Morningstar DBRS Assigns Provisional Credit Ratings to New Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2024-RTL1

DBRS, Inc. (Morningstar DBRS) assigned provisional credit ratings to the Mortgage-Backed Notes, Series 2024-RTL1 (the Notes) to be issued by New Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2024-RTL1 (NRMLT 2024-RTL1 or the Issuer) as follows:

-- $399.0 million Class A1 at A (low) (sf)
-- $34.0 million Class A2 at BBB (low) (sf)
-- $18.7 million Class M1 at BB (low) (sf)
-- $23.2 million Class M2 at B (sf)

The A (low) (sf) credit rating reflects 20.20% of credit enhancement provided by the subordinated notes and overcollateralization. The BBB (low) (sf), BB (low) (sf), and B (sf) credit ratings reflect 13.40%, 9.65%, and 5.00% of credit enhancement, respectively.

Other than the specified classes above, Morningstar DBRS does not rate any other classes in this transaction.

This transaction is a securitization of a two-year revolving portfolio of residential transition loans (RTLs) funded by the issuance of the Mortgage-Backed Notes, Series 2024-RTL1 (the Notes). As of the Initial Cut-Off Date, the Notes are backed by:
-- 251 mortgage loans with a total principal balance of approximately $480,044,073; and
-- Approximately $19,955,926 in the Accumulation Account.

Additional RTLs may be added to the revolving portfolio on future additional transfer dates, subject to the transaction’s eligibility criteria.

NRMLT 2024-RTL1 represents the second RTL securitization issued by the Sponsor, Rithm Capital Corp. Genesis Capital, LLC is the Originator, Seller, and Servicer for the transaction. Founded in 2013, Genesis, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rithm, is a business-purpose lender that provides financing solutions to developers and investors of non-owner-occupied single-family and multifamily properties.

The revolving portfolio generally consists of first-lien, fixed- and adjustable-rate, interest- only (IO) balloon RTL with original terms to maturity of six to 36 months. A small subset of the population may be fully amortizing with original terms to maturity of up to 120 months. The loans may also include extension options, which may lengthen maturities beyond the original terms. The characteristics of the revolving pool will be subject to eligibility criteria specified in the transaction documents and include:
-- A minimum non-zero weighted-average (NZ WA) FICO score of 735.
-- A maximum NZ WA loan-to-cost (LTC) ratio of 80.0%.
-- A maximum NZ WA as repaired loan-to-value ratio (ARV LTV) of 67.0%.

RTL Features
RTLs, also known as fix-and-flip mortgage loans, are short-term bridge, construction, or renovation loans designed to help real estate investors purchase and renovate residential or small balance commercial properties (the latter is limited to 5.0% of the revolving portfolio), generally within 12 to 36 months. RTLs are similar to traditional mortgages in many aspects but may differ significantly in terms of initial property condition, construction draws, and the timing and incentives by which borrowers repay principal. For traditional residential mortgages, borrowers are generally incentivized to pay principal monthly, so they can occupy the properties while building equity in their homes. In the RTL space, borrowers repay their entire loan amount when they (1) sell the property with the goal to generate a profit or (2) refinance to a term loan and rent out the property to earn income.

In general, RTLs are short-term IO balloon loans with the full amount of principal (balloon payment) due at maturity. The repayment of an RTL is mainly based on the ability to sell the related mortgaged property or to convert it into a rental property. In addition, many RTL lenders offer extension options, which provide additional time for borrowers to repay their mortgage beyond the original maturity date. For the loans in this transaction, such extensions may be granted, subject to certain conditions, at the direction of the Servicer.

In the NRMLT 2024-RTL1 revolving portfolio, RTLs may be:
1.Fully funded:
-- With no obligation of further advances to the borrower,
-- With a portion of the loan proceeds allocated to a rehabilitation (rehab) escrow account for future disbursement to fund construction draw requests upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, or
-- With a portion of the loan proceeds allocated to an interest reserve escrow account for future disbursement to fund interest reserve requests upon the satisfaction of certain conditions.
2.Partially funded:
-- With a commitment to fund construction draw requests upon the satisfaction of certain conditions.

After completing certain construction/repairs using their own funds, the borrower usually seeks reimbursement by making draw requests. Generally, construction draws are disbursed only upon the completion of approved construction/repairs and after a satisfactory construction progress inspection. Based on the NRMLT 2024-RTL1 eligibility criteria, unfunded commitments are limited to 60.0% of the portfolio by the assets of the issuer, which includes (1) the unpaid principal balance (UPB) and (2) amounts in the Accumulation Account.

Cash Flow Structure and Draw Funding
The transaction employs a sequential-pay cash flow structure. During the reinvestment period, the Notes will generally be IO. After the reinvestment period, principal will be applied to pay down the Notes, sequentially. If the Issuer does not redeem the Notes by the payment date in October 2026, the Class A1 and A2 fixed rates will step up by 1.000%.

There will be no advancing of delinquent (DQ) interest on any mortgage by the Servicer or any other party to the transaction. However, the Servicer is obligated to fund Servicing Advances, which include taxes, insurance premiums, and reasonable costs incurred in the course of servicing and disposing properties. The Servicer will be entitled to reimburse itself for Servicing Advances from available funds prior to any payments on the Notes.

The Servicer will also satisfy Disbursement Requests, which include:
-- Construction draw requests: borrower-requested draws for approved construction, repairs, restoration, and protection of the property.
-- Interest reserve amount requests: for loans with interest reserve accounts, borrower-requested draws to cover interest payments for the related mortgage loan, subject to certain conditions.

The Servicer will satisfy such Disbursement Requests by (1) directing the release of funds from certain reserve accounts or (2) making Disbursement Request Advances. The Servicer will be entitled to reimburse itself for Disbursement Request Advances from time to time from the Accumulation Account.

The Accumulation Account is replenished from the transaction cash flow waterfall, after payment of interest to the Notes, to maintain a minimum required funding balance. During the reinvestment period, amounts held in the Accumulation Account, along with the mortgage collateral, must be sufficient to maintain a maximum effective advance rate of approximately 95.0%, which ensures a minimum level of overcollateralization for the bonds until the amortization period begins. In addition, the transaction incorporates a Class A Minimum Credit Enhancement Test during the reinvestment period, which if breached, redirects available funds to pay down Classes A1 and A2, sequentially, prior to replenishing the Accumulation Account, to maintain the minimum CE.

The transaction also employs the Expense Reserve Account, which will be available to cover fees and expenses. The Expense Reserve Account is replenished from the transaction cash flow waterfall, before payment of interest to the Notes, to maintain a minimum reserve balance.

Historically, Genesis RTL originations have generated robust mortgage repayments, which have been able to cover unfunded commitments in securitizations. In the RTL space, because of the lack of amortization and the short-term nature of the loans, mortgage repayments (paydowns and payoffs) tend to occur closer to or at the related maturity dates when compared with traditional residential mortgages. Morningstar DBRS considers paydowns to be unscheduled voluntary balance reductions (generally repayments in full) that occur prior to the maturity date of the loans, while payoffs are scheduled balance reductions that occur on the maturity or extended maturity date of the loans. In its cash flow analysis, Morningstar DBRS evaluated Genesis’ historical mortgage repayments relative to draw commitments and incorporated several stress scenarios where paydowns may or may not sufficiently cover draw commitments. Please see the Cash Flow Analysis section of the related Presale Report for more details.

Other Transaction Features
Optional Redemption
On or after the Payment Date in April 2026, the Issuer has the option to redeem the outstanding Notes at the Redemption Price, which is equal to par plus interest and fees.

Depositor Repurchase Option
The Depositor will have the option to repurchase any DQ or defaulted mortgage loan at the Repurchase Price, which is equal to par plus interest and fees. However, such voluntary repurchases may not exceed 10.0% of the cumulative UPB of the mortgage loans. During the reinvestment period, if the Depositor repurchases DQ or defaulted loans, this could potentially delay the natural occurrence of an early amortization event based on the DQ or default trigger. Morningstar DBRS’ revolving structure analysis assumes the repayment of Notes is reliant on the amortization of an adverse pool regardless of whether it occurs early or not.

U.S. Credit Risk Retention
As the Sponsor, Rithm or one or more majority-owned affiliates, will initially retain a 5% eligible horizontal residual interest in the securities (Class XS Notes) to satisfy the credit risk retention requirements.

The credit ratings reflect transactional strengths that include the following:
-- Genesis lending approach and target borrowers.
-- Robust pool composition defined by eligibility criteria.
-- Historical paydowns and payoffs.
-- Solid historical performance with favorable resolutions.
-- Structural enhancements.
-- Third-party due-diligence review (TPR) framework.

The transaction also includes the following challenges:
-- Funding of future construction draws.
-- Borrower and geographic concentration risk.
-- Project complexity, property types, and ground up construction.
-- RTL loan characteristics.
-- Representations and warranties (R&W) framework.
-- No advances of delinquent interest.

The full description of the strengths, challenges, and mitigating factors is detailed in the related Presale Report.

Morningstar DBRS’ credit ratings on the Notes address the credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in accordance with the relevant transaction documents. The associated financial obligations for each of the rated Notes are the related Interest Payment Amount, the Interest Carryforward Amount, and the Note Amount.

Morningstar DBRS’ credit ratings on the Class A1 and Class A2 Notes also address the credit risk associated with the increased rate of interest applicable to the Class A1 and Class A2 Notes if the Class A1 and Class A2 Notes remain outstanding on the step-up date (October 2026) in accordance with the applicable transaction document(s).

Morningstar DBRS’ credit ratings do not address nonpayment risk associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the applicable transaction document(s) that are not financial obligations. For example, in this transaction, Morningstar DBRS' credit ratings do not address the payment of any Cap Carryover Amounts.

Morningstar DBRS’ long-term credit ratings provide opinions on risk of default. Morningstar DBRS considers risk of default to be the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term obligation has been issued. The Morningstar DBRS short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
There were no Environmental/Social/Governance factors that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how Morningstar DBRS considers ESG factors within the Morningstar DBRS analytical framework can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/427030 (January 23, 2024).

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable to the credit ratings is RMBS Insight 1.3: U.S. Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Model and Rating Methodology (August 31, 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/420108.

Other methodologies referenced in this transaction are listed at the end of this press release.

The credit rating was initiated at the request of the rated entity.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the credit rating process for this credit rating action.

Morningstar DBRS had access to the accounts, management, and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this credit rating action.

This is a solicited credit rating.

A provisional credit rating is not a final credit rating with respect to the above-mentioned securities and may change or be different than the final credit rating assigned or may be discontinued. The assignment of final credit ratings on the above-mentioned securities is subject to receipt by Morningstar DBRS of all data and/or information and final documentation that Morningstar DBRS deems necessary to finalize the credit ratings.

Please see the related appendix for additional information regarding the sensitivity of assumptions used in the credit rating process.

DBRS, Inc.
140 Broadway, 43rd Floor
New York, NY 10005 USA
Tel. +1 212 806-3277

The credit rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/about/methodologies.

-- Assessing U.S. RMBS Pools Under the Ability-to-Repay Rules (April 28, 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/413297

-- Interest Rate Stresses for U.S. Structured Finance Transactions (February 26, 2024), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/428623

-- Third-Party Due-Diligence Criteria for U.S. RMBS Transactions (September 8, 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/420333

-- Representations and Warranties Criteria for U.S. RMBS Transactions (May 16, 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/414076

-- Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance (December 7, 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/425081

-- Operational Risk Assessment for U.S. RMBS Originators (August 31, 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/420106

-- Operational Risk Assessment for U.S. RMBS Servicers (August 31, 2023), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/420107

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit dbrs.morningstar.com or contact us at info-DBRS@morningstar.com.