategies. Through a sharable mobile app, real estate agents can run payment calculations, integrate home search listings, generate self-serve pre-qual letters, and receive push notifications when borrowers complete loan milestones. Download the free case study to learn more about GRB’s experience with SimpleNexus, including its processing, operations, and post-closing efficiencies.