| Brokers Use AU for More Approvals
Freddie Mac honors Loan Prospector Service Award recipients June 15, 2004 By MortgageDaily.com staff |
| Three mortgage brokers were recognized for their ability to obtain more approvals utilizing a popular automated underwriting system. The announcement was made at the annual meeting of the primary group representing mortgages brokers.
Freddie Mac announced that Lynn Ferren, Pat Lewis and Lesley Smith each received the Loan Prospector Service Award. The brokers were recognized for their distinguished efforts in expanding homeownership opportunities using Freddie’s Loan Prospector automated underwriting system — which reportedly assesses borrowers fairly and objectively in minutes and diminishes borrowers’ obstacles toward obtaining a mortgage. “The recipients all helped borrowers who previously thought they wouldn’t qualify for a conventional loan,” said Dave Stevens, senior vice president of Mortgage Sourcing, in the announcement. “Through hard work, dedication and outreach, these mortgage brokers are making the homeownership dream a reality.” The brokers were honored at an awards ceremony on June 7 during the National Association of Mortgage Brokers annual convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, Freddie said. The winners were chosen from nominations received from brokers of more than 16,000 companies using Loan Prospector. Each broker received travel and accommodations to the convention, plus a $1,000 gift certificate. Ferren, an Ohio broker for Affordable Mortgage Corp., helped out a low-income woman who had recently lost her apartment due to a fire. Ferren met the woman while teaching a homeownership class for HUD Section 8 recipients, in which the borrower learned Loan Prospector would consider her Section 8 subsidy as income. Besides originating a loan for the first-time homebuyer, Ferren recommended the borrower contact a local community development organization, where the borrower got a forgivable $21,000 second mortgage. Smith, of Advantage Mortgage Network Inc. in Texas, helped a couple who had gone through job losses refinance to a lower-cost mortgage. Smith switched the couple to a Freddie mortgage product that features flexible down payment options for borrowers with good credit and limited cash. The new mortgage had a lower interest rate and reduced the monthly payment by $300. Lewis, of Minnesota, helped a family of four who had rented for 10 years. The family had worked hard to recover from past credit problems and was able to obtain an affordable conventional rate mortgage, after numerous years of making timely payments. As the Grand Prize winner, the Residential Mortgage Group Inc. broker will have loan submission fees waived for one year — a value of $20 per loan submitted to Loan Prospector, Freddie said. |
