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REVIEW:
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The Resource TV says it’s been critical of the mortgage industry lately, and for “good reason.” The hosts believe it’s an over-regulated mess post-recession. They note inefficiencies in underwriting, appraisals, antiquated software and confusing paperwork. They basically say it’s an industry long overdue for an update.

Thankfully, they also found some good news coming out of Boston and the MBA conference. The first of which are some positive announcements from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac has implemented a few innovative changes. They include a no-cost automated appraisal alternative, automated borrower income verification, automated borrower asset verification and automated assessment of borrowers without credit scores.

Equifax also announced it is working with automated mortgage transaction technology provider Roostify to incorporate instant employment and income verification data into Roostify’s loan decision-making platform. Leading income calculation solution provider LoanBeam also announced plans to incorporate Equifax’s 4506-T IRS tax transcript service tool. Equifax additionally entered into a strategic alliance with FormFree’s AccountChek web-based platform to provide verification of assets alongside employment and income verification data. This will essentially provide lenders with the ability to order, analyze and certify a borrower’s financial data within minutes via a secure web-based platform.

One final announcement from Equifax. The consumer credit reporting agency has partnered with SmartZip to allow lenders to score and build their databases more efficiently. With this level of insight, lenders can further extend the value of their marketing and sales efforts. It’s great to see the industry making strides to speed up the process when verifying income, assets and employment.