May 16, 2022
- Non-Borrowing Spouse: Reminder!
As a reminder, the non-borrowing spouse’s email address is not needed until CD time on refinances only. The spouse’s name can be added to file contacts, but the email address should be left out to ensure no emails go out to the NBS prior to docs being available for them to sign.
- TBD Workflow – Job Aid
We are pleased to have an official workflow in place which will allow the Loan Officer, Loan Officer Assistant and Transaction Coordinators access to any TBD file to make changes when the loan is in processing intake, processing, suspense and conditional approval milestones. The workflow is attached – please contact productionsupport@vandykmortgage.com or ITHelpDesk@vandykmortgage.com should you have questions or need assistance
- Minimum Standards for Acceptable to Underwriting: Update
We have updated our Minimum Standards for Acceptance into Underwriting to remove the requirement for the Patriot Act Information Sheet, Photo ID, and SSN Verification. It is still a best practice to verify this information to ensure we have data integrity and do not need to re-pull credit after submission into Underwriting.
- Broker Partner Update
GoPointDirect has suspended their Medical Professionals/Doctor and Wealth Builder loan programs. We received the following communication from our A/E: “We were not given a reason for the discontinuance by our investor either. This is beyond GoPointDirect’s control. We are no longer taking in any of these medical professionals loans at this time. I will let you know if GoPointDirect should ever offer this loan program again in the future but for now, there is no medical professional or WealthBuilder100 loan programs to offer at this time.”
- Loan Folder Management Update
Please review the attached update for an overview of how Encompass loan folders are managed. Note that not all of the folders have changed, but the Pipelines team will be monitoring and moving files per the updates in the coming days. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jeremy Favazza at jfavazza@vandykmortgage.com or at Pipelines@vandykmortgage.com.
- Loan Commitment Letter: Update
Should you need a Loan Commitment issued, the 2005 Mortgage Loan Commitment form that references the Good Faith Estimate will be replaced with the attached updated form moving forward. The updated form is automated and will pull in conditions from the UW tab to ensure required items are properly disclosed. The procedure to request a Loan Commitment Letter will remain unchanged.
- Chenoa HomeReady Suspension
Chenoa has announced that they are suspending their conventional programs effective immediately. We do not have a timeline on when this program may return, but will keep you updated as we find out more. If you have a loan that is conditionally approved for Chenoa HomeReady, please reach out to us so we can review.
We will still be releasing the Chenoa FHA later this month and will send out an announcement once the program is available again.
- Lock & Shop: Reminder!
TBD loans that are locked will need to have initial disclosures issued within 3 days of lock. Compliance or Secondary will temporarily change the file’s address to “Not TBD” so the file will trigger a due date in Encompass, but the address will change back to “TBD” for the disclosures.
- Condo Updates
- Condo Review Standards: Last month we announced that our Condo Department would be taking back over processing of condo documents effective April 25. To set appropriate expectations with SLAs, communications, and processes, we have attached a Condo Review Standards for you. As a reminder, please enter your condo screening date as soon as you have the Minimum Standards items to avoid delays in getting your condo project approved.
- Condominium Project Questionnaire: We updated the Condominium Project Questionnaire (Form 1076) to add an addendum to facilitate collection of information regarding deferred maintenance in support of Lender Letter LL-2021-14, Temporary Requirements for Condo and Co-op Projects. We are also retiring Condominium Project Questionnaire – Short Form (Form 1077) as this form is not sufficient for lenders to determine eligibility under our new requirements.
- Reminder: The Condo Questionnaire is the same, whether limited or full review. The short form questionnaire was retired as of 12/15/2021 (SEL-2021-11).
- Helpful Hint: The Condo department will email out confirmation when an order is started and if any major issues come up. If you would like to check status of the condo review, you can add the Condo/PUD Notes column to your pipeline view in Encompass for easy reference:
- Contract Dates – Pipeline Update
Last month, we asked everyone to enter important dates into loan files so we can meet or beat them – especially contract closing dates – and track our performance. Today you will notice that we are highlighting contract dates in pipeline views. Yellow: the loan has to close within the next 10 days; Orange: the loan has to close within the next 5 days; Red: we missed the date and will be reviewing the file to determine what went wrong to evaluate how to improve.
- Appraisal Reinspection Fee Update
The Origination Compliance Department would like to announce that the default appraisal reinspection fee will be updated from $130.00 to $150.00 on initial disclosures starting 4/20/2022. If your branch has an individual setting for this fee, it will not be affected though you may request an update to your branch’s Encompass settings.
As a reminder, the appraisal reinspection fee can be added at initial disclosures to cover the possibility of needing a reinspection. If a reinspection does not end up being requested by the appraiser, the fee will be removed before closing. This $150.00 fee will only be placed on initial disclosures when the user has selected “yes” to the below field on Borrower Summary 2021 Page 2 – Disclosure Questions:
If you have any questions or would like a customization for your branch, please reach out to Ashley Favazza, Origination Compliance Manager, at afavazza@vandykmortgage.com
- FEMA Disaster Search – Update!
The FEMA disaster search has been updated to only run at the following points: Subject property address added, Submittal milestone, Approval milestone. The search will no longer run every time we enter the file.
- ATR/QM – New Alerts
2 new ATR/QM alerts have been added to Encompass. They are both considered HARD STOPs and will need to be resolved prior to closing. It is highly recommended to resolve these alerts ASAP, as they are typically fee or PMI related and can be costly to resolve.
- ATR/QM – Points and Fees Exceeded: This alert triggers when loan fees are above the ATR/QM 3% points and fees limit. Fees included in this calculation will typically have to be lowered or credited in order to clear this alert. Details can be found on the ATR/QM Management form, under the Qualification Tab.
- ATR/QM – NON-QM Status: This alert triggers when any factor in the ATR/QM test does not meet QM standards. It is most commonly triggered by points and fees listed above, however other factors like DTI or certain loan features can also cause the flag. This flag will need to be review by UW and/or Compliance prior to closing.
- Closing Disclosure Desk – VDMC
The Closing Disclosure Desk – VDMC is now fully active and avalible for all users to submit initial and revised CD requests. As a reminder, you will need to clear all Integrity Check fails (red errors) prior to being able to submit your request.
- Volunteers Needed: Hybrid eClosing
We are moving towards expanding Hybrid eClosing and looking for volunteers. If your loan meets the criteria below, your loan is eligible for a Hybrid eClosing:
- All previous disclosures have been successfully eSigned via Simple Nexus.
- Loan is not closing with a POA or in a Trust.
- Loan is not a Bond/DPA.
Please email closingcoordinator@vandykmortgage.com if you’d like to be involved!
- Coming Soon… Reverse Mortgages
We are working diligently to bring the reverse mortgage product back in house, and look forward to being able to provide additional details soon!
Appraisals & Addendums – Important Reminder
Please remember to upload your addendums into the appraisal orders. If we upload an addendum with a sales price that is different than the appraisal order shows, the branch also needs to send a message with the new purchase price, requesting the Appraisals team update the order. The Appraisal department is not authorized to review/read purchase agreement and/or addendums. ALL ADDENDUMS MUST BE FULLY EXECUTED PRIOR TO UPLOAD for appraiser acceptance.
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Mortgage Messaging & Floify
As a reminder: Mortgage Messaging will be disabled on 6/1/22, and Floify will be disabled on 6/30/22.
Loans that were disclosed in Floify may remain there as long as they close prior to 6/30/22. For those closing after that date, please invite the borrower to use the SimpleNexus portal.
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Jumbo – Documentation
As a best practice, when requesting JumboLoanReview@vandykmortgage.com to review your Jumbo loan,
be sure all income and asset documentation is uploaded to the eFolder for the team to review.
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Joint Loans/Co-Borrowers
Did you know that URLA will accommodate non-married borrowers on the same application in Encompass, since all applications are actually printed out as separate 1003s? YES! The trick is with the credit report.
For AUS to run, borrowers on same application in Encompass need to have joint credit report. If your borrowers are OK with that, we are too! Be sure you mark the additional borrower JOINT format indicator on the 1003 URLA Part 1.
If your borrowers are married but on separate 1003s in Encompass, that’s OK too! In that case, they need to have separate credit reports for AUS to run.
It’s an exciting and ever changing world, and we are here to answer questions should you need help! Let productionsupport@vandykmortgage.com know if you need assistance.