UWM launches Refi ’86 pricing incentive, upgrades to Mia AI assistant

On Thursday, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced a limited-time pricing incentive of 86 basis points per loan and upgrades to Mia, the company’s AI-powered loan officer assistant.

The announcements were made by UWM CEO Mat Ishbia at UWM LIVE!, the company’s annual event for mortgage brokers.

The incentive, dubbed Refi ’86, pays homage to the company’s founding in 1986 and what UWM described as “four decades of unparalleled trust and partnership between UWM and its independent mortgage broker partners.”

Refi ’86 is available through June 30 and applies to conventional and government refinance loans using PA+ or TRAC+/TRAC Lite with a 680 or higher FICO score.

In a conversation with reporters ahead of the announcement, Ishbia said the incentive provides “brokers a little leg up on the competition.”

“Things are fantastic in the broker channel right now,” Ishbia told the event audience. “I only care about brokers being No. 1. Broker market share is at 28% right now. How can we get to 50.1%?”

Refi ’86 also runs at the same time as UWM’s free 1-0 temporary rate buydowns, announced on May 6. The lender will cover the cost of 1-0 buydowns on both conventional and government purchase mortgages, issuing a credit to offset the expense fully. The buydowns are available on 8- and 30-year terms, and the offer also runs through June 30.

UWM also announced new enhancements to Mia, a voice assistant built by the company’s in-house technology team, which debuted at last year’s UWM LIVE! event. Since its launch, Mia has closed 80,000 loans, Ishbia told the audience.

The updates aim to give brokers more control over when the Mia assistant contacts clients and business partners through a new set of “Mia On Demand” call options, allowing brokers to “set the tone” with what they want from the AI assistant.

The updates include a “Listing Agent Relationship Builder,” which Ishbia said can help brokers strengthen relationships with listing agents tied to previously closed loans. Another option, “Pre-Qualification Follow-Up,” allows brokers to schedule calls to recently prequalified borrowers to check on homebuying status, offer support and answer questions.

A third option, “Mortgage Review,” is designed to help brokers reconnect with past clients to discuss mortgage options based on current financial situations.

When Ishbia addressed the updates to reporters ahead of his presentation, he stressed the importance of UWM brokers keeping up with the times in order to win.

“Even one year ago today, when I talked about Mia, everyone thought it was crazy. And then now, a year later, everywhere you go … everything’s AI,” he said. “The world is changing fast. … AI is not replacing LOs, but LOs that use AI will replace LOs that don’t.”

Ishbia also introduced Mia Español, a Spanish-language version that can take calls, schedule appointments and answer questions in Spanish.

“Mia’s very smart. She’ll speak Spanish once she hears the person on the other line speak it. She’ll pick up other languages soon too,” Ishbia told reporters, noting that the update aims to address the changing borrower demographic. “Every day that goes by, brokers have more and more trust and more and more understanding of it.”

Addressing the broker audience, Ishbia said, “Anyone who goes to you for price will leave you for price as well. … You’ve got to continue to change with the times, keep your eyes open and continue to work.”