Credit Plus Inc. has announced that it has several tools to keep lenders fully compliant with new federal guidelines for 2011. “Credit Plus is committed to making the mortgage process easier for lenders, and that includes keeping them up to date on all the latest rules and regulations. We offer products that assist lenders with pre-closing and post-closing initiatives, and are constantly updating our value-added services to keep them compliant with the new industry standards,” said Greg Holmes, national director of sales and marketing for Credit Plus.
New FACTA disclosure requirements in focus
Beginning Jan. 1, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are implementing new risk-based pricing (RBP) rules that require mortgage lenders to alert customers if derogatory credit data causes them to receive less than optimal terms. The new RBP rules require mortgage lenders to notify borrowers if their credit terms are less favorable than those they provide to other consumers due to credit-related issues. Credit Plus will provide the notice to borrowers on behalf of lenders which will include their credit score, the date the score was created, and its source. Consumers also will receive a written description or graphic showing how they rank compared with other consumers, information on how lenders use their score, and instructions on how to receive a free report that they can check for the accuracy of their information.
Staying compliant with FEMA flood recommendations
Mortgage professionals are required to promptly notify property owners when FEMA issues a change in flood zone status, either into or out of a Special Flood Hazard Area. Federal regulators have recently become more stringent in enforcing this notification rule, with some inspectors suggesting that lenders inform borrowers of these flood zone changes within as little as 10 days. Offices can be fined $350 for every occurrence in which a borrower has not received notification.
“We offer lenders peace of mind by meeting or exceeding all regulatory timelines for sending compliance notices. We offer a full range of flood compliance and tracking data, including basic and life-of-loan services and real-time flood mapping,” said Holmes.
Meeting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac requirements
New rules and regulations are constantly being introduced, and Credit Plus offers a suite of products to help lenders keep up. This includes Fannie Mae’s Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) suggestions and requirements, which focus on capturing and verifying critical loan data earlier in the process to reduce repurchase requests to lenders.
Credit Plus also is assisting lenders in complying with Freddie Mac’s revised selling requirements concerning inquiries on a borrower's credit report. Starting Feb. 1, lenders must look into the borrower's credit report inquiries made in the previous 120 days, rather than the 90 days previously required. Any additional credit must be included when qualifying the borrower. Credit Plus has been applying the new Freddie Mac standards since September for customers using Freddie Mac Loan Prospector.
Credit Plus assists lenders with these quality control requirements by offering a number of tools that may be purchased alone or bundled, including:
►COMPARE report, which allows for easy comparison of a credit report pulled during origination versus one pulled at the time of closing. Credit scores, score factors, trade lines, public records, and more all are quickly compared side by side.
►Manual inquiry verification to determine new account information.
►Soft code inquiries for post-funding review.
►Tax Return Verifications that highlight any discrepancies between income-related lines on a borrower’s tax return and the same lines on file with the IRS.
►ID Plus Reports that verify Social Security number and address, and summarize fraud and other alerts.
►Validation Plus Reports that verify Social Security number, address, phone number, employment, liabilities, and property history.
►Electronic ordering and delivery of appraisals through Ariston, a Credit Plus, Inc. company.
►Tools that offer mortgage professionals an in-depth analysis of the positive and negative factors that are influencing their applicants’ credit files and scores.
For more information, visit www.creditplus.com.
