In honor of college basketball’s annual “Big Dance” held in March in which approximately 68 men’s teams compete for the NCAA Championship and ultimately boils down to the “Final Four.” It is a good time to reflect on the Four C’s of Single Family loan underwriting. They are Capacity, Credit, Cash and Collateral. Outlined below is a brief description of…
Fraud Prevention – an Ongoing Process
There are quite a number of tools available to lenders and Quality Control firms these days to help identify and prevent fraud in the processing, underwriting and closing of mortgage loan transactions. Automated risk assessment reports, AVMs, Collateral Underwriter, backup credit reports, CAIVRS, Internet Searches, etc. are used on an ongoing basis by industry personnel in helping to identify possible…
Investors Too Picky with TRIDSlips
According to Fitch Rating, investors may be a little too picky when it comes to denying loan purchases because of a TRID document not being prepared exactly per the new rules (TRIDSlips). The amount of data required to appear on each new disclosure, coupled with the requirements for how it should be reported, creates some major challenges for a lender.…
Rates: Here We Go Again
If you attended the recent Conference of Regional MBAs in Atlantic City, you heard Barry Habib, President of MBS Highway, talk about why he believes we may see another surge in refinances if/when the Fed raises short-term rates (Rates). Barry made a similar prediction last year of decreasing rates and was correct. We did see loan rates drop when the…
TRID Delays: Headlines Can Be Deceiving
As we all well know, sometimes the headlines are written to grab our attention but the story reveals something a little different. Take the headline on this article appearing in last Tuesday’s MBA NEWSLINK; “Survey: Consumers Still Report Slower Closings, ‘Surprises’ Under TRID” (Survey). This headline would lead one to believe that closings are being delayed, and consumers are being…
FREE USDA Training Opportunity
It is rare these days to have one of the Federal Government’s Housing Agencies (HUD, VA and USDA) offer in-depth technical training geared towards underwriters and loan processors that will result in a better understanding of the rules and regulations in effect for the programs that they administer. One such opportunity is now available to anyone interested in USDA’s Single…