Mortgage Roundup | AI Video Explainers

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Let’s make your job a little easier. The Empire Learning Mortgage Roundup newsletter brings you mortgage industry tips, market know-how, and CE updates—all in one quick email.

🗣️ Quote of the Week

"No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story."

– Gary Vaynerchuk (Entrepreneur and Internet Personality)

🚀 Featured Article

AI Video Explainers for Borrowers

Picture this... You just handed a first-time homebuyer a stack of mortgage disclosures, and their eyes start to glaze over. All the fine print about APRs, closing costs, and escrow can be overwhelming. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could show them a short, friendly video that breaks it all down in plain English? That’s the idea behind AI video explainers. These are bite-sized videos where an AI-generated avatar (or a cloned voice) explains complex loan topics in simple terms. You create them once and then reuse them forever with every borrower who needs a little extra help understanding.

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🌥️ Summer is Fading!

Summer is fading, and fall is on the horizon! Take 20% off all real estate continuing education courses at Empire Learning this week. Use code FADE at checkout and experience the savings while earning those credit hours.

☀️ Browse CE Courses

Offer valid through August 27. Use promo code FADE at checkout.

🏆 Trending on Empire Learning

🛌 “Sleep Divorce” and the Two-Primary-Bedroom Trend

Imagine a happily married couple, but each snoozing in their own bedroom down the hall. It might sound odd at first, but this so-called “sleep divorce” is becoming surprisingly common, and it’s not about marital strife. It’s about getting a good night’s rest. In fact, more homebuyers (especially couples) are specifically looking for houses with two primary suites, giving both partners their own sleep space while still sharing the rest of the home. This trend is changing some house-hunters’ wish lists, and smart MLOs are taking note of the opportunities it brings.

• About 1 in 10 married couples sleep in separate bedrooms, and up to 25% sleep in separate beds for better rest. Often it’s simply a practical fix for snoring, different schedules, or light sleepers, rather than a sign of any relationship trouble.
• Homebuilders are catching on. Some new construction homes now offer dual primary bedrooms or even a special “snore room” (yes, that's real) option as an upgrade, so couples can sleep apart but still enjoy all the perks of a master suite. One builder reported strong buyer interest in these layouts and began offering second master suites (or adjoining flex-room bedrooms) as a custom feature to meet the demand.
• Multi-generational living is another big driver behind the two-primary-bedroom trend. As of 2020, roughly 6 million U.S. households were multigenerational (two or more adult generations under one roof). Not surprisingly, the share of homebuyers seeking two full master suites jumped from about 25% to 40% between 2003 and 2018. Extended families and aging parents appreciate the extra privacy and flexibility a second main bedroom provides.
• Converting or adding a second master suite isn’t cheap. In high-cost areas like NYC, building an extra bedroom could easily run $500,000+. This is where renovation loans come into play, giving couples a way to finance that additional suite as part of their mortgage. MLOs might find that helping clients fund a “sleep divorce” setup (via renovation or construction loans) and educating real estate agents about financing unique two-primary-bedroom layouts can set them apart in the market.

🌱 Green Mortgages Are Heating Up

Homebuyers are getting greener by the day, and it’s starting to change the mortgage industry. More people now ask about things like solar panels, efficient HVAC systems, and sustainable materials when shopping for homes. In response, some lenders offer specialized green mortgages (officially known as Energy-Efficient Mortgages, or EEMs) that give borrowers credit for a home’s eco-friendly features or future energy savings when qualifying for a loan. For MLOs, understanding these niche products is a smart move. It lets you help eco-conscious clients finance their dream green home and potentially save money in the process, making you the go-to expert for sustainability-minded buyers.

• Demand for eco-friendly homes is surging. In a 2022 survey, 50% of real estate agents said they’d helped clients buy or sell a property with green features (up from just 32% the year before), and 63% of agents noted that promoting a home’s energy efficiency was a valuable selling point. In short, buyers are actively looking for solar panels, high-efficiency appliances, and good insulation, and they’re factoring those into their purchase decisions.
• Green mortgages (a.k.a. energy-efficient mortgages) let borrowers finance earth-friendly upgrades as part of their home loan. For example, an EEM allows you to roll the cost of improvements like better insulation, efficient windows, or solar panels into the mortgage itself. In practice, that means a borrower might qualify for a slightly larger loan because the future utility bill savings make the home more affordable in the long run.
• Lenders are sweetening the deal on these green loans with special incentives. These can include lower interest rates, discounted fees, or extra borrowing capacity to cover energy upgrades. There are now several major green mortgage programs available. For instance, Fannie Mae’s HomeStyle Energy, Freddie Mac’s GreenCHOICE, and the FHA and VA energy-efficient loan options are all designed to help finance sustainable home features.
• For mortgage professionals, becoming "fluent" in green financing is a real advantage. When you can explain to buyers how installing that new solar array or high-efficiency HVAC could lower their bills and be wrapped into their mortgage, you’re guiding them to a smarter, greener future. Industry experts note that consumer education is key here. The more borrowers know about these programs, the more likely they are to take advantage of them. An MLO who can simplify green mortgages and help clients navigate rebates or energy assessments will earn trust (and referrals) from today’s eco-conscious homebuyers.

🚗 The EV Charger Question

With electric cars becoming mainstream, a home’s ability to charge those cars has suddenly become a hot topic in real estate. More households own an EV (or are planning to), so buyers now routinely factor in charging access when choosing a home. Does the house have a 240-volt outlet or a Level 2 charger installed? Is there a convenient spot in the garage (or driveway) to plug in an electric vehicle? These are the kinds of questions popping up nowadays. For MLOs, this trend opens the door to structuring renovation or cash-out loans that cover upgrades like garage chargers or even solar panels to power an EV, which is a small detail that can make a loan package feel highly relevant to a client’s needs.

• Home EV charging is quickly shifting from luxury to must-have for many buyers. Most electric vehicle owners (around 85% of them) already have a charger at home. Not surprisingly, house hunters are starting to actively seek out “EV-ready” homes, since having an at-home charger can save them a lot of time and money (after all, about 80% of all EV charging happens at home rather than at public stations). Listings that highlight a garage outlet or a built-in charging station tend to catch these buyers’ attention.
• Upgrading an older home for EV charging isn’t always plug-and-play. About 65% of EV owners end up having to upgrade their electrical panel when installing a Level 2 charger, an improvement that can easily add $1,000-$1,500 in electrician costs to the project. In other words, if the house isn’t already wired for it, buyers know they may need a bit of electrical work (fortunately, many states now offer rebates or incentives to help with these upgrades).
• For loan officers, this presents a chance to add value and stand out. You can suggest rolling the roughly ~$2,000 cost of installing a 240-volt outlet or wall charger into a renovation loan or a cash-out refinance, so the borrower doesn’t have to pay for it out-of-pocket after closing. It’s a relatively small expense in the grand scheme of a mortgage, but bundling it in can make the financing feel custom-tailored, showing the client that you’ve thought of everything, right down to how they’ll charge the car.
• In fact, considering EV charging in the financing can turn a standard loan proposal into something highly relevant to the client’s lifestyle. A tiny addition like a home charger might not drastically change the loan amount, but it delivers oversized peace of mind. The homeowner drives away (literally) feeling like their lender understood their needs, and that kind of positive experience can generate great word-of-mouth for an MLO in today’s electric-car era.

🎯 Quick CE Tip of the Week

🎧 Podcast + CE Combo. Turn CE into an audio learning moment. Pair a course module with a short industry podcast on a similar topic. You’ll reinforce the info twice in different formats, making it stick. Think of it as cross-training for your mortgage brain. 🧠

→ Start the CE Portion of Cross-Training Today!

📈 Market Highlight: August Snapshot

🔥 Did You Know? Not much has changed since last week. If you missed the last few weeks' market highlight, we're keeping it in this week's newsletter. If you already skimmed it last week or the week before, you're good to go! Mortgage rates have held steady in the high‑6% range as purchase demand has cooled and inventory has improved across many markets, while regulatory updates (FHA documentation simplifications, the reinstatement of VA partial‑claim foreclosure relief, and changes to medical debt reporting) are reshaping lender requirements and borrower options. Get key insights on rates, borrower sentiment, refinance trends, and notable policy shifts MLOs need to know heading into late summer.

→ View Full Market Highlight

💡 Feedback Welcome!

We'd love your feedback. The lifeblood of any good business is figuring out what their customers truly care about — the best MLOs also learn this about their clients.

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Happy Learning,

— The Empire Learning Team
www.empirelearning.com