Client Direct Mortgage owner Ramon Walker received a cease and desist letter last week. At first, he thought it was a joke.

Client Direct Mortgage is a San Francisco Bay area brokerage that started with five loan officers in 2010. It has since grown to around 100 over the past few years.

Modex estimates Client Direct Mortgage does about $50 million in volume. UWM funds most of Client Direct’s loans. However, Walker is now rethinking that relationship.

UWM Tries To Bully Brokers

Walker did business with UWM between 2015 and December 2023. However, he says it’s time for brokers to compare and contrast who they are doing business with.

The title and banner of the Facebook group pits UWM against Rocket TPO. The group’s ‘About’ description encourages potentially adverse and defamatory topics regarding UWM according to the cease and desist letter.

The Dec. 14, 2023 letter goes on to say:

“This threatens to interfere with the relationship between UWM and its brokers, which is impermissible.”

The attorneys also asked Walker to delete any comments or content that would be considered false or defamatory.

Walker said he’s set the group to “auto admin.”

This means the comments are approved as long as commenters follow the rules about being courteous. The group has over 2,000 members, and it was opened by Walker at the beginning of November 2023.

Walker’s response to UWM’s demands?

“I don’t work for you. I’m not going to be your filtration system. It’s not my job. It’s not my responsibility. I can’t manage what thousands of people say. I have a family. I have a business.” 

Walker claims he received a call from UWM EVP Allen Beydoun. He said he asked Beydoun why the “number two” person at UWM was calling him to inquire about a Facebook group. 

Walker described Beydoun as trying to be an intimidating bully:

“He doesn’t engage me very much, but from what I understand he tries to be intimidating. Or, you know, some people have described him as a bully.”

Walker has no problem being a voice for the broker community.

Is UWM Getting To Aggressive With Brokers?

It’s obvious that UWM’s Bullying Tactics Toward It’s brokers is starting to get out hand. As Walker says:

“When you say, ‘Hey, I’m done with my AT&T contract,’ nobody says nope, nope, nope, you can’t go to T-Mobile. Not yet until I talk to you first,” 

Walker calls the tone of the letter toxic:

“It feels like we’re in some sort of relationship and it’s somewhat toxic. A lot of people don’t know they’re in that relationship. They don’t actively sign anything. They constantly change the agreement. The agreement’s acceptance is if you submit a loan. They know people are not going to go back and read anything. I wonder if the contract is even enforceable to some degree by how we entered it,”

In addition to asking him to take down the Facebook group, UWM attorneys stated that he owes more than $124,000 in EPOs on 12 different transactions dating back to 2020. UWM then demanded payment within seven days.

Walker said he hasn’t done the math. Therefore, he doesn’t know if he even owes money to UWM. He claims UWM never came after him before for that amount.

Walker states he was writing $50 million worth of loans and making about $1.5 million a year on the loans he sent UWM:

“The audacity to send me that bill two years later, after you know all the money that I’ve made for them and then try and frame it in a way that you did something for me? Now, I know they’re crazy. They’ve lost their minds,”