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WORD OF THE DAY: Sitooterie

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[sih-TOO-ter-ee] Part of speech: noun Origin: Scottish, 1920s Definition: A small building or area where people can sit outside; a summer house, conservatory, or gazebo. Examples of sitooterie in a sentence “The sitooterie was set up for a small afternoon party.” “She enjoyed being able to relax and read in the sitooterie for hours.” About Sitooterie Imagine the 1920s with glamorous outdoor garden parties and soirees. Of course these events would be held in a special place — the sitooterie. This fanciful term was created in Scotland in the 1920s to describe an outdoor sitting area, sometimes a gazebo or other similar structure. Did you Know? Sitooterie — it’s not a nonsense word, but it has a quite sensible structure. We know the word sit; “oot” is out in a Scottish accent, and the suffix “-ery” denotes a place set aside for something. So sitooterie is naturally a place for outdoor sitting.

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PerfectDocs provides for a completely paperless process anywhere eRecord is available

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Outsourcing or hiring in-house compliance experts are no longer the only options for servicers who need help handling lien releases and assignment of mortgage documents. With the use of PerfectDocs technology, virtually anyone can prepare, validate, execute, notarize and even record these documents within minutes without compromising the integrity or validity of the document. Nationwide Title Clearing has invested more than 31 years of experience, knowledge and technology into creating PerfectDocs, the first complete web-based solution that provides both NTC and users with a “share-the-work” solution. PerfectDocs provides for a completely paperless process anywhere eRecord is available. From when the order opens to the release being recorded, users never have to print a piece of paper or cut a check for recording. Instead, all execution is safely electronic while capturing the notary log for record keeping and compliance. Benefits of PerfectDocs include: Tech-enabled, anywhere, secure, web-based platform Satisfies DRBC requirements Compliant with State /County Regulations Enables operational control to balance units, geographies or loan types for in or outsource, without additional contracting Built-in exception-handling for Full-Service assistance by NTC professionals Provides system-of-record for internal and external audits Control and speed for urgent document production needs Data entry is a separate function and can be completed with client staff or offshore partners. All management queues can assign work by hard states versus easy states or what suits the employee. Quality inspection after data entry can be customized to account for new employees or experts with low error rates. Clients using PerfectDocs tend to take advantage of the hybrid model, which allows them to share the working environment. While clients complete orders from start to finish, they always have a safety net with NTC available to complete orders or pieces of orders with additional services. NTC can do the heavy lifting with recording paper releases by attaching cover sheets and recording fee checks, mailing recorded releases to borrowers, or handling the cancellations and mailing the original collateral. The PerfectDocs platform allows for use of NTC’s full-service options, with the ability to transfer work to NTC for any reason the client needs, such as overflow, business continuity or disaster recovery. PerfectDocs is fully compliant with state, county and MERS regulations. NTC manages state timeframes for lien releases, data requirements, forms and recording fees, so clients no longer have to be experts in that space for over 3,600 recording jurisdictions. Clients can manage work within the system by compliance deadlines or custom SLA requirements calculated at import. If an increase in volume becomes an issue, they’re able to push orders to NTC to be processed to maintain overall compliance. And to simplify future auditing requirements, the PerfectDocs system hosts all information to complete the order, including a history of the order and an image of the recorded document. PerfectDocs is the only system backed by the same engine that successfully processes large numbers of releases and assignments by NTC. Immediate state and county updates, as well as accurate recording fee calculations, drive NTC’s reject rate of less than .5%.

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Economic Indicators Continue to Point to Likely Recession in 2023

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Housing Expected to Cool Even Further as Mortgage Rates Move Higher Economic growth is projected to resume in the second half of 2022, but the combination of high inflation, monetary policy tightening, and a slowing housing market is likely to tip the economy into a modest recession in the new year, according to the September 2022 commentary from the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group. The ESR Group continues to forecast 0.0 percent real GDP growth on a full-year basis through 2022, but it revised downward its expectations for full-year 2023 growth by one-tenth of a percentage point to negative 0.5 percent. Core inflation remains considerably higher than the Federal Reserve’s stated target; as such, the ESR Group maintained its expectation that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise the federal funds rate by 75 basis points at its September meeting. The ESR Group’s baseline forecast anticipates the federal funds rate topping out at a range of 3.50 to 3.75 percent in early 2023, though it sees significant upside risk to the eventual terminal rate. Due largely to the higher mortgage rate environment, the ESR Group lowered its forecast for single-family total home sales in 2022 and 2023 to 5.71 million and 4.98 million, which would represent declines of 17.2 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively. While multifamily construction remains strong, the ESR Group also revised downward its multifamily starts forecast for 2022 to 542,000 units but continues to expect demand for rental units to remain strong because of the single-family market’s relative unaffordability. “In our view, the recent interest rate surge is due to the market’s recognition of two critical factors: that inflation is indeed not transitory, and that, to tame it, the Federal Reserve will need to be resolute, even at the risk of possible recession,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “Inflation’s entrenchment – and the policy action likely required of the Fed – confirms the expectation in our forecast of a moderate recession beginning in the first quarter of 2023. That said, the rise in rates is having the Fed’s desired effect on housing, as house price growth began to slow in June. We expect the slowdown in housing to continue through 2023 as affordability constraints mount for potential homebuyers, and considering, too, that refinance activity has been significantly curtailed by the rise in mortgage rates.” Visit the Economic & Strategic Research site at fanniemae.com to read the full September 2022 Economic Outlook, including the Economic Developments Commentary, Economic Forecast, Housing Forecast, and Multifamily Market Commentary. To receive e-mail updates with other housing market research from Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group, please click here.

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WORD OF THE DAY: Deontology

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[dee-on-TALL-oh-jee] Part of speech: Noun Origin: Greek, early 19th century Definition: A theory of ethics that establishes rules of right and wrong actions; the study of determining the right way to live life, based on duty and moral obligation. Examples of Deontology in a sentence “After studying deontology in her Intro to Philosophy class she became obsessed with creating rules for her roommates to follow.” “The Golden Rule is one of the most basic principles of deontology — treat others how you wish to be treated.” About Deontology Deontology determines a moral framework for right and wrong — basically, rules for how to live your life. Nihilism, the philosophy that there are no moral principles and life has no meaning, can be considered the opposite of deontology. You may experience a bit of nihilism when you struggle to get out of bed to go to work. “What’s the point?” you may think. Try to summon up inspiration from deontologists: Go forth and do the right thing. Did you Know? In many names for philosophies or ideas, the root word can be converted into other parts of speech. Deontology, the name for the ethical rule-following philosophy, is the noun. A deontologist, also a noun, is one who practices or studies the philosophy. And deontological, the adjective, describes anything that follows the principles of deontology.

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WORD OF THE DAY: Aplomb

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[ə-PLAM] Part of speech: Noun Origin: French, late 18th century Definition: Self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation. Examples of Aplomb in a sentence “The lead actor recovered with such aplomb that the audience forgot he had tripped onstage moments before.” “I think I could pull off that outfit with aplomb.” About Aplomb This word developed to mean “perpendicularity, steadiness” from the French term “à plomb,” or according to a plumb line. Did you Know? Aplomb partially comes from the French word “à plomb,” or according to a plumb line — but what is a plumb line? With origins that can be traced back to ancient Egypt, a plumb bob is a line with a pointed weight (usually made of brass or steel) affixed to the end. When the weight is dangled, it creates a vertical line known as a plumb line, which was used by architects, builders, and engineers as a vertical reference point. While plumb bobs are still used in their original form, there is a more efficient update often used in its place — a laser level, which can project both vertical and horizontal lines hands-free.

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Survey Shows Decrease in NIMBYism Over Course of Pandemic

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62% of Respondents Express Support for Real Estate Development, Compared to 49% in 2020 The pandemic, worsening housing crisis, and social changes of the past two years appear to have struck a significant blow against NIMBYism, according to a recent survey by coUrbanize, a technology company that powers community engagement in development and planning. 62% of respondents surveyed — all visitors to dedicated coUrbanize websites for real estate projects — described themselves as pro-development, compared to 49% of respondents in 2020. Projects most popular among respondents centered on housing. A majority welcomed affordable housing for senior citizens (76%); workforce housing for teachers, firefighters, and public servants (69%); affordable housing for people with disabilities (66%); single-family housing for middle-class families (64%); and affordable housing for veterans (63%).  “We attribute this support to a wider recognition of social inequities and to the housing crisis,” says Karin Brandt, CEO and founder of coUrbanize. She adds that public transportation, another popular project type among respondents (62%), may also be tied to such recognition. “When housing is not affordable in town centers where many jobs are located, workers have no choice but to move farther away. Public transportation is critical for economic mobility.” Respondents were somewhat less enthusiastic about retail projects (57%) and low-income housing (50%). The least welcomed projects were lab facilities (20%) and public housing (31%).  “We celebrate the overall increase in support for development, but there is still work to be done,” says Brandt. “For example, people continue to fear the prospect of public housing in their community, even though few respondents (20%) characterize their community as affordable. We believe that these fears stem from systemic racism, unconscious biases, and misinformation. Our ongoing objective is to combat such attitudes through education and communication so that we reach all stakeholders – not just the vocal NIMBYs.” She concludes, “If you want to change outcomes for communities, engagement needs to be equitable and meaningful. That’s the purpose of the coUrbanize platform in a nutshell.” The full report on the survey findings is available for download here.  About coUrbanize coUrbanize gives people a way to share their feedback and have a voice in a development or public planning process without having to go to a meeting – by simply posting a comment online or texting in their ideas — and having a two-way dialogue with the project team. More than 500 development and real estate teams have used coUrbanize to scale public outreach in a more inclusive way, have more productive conversations with the community, and ultimately build critical support for their projects. For more information, please visit www.courbanize.com.

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