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Picking the right loan quality control partner (QC partner) can feel a lot like dating. You read about them online, maybe you ask a few friends what they know about them. Once you finally opt to meet, you enter into that “getting to know one another” period where you ask the basic questions to get a feel for whether or not the partnership is going to work out. Ask the wrong questions though and you might not know what they are really like until much later in the relationship.
If your plans for 2020 include looking for an audit service provider to manage mortgage loan quality on your behalf, we share our top four questions for finding out if a QC partner is right for you!
Tell me about your auditors? It’s important to know where the auditors are located, particularly if your organization restricts use of offshore resources. Additionally, how will response time be if auditors are in a time zone much further behind than your own? The experience level of the audit staff is also important for being able to support an efficient and effective process. LoanLogics looks for at least a decade of tenure in our auditors when hiring.
Are your services technology-enabled? Understanding this helps you as a lender know how easy it will be to engage with your provider. Is the rebuttal process in real-time and one that is facilitated through a web portal or is it still via email and spreadsheets? Are they able to provide a 360-degree comparison of all data and documents, with superior accuracy, to include in your review? How will you gain transparency into the projects’ SLAs. It’s Important to know what features and functionality your vendor possesses that will facilitate the process better for both you and your provider.
Do you offer Flow QC?- Receiving all of your conditions at the end of your service level agreement (SLA) period or after creates a lot of headaches for QC managers. Flow QC or receiving notification of conditions as they’re found, allows you not only close out QC projects in a timely manner and get your final reports in sooner, but it also helps you reverse defect trends more quickly. Equipped with this information earlier in the project, it can then be relayed back to the origination teams sooner.
Why is your price so low? Beware of lowest price providers. The “get what you pay for” mantra is an easy trap to fall into with QC. While one provider may look cheaper from the contract’s bottom line, ask yourself and your provider what are the added costs that you don’t see? How much time will you spend in the review processes because the rebuttal process wasn’t in real-time? Or are there additional reporting fees you’ll need to incur to drill- down into your data and turn static PDF reports into ones you can easily interpret.
Overall, if your organization truly cares about QC and you want to get the best ROI possible, look for a partner who uses a combination of effective people, processes and price for value.
Want more ideas on what to look for in a QC provider? Tune into a recent webinar I did with LoanLogics Product Manager, Don Smith. Watch: “Insource or Outsource QC, Which is Right for Me?”
