Skip to main content

Paperless, Not Brainless (Posted December 19, 2016)

Full disclosure: what you’re about to read is a full-blown commercial – no lie.  While I’m fairly confident it will be better than 95% of the commercials you’re forced to watch between episodes of your favorite reality show (which is a sort of commercial in and of itself, really), I won’t go so far as to say it’ll be better than some of those you see with Tina Fey or Peyton Manning. 

Coming very soon, we will be offering an option that will provide greater speed, simplicity, and certainty for everyone – the real estate agents on both sides of the transaction, the buyer, the seller, the lender, and even the title folks – in the buying/selling process.  Here are some key features to whet your appetite:

•  Validation of income, assets, and employment will be done electronically. 
o  Borrowers will be able to save time by using electronic data versus collecting documents such as paystubs, bank statements, and investment account statements.  We’re going to call that the “where did I put that?” feature.
•  Loan application data will be validated up front making the verification of key loan data points easier and faster.
o  This means the originators will have greater confidence at the beginning of the process so they can get it to underwriting more quickly.  We’re going to call that the “let’s kick this up to light speed” feature.

•  It’s estimated that this will eliminate appraisal conditions on 60% of all purchase transactions – we’re going to call that the “it’s about time” feature.

I hesitate to call this a “no doc” loan for a number of reasons, chief of which being the torrents of cold sweat that term induces for anyone who was in this business back in 2005-06 and stayed around to see their crippling effects on so many.  With that said, though, there is a certain beautiful simplicity about the “no doc” aspect of this process: we all get the convenience of not having to hunt high and low for a single piece of paper that can make or break the purchase of a $500,000 home, but we have the security of there being someone in the transaction who is going to verify everything electronically on behalf of all parties. 

With that said, I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming of watching whether she says yes to the dress or he’s going to accept help out of his 600-lb life – and you know I’m not talking about Tina Fey or Peyton Manning.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Age-Old Concept Reaping Future Rewards

W hy are social media like Facebook and Instagram so darn popular among real estate and mortgage folks?   Hint: the top reason might be an endless supply of memes, cat videos, and the chance to be snarky, but the other reason runs a VERY CLOSE second.   Give up?   Answer:   They’re free – and they really help even the playing field by enabling a one-person shop look and market like an organization who employs an army of wordsmiths and graphic artists. This new century is glorious, right?   With that in mind, let me re-introduce you to a centuries-old concept that is equally glorious – and can help IMPROVE the playing field for you, regardless of the size of your team: karma.   On the subject of “free”, I’m not suggesting that you work for free, but when you freely give of yourself and your knowledge, you’ll see a greater payoff, I promise! Recently, an agent came to us with a question: she has a client who is looking to sell his condo.   It...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Power of Doubt

We find ourselves in that weird week between Christmas and New Year’s – that week that feels a bit like the Twilight Zone where no one’s sure what’s real and what isn’t.   Because of that, most people tend to focus on one of two things: eating as much as possible or setting goals for the upcoming year.   The former is squarely focused on the present – how much can I stuff into my gaping maw at this very moment before I pass out and/or puke – while the latter is focused on the future.    Last week, before the Twilight Zone kicked into full gear, I read a short article that resonated with me, and I think it’ll prick up your metaphorical ears, too.   The author of the article is a gentleman who professionally trains Olympic athletes, and he highlights the talents of a particular athlete from the Philippines who is training to be a marathon runner.   He points out that this runner is not a professional athlete, nor does she receive any type of financ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Get to the Point (Posted February 29, 2016)

As you may have already noticed, there’s some amateur art included in this week’s newsletter.   While it’s certainly better than a crayon drawing that might grace a refrigerator that’s supposed to be “mommy” but looks more like a B-movie creature, we all acknowledge there’s a reason the guy in our office who drew this . . . i s still working in our office rather than making a living elsewhere.   Be that as it may, there’s a point to the picture: is this how you’re allowing your client to choose their mortgage company?   In many cases, it’s probably not too far off.   Agreed, it’s wise to stay on the right side of the law and be sure you’re never accused of “steering”.   With that in mind, many agents tell their clients that it’s completely their decision as to what mortgage company they use (and it is, of course) and effectively step back from the entire conversation – using the illustration to the left, they’re putting the blindfold ...
Post a Comment
Read more