Arcasa Lands at MLB Wholesale

Our first wholesale-focused lender partner, MLB, is putting Energy-Smart Down Payment Assistance into every broker's toolkit: up to 5% of the purchase price for cash-tight FHA buyers, with zero cash to close.

Key Takeaways

• Arcasa's Energy-Smart DPA is now live with MLB Wholesale through MLB's Green Advantage program.
• Brokers can deliver up to 5% of the purchase price toward down payment, closing costs, or a rate buydown, with no income caps, no second payment, and no 1099s for your buyers.
• The first mortgage is a standard FHA loan at market rate, structured to close like any other FHA file.
• The assistance is unlocked by solar, financed into the mortgage and installed after closing, so your borrower's monthly utility costs drop after the install is complete. Additionally, homes with solar sell for about 4.1% more, per Zillow.¹
• Brokers keep winning back market share in the industry, which makes a differentiated FHA product the right thing to lead with right now.²³

What Just Happened

Arcasa is partnering with MLB Wholesale, to bring Energy-Smart FHA down payment assistance to the broker channel through MLB's Green Advantage program. On a purchase, that's up to 5% of the price toward down payment and closing costs, no income caps, no second payment, and zero cash to close for your borrower.

The timing isn't an accident. Brokers have been winning back shares for years, accounting for roughly 19% of first-lien originations in early 2024 and continued to gain ground through 2025.²³ A product nobody else is leading with is exactly what you want in your bag while that's happening.

How Energy-Smart DPA Actually Works

Energy-Smart DPA delivers up to 5% of the purchase price as assistance on a single FHA loan, funded by financing solar into the mortgage. It comes as a grant or a forgivable second with a 10-year term, 0% interest, and no monthly payment. Your borrower closes first and moves in. One FHA loan, one payment, 30-year fixed, no second payment. Arcasa coordinates the solar install after closing, on average about 60 days, with a vetted local installer, so panels never delay the loan. The second is forgiven once the system goes in.

The funds are flexible. Put them toward the down payment, closing costs, a rate buydown, or select refinance scenarios. On a $400,000 purchase, up to 5% is about $20,000: enough to cover the entire 3.5% FHA down payment ($14,000) with roughly $6,000 left for closing costs or a buydown. The first mortgage prices at market rate, so you're not trading a worse rate for the assistance.

Why This Is a Door Opener for Your Book

As a wholesale lending veteran with more than 25 years of experience building, growing, and leading mortgage organizations, Laura Brandao has always believed that success begins with creating value for broker partners. Throughout her career, she has focused on identifying innovative solutions, unique programs, and underserved opportunities that help brokers differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Her philosophy is simple: when lenders provide meaningful products, education, and support, brokers can deliver greater value to their communities, strengthen their relationships, and create life-changing opportunities for borrowers.

"I have always been drawn to the challenges that others avoid because that's where innovation lives. When we solve difficult problems and create unique opportunities, we empower our broker partners to stand apart, serve more families, and make a bigger impact in the communities they call home."

That commitment continues to drive everything we do, developing programs and solutions that give our partners a competitive advantage while helping more borrowers achieve their dreams of homeownership.

Energy-Smart DPA fits that pattern. It's the reason to call the listing agent who doesn't know your name yet. It's the reason to text the past client who's been renting because they can't crack a down payment. Once that file lands at MLB, the rest of your pipeline follows, because the door is already open.

Why Brokers Route Volume to MLB

MLB Wholesale is built for brokers who want a lender that actually picks up the phone. Five reasons it earns the relationship:

• A free, custom broker onboarding platform built in-house. No third-party application portal, no application fee, no week-long document grind.
• A client services model that supports you from sign-up, not just on live loans. You and your processor get a dedicated relationship manager. Phone and text coverage runs until 8pm ET.
• Co-branded and white-label marketing materials built for brokers, delivered as locked PDFs you can hand a realtor the same afternoon.
• A constantly updated education library and a growing video channel. Every product webinar runs in two parts: how to do the loan, and the bigger one, how the loan grows your business and your realtor referrals.
• A lender that chases differentiated products on purpose. Laura Brandao built her reputation finding niche programs other lenders won't touch, which is exactly why Energy-Smart DPA fits here.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a wholesale lender packaging this much support around a product this differentiated.

What Happens Next

Approved MLB brokers can quote Energy-Smart DPA on FHA scenarios today. Co-marketing kicks off immediately with a clean handoff: mortgage questions go to MLB, solar questions go to Arcasa. And if you're an Arcasa-introduced brokerage looking for a wholesale conduit to fund this volume, MLB is the one-stop shop we'll point you to.

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Author

Henry N. Smith is co-founder and Chief Experience Officer at Arcasa, the fintech platform behind the nation's most versatile FHA DPA program. Prior to Arcasa, Henry led brand and marketing at SimpleNexus (acquired by nCino), where he helped scale a top mortgage technology platform from Series A through enterprise. He writes about housing finance, energy, and the structural arguments for and against the way America funds homeownership. Connect on LinkedIn.

About MLB Wholesale

MLB Residential Lending, LLC is a wholesale mortgage lender whose name stands for Making Lives Better. Its president and CEO is Sam Lamparello.⁵ Wholesale and correspondent lending is led by President Laura Brandao, who is the VP of the MBANJ, Chairs MBANJ Women's committee, Chairs Women with Vision and is the Co-chair of AIME's Women's Mortgage Network committee.⁴

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