Happy New Year!

HOLIDAY PRIZE: Holiday Traditions

Throughout the month of December many families participate in holiday traditions. Whether new or from long ago they never fail to bring smiles to the faces of those participating. This is nostalgic time of year for almost everyone. The smell of pine trees, candy canes, wrapping paper, shopping, holiday music and of course the magic of the holidays in the air. 

If you received one of our Holiday Cards this year please share with us one of your favorite holiday traditions from this time of year. 

Happy Holidays from IDS!

CFPB, Justice Agree to Coordinate Fair Lending

CFPB, Justice Agree to Coordinate 

Fair Lending Enforcement

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Justice Department yesterday signed an agreement to coordinate their fair lending enforcement efforts and avoid duplication, the agencies said in a joint press release.

Both the CFPB and the Justice Department have authority to protect against discriminatory lending under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. But the Dodd-Frank Act also authorizes the bureau to conduct joint investigations with the justice department on fair lending-related matters.

Under the memorandum of understanding they signed, both agencies will meet regularly on investigations and establish strict confidentiality  for shared information. The CFPB, like other federal banking regulators, will refer matters to the Justice Department, "when it has reason to believe that a creditor has engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination," the memorandum said.

The agencies also agreed to notify each other at key stages of their enforcement work, such as an investigation's opening or when a lawsuit is filed. The Justice Department "welcomes the new tools and resources the CFPB can bring to the fight against lending discrimination," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for Justice's Civil Rights Division. 

Read the joint press release.

Tech Trends All Center Around Compliance Side

Mortgage Technology Magazine: Tech Trends All Center Around Compliance Side

When asked to name a significant theme in automation, executives participating in a roundtable discussion at the SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami Beach last week, singled out the need to keep up with regulatory demands.

Automation has helped the industry keep up with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations, good-faith estimate fee disclosures and single point of contact requirements that have challenged the industry, the executives said.

They noted that the concerns which various forms of automation aim to help the industry address include efforts to get GFE fee estimates in line with required tolerances in an effort to avoid monetary penalties for breaches, and the need to secure document operations and communications in order to mitigate the rising risk of an audit in today's market.

Participating in the roundtable discussion moderated by director Mark Fogarty and Mortgage Technology managing editor Austin Kilgore were Kelli Himebaugh, vice president, Mortgage Builder; John Guzzo, managing director, Berkery Noyse; and Tim Armbruster, chief technology officer, ClosingCorp. 

What Does Paperless Mean to You?

What Does Paperless Mean to You?

Does scanning paper files and emailing loan documents makes an office paperless?

Is collaborating with internal and external parties using an electronic loan folder a key component to making an office paperless?

Is an organization not considered paperless until it is doing a true eMortgage?

Is it true that to be a paperless solution, technology must provide the flexibility to work with paper, images and electronic documents?

Going paperless in the real world, especially a paper driven world (the mortgage industry) isn't always easy and pain free. But with the future home buying generation having technology, processes and information literally at their fingertips, paperless is the direction our industry is taking. 

What is Driving Paperless?

The pressure to comply with industry regulations and standards is the greatest factor impacting eMortgage and paperless initiatives. Similarly, the growing focus on compliance has affected how organizations evaluate successes resulting from mortgage technology.

Paperless can be part of the solution. It allows us to create audit trails and transparency throughout the lifecycle of the mortgage process. 

- 90% of people cited access to an audit trail as an important benefit of going paperless

- 88% consider how well a solution supports compliance for industry regulations as a n important paperless benefit.

Even though going paperless has it's pain points for the industry, but it also has it's solutions and benefits!

Paperless Benefits:

• Efficient origination and delivery process
• Empowers communication: information anytime, anywhere
• Business intelligence: best practices- continuous improvement, what gets measured, gets managed
• Data security: file security, physical security, secure consumer communication and role based security
• Regulatory compliance: audit trails, no missing documents and current

Industry Adoption:

Nearly half of respondents, 43%, believe the mortgage industry will close more than half of all loans as an eMortgage within the next four years, up from 28% in 2011. Thirty six percent believe it will be within the next 5-7 years; 11% say it will be within the next 8-10 years; 10 percent say it will be within the next 10 years and 8% say that more than half of all loans closed will be as an eMortgage in 1-2 years from now.

Paperless is the answer for our industry right now and the more we head in that direction the easier it is going to be for our industry to stay on top of regulatory concerns, security and data concerns, customer service and business flow. Join IDS in the paperless revolution!

Your Online Reputation

Last week at the SourceMedia Mortgage Technology Conference in Miami, Flordia there were several discussion regarding online presence in the industry, whether it be availability of online information, social media presence, or compliance educational and training tools. However, one discussion in particular stood out by me and that was the discussion hosted by Erin Lantz the Director of Mortgage Business at Zillow.

Lantz discussion was focused on how we can rethink our business for the next generation of buyers- pretty much the online, smart phone, tablet generation.

One point that she hit on was the rising importance of your online reputation and what it means for lenders, as well as us technology vendors. She stressed that online reputation is just as important as your offline reputation. Future and current customer have access to a lot of information about your company before they even set foot into your office to pursue your services. Because of this there are several diffrent public online forms rewarding and bringing down those who provide exceptional service and those who don't.

As lenders and service providers we need to use these reviews to our advantage. We need to know what people are saying about us and about our competitors online and on all social media platforms. This also gives us the opportunity to widen the recognition of the customer service you provide. Customer service can become very evident when something is expressed negatively. We can either go with it and respond in a helpful, knowledgeable and kind approach or we can go completely baslistic making our online reputation and company reputation fragile.

Our online presence is becoming more and more detremental to the success and recogonition of a company. Remember who your target market is and who will be using your services.

Fewer Mortgages in 2013?

Fewer Mortgages in 2013?

Next year could see 20% fewer residential mortgages being originated, according to a new study issued by the American Action Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

The study states that the Dodd-Frank Act and the Basel III accords can be lauded as "well-intended regulations proposed to shore up weakness in the mortgage finance system at the behest of Congress and the international financial community." However, the study adds that Dodd-Frank amd Basel III- along with the anticipated implementation of the qualified mortgage and qualified residential mortgage guidelines- could create more harm than healing.

"The study finds that the Dodd-Frank regulations and Basel III capital standards would not only hinder qualified borrowers from access to loans, but also result in 20% fewer loans than otherwise would be made," says Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum and co-author of the report. "Other impacts include up to a million fewer housing starts over the next three years, 3.9 million fewer jobs and a loss of 1.1 percentage points of GDP growth."

Homeownership Down

The MReport
Homeownership Down Even as Affordability Increases
By: Krista Franks Brock

The landscape of homeownership has undergone significant changes in recent years: The homeownership rate has declined, but so has the cost burden of owning a home. Both of these trends are most prevalent among young homeowners, according to a recent report from Fannie Mae.

The national Homeownership rate has declined in each of the past four years, according to the most recent Census data, which extends through 2011. The 2011 homeownership rate of 64.6 is 2.6 percentage points lower than the 2007 rate. 

The decline among those 25 to 44 years of age is more than twice the overall decline.

This shift, which Fannie Mae attributes to the Great Recession, comes after a decade of stead homeownership increases in which young households played a major role.

Despite the recent declines in homeownership, the cost burden of owning a home decreased in 2011 and has "fallen substantially for young owners during the last four years," according to Fannie Mae.

When measuring housing cost burden, analyst often look for households paying more than 30 percent of their gross income in housing costs, which analysts define as rental or mortgage payments combined with utility spending.

In 2011, the percentage of homeowners who fell into this category decreased by about one percentage point. In contrast, the number of renters in this category grew.

The percentage of 25 to 44 year-old renters who paid more than 30 percent of their gross incomes on housing costs rose 4 percentage points between 2007 to 2011.

In the same timespan, the percentage of homeowners of the same age who paid more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing costs declined by 5.8 percentage points. 

Rising affordability among younger homeowners can be attributed to low mortgage rates and perhaps "exits from homeownership by households who had high and unsustainable housing cost burdens," Fannie Mae states in its report.

Another factor is tightening mortgage standards, which "may have also helped to create a cohort of young homeowners who have housing costs that are better aligned with incomes," according to Fannie Mae. 

Fewer Homes for Sale in October

Study finds that there were fewer homes for sale in October

The number of homes for sale last month fell 17% year-over-year in the nation's leading housing markets, yet median list prices remained flat, new data shows.

The flattening of list prices- which foreshadow sale prices- mat indicate a weakening in demand given the nascent housing recovery, says Steven Berkowitz, CEO of Move, which operates the Realtor.com website.

"There's a little bit of uncertainty that's come back into the market," says Berkowitz. Concerns over the outcome of the presidential election and tax and spending-cut issues may have weighed on prices, he adds.

Given tightened supplies of homes for sale, Berkowitz expected October list prices to be up year-over-year, as they were in eight of the previous nine months.

Other companies that track asking prices do show annual increases for October. Trulia's data show asking prices up 2.9% for the month year-over-year. That was the biggest annual increase of the year. The increase were also broad, occurring in 69 of 100 major markets.

"We see no slowdown," says Jed Kolko, Trulia economist.

On a year-over-year basis, the for-sale inventory declined in all but five of the 146 markets covered by Realtor.com. List prices increased in 71 of the markets.

Both data trackers see prices rising faster in markets where inventories have shrunk the most.

In 44 of 146 Realtor.com markets, the number of homes for sale shrank more than 20% year-over year.

In 14 of those markets, list prices were up year-over-year by more than 10%, the data shows.

Many of the markets with the biggest drops in inventory are in California. In Stockton and Sacramento- two Central Valley cities hit hard by foreclosures- for-sale inventories were down by more than 60% year-over-year, says Realtor.com.

List prices were up just 6.5% year-over-year in Stockton. But they soared 31% in Sacramento. Competition for Sacramento-area homes is especially tight in the lower price ranges, where investors are scooping up homes to turn them into rentals.

But higher-priced homes are also in demand. Anything under $300,000 is seeing multiple offers, says Sacramento-area Realtor Rob Baxley of Lyon Real Estate.

Outside of California, cities seeing big drops in inventory include Seattle, down 40%; Atlanta, down 37%; and Jersey City, N.J., down 32%.

Not all markets with shrinking inventories are getting bounces in listing prices.

For October, median list prices were flat year-over-year in Buffalo, N.Y., and Akron, Ohio even though inventories were down 20% and 22% respectively, says Realtor.com.

Only 5 markets showed inventories expanding. They included Shreveport, La., where inventories swelled by 14%, and Philadelphia up 6%.

While tightened supplies have helped home prices much of the year, they'll also help home builders, says economist Pat Newport of IHS Global Insight.

The nation's homeowner vacancy rate fell to its lowest level in seven years in the third quarter, he says. That indicates that "builders are going to have to ramp up," says Newport. "We've gotten rid of all of the excess supply."


Article information website: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/11/14/fewer-homes-for-sale-lead-to-higher-asking-prices/1702845/

Questions First-Time Home Buyers Should Ask

Questions First-Time Home Buyers Should Ask

Nationwide, mortgage rates are low and home prices remain relatively low, too. This combination, plus rising rents, creates the perfect storm for renters to move toward first-time homeownership.

Buying your first home can be exciting, but you should also do your research to make sure that you ask the proper questions of the process, and make the best choices for yourself and your household.

For example, recommended questions for first-time buyers to ask home sellers include:

What major repairs have been made to your home?

Although standard disclosure forms are supposed to provide information regarding past damage and renovation to the property, there are occasional repairs that are omitted or otherwise forgotten. Be proactive and ask pointed questions about the roof, the foundation, plumbing and the electrical system. Some home issues have a way of resurfacing many years later and it’s best to know in advance.

To which school district does the home belong?

As a first-time homebuyer, you may or may not have school-aged children. However, in many areas, public school ranking positively (or negatively) affects home values. Ask your real estate agent for school district data. Consider asking the seller for feedback too.

Is this a ‘distressed’ property, and what does that mean to me?

For many home buyers, the allure of a foreclosed home or a home in short sale can be large. Prices are discounted as compared to comparable real estate—sometimes by as much as 20% to 60% and more. However, many distressed properties are sold ‘as-is”. This means that homes may be defective or uninhabitable. However our FHA renovation loans not only handles the regular home financing issue, but it also covers the cost of repairs and renovations. You can also include up to six months of house payments into the mortgage.

After asking the above questions, and other questions, it’s important to remember that buying a home can be an emotional decision; and one that requires using your ‘brain’ as much as your ‘heart’. Try to keep emotions in check so that you don’t overpay for a home that’s unsuitable, for example.

For the first time in decades it's cheaper to own than rent & it's an investment you can live in!!

Pay It Forward

From MBA NewsLink Today: MBA Donates to Sandy Relief; Encourages Members to Contribute

Robinson, Matt The Mortgage Bankers Association announced it has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to provide $40,000 to help those residents of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States who have been affected by “superstorm” Sandy. MBA has also made a $25,000 direct donation to the American Red Cross. While many MBA members have already made donations, MBA encouraged all of its members to consider doing so. “Sandy has disrupted the lives and destroyed the homes of many Americans on the East Coast and beyond, including many MBA members and friends,” said MBA President and CEO David Stevens. “MBA is dedicated to investing in communities and it is our responsibility to help at a time when so many of our fellow citizens are in need.” MBA made the donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief and has encouraged its 2,000 member companies operating in an industry that employs more than 200,000 nationwide to make donations to the Red Cross or other non-profit organizations providing similar disaster relief. “Our industry has a long tradition of helping our customers and their communities in times of great need, and this is one of those times,” said MBA Chairman Debra Still, CMB. “Many MBA member companies have already stepped up and made donations to this relief effort and we are encouraging others to follow their lead.” Numerous organizations are providing assistance in the aftermath of Sandy, which killed more than 100 Americans and left more than 6 million without power. According to disaster modeling company Eqecat, total economic damages caused by Sandy could reach $50 billion, making it the second costliest natural disaster behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

More QM Info

There seems to be a patterned today with QM info. Here is some more information regarding the release date of the QM rule and what will happen when it does become final.

Unveiling of the QM Rule Before Thanksgiving Unlikely

Will the long-awaited qualified mortgage rule be unveiled by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before Thanksgiving?

Although trade group officials and certain lobbyists are hearing reports that the rule might be out before November’s end, others believe mid-to-late December is more likely.

A spokeswoman for the agency declined to comment on the matter. The agency has already indicated that a final rule will be out by Jan. 21. Still, talk in Washington has persisted recently that an early release is possible.

When the rule is published it will be considered “final” although the agency—if it so choose—can revisit any regulation and change it. (QM was originally the purview of the Federal Reserve Board but Dodd-Frank changed all that.)

The QM rule will apply to all mortgage bankers and all loans—whether they are backed by the government or not.

Recent reports that the bureau is moving toward crafting a QM rule that provides a legal “safe harbor” for prime loans with a maximum debt-to-income ratio of up to 43% has raised questions on how it will impact GSE and FHA lending programs. Both programs allow for slightly higher DTIs.

The Center for Responsible Lending and American Bankers Association are on record supporting higher DTIs on QM loans. “We think you can have safe lending in that space,” said CRL president Michael Calhoun, provided the interest rate and fees are reasonable.

Loans with an interest rate 150 basis points above the prime rate would be considered “subprime” by CFPB and afforded less legal protection under a “rebuttable presumption” standard. That would encourage litigation when a subprime borrower defaults, one attorney said.

If CFPB is going to give a safe harbor to prime loans, “they should extend it to ‘rate and term’ refinancing since those people have already shown an ability to make their payments,” according to Anne Canfield, executive director of the Consumer Mortgage Coalition, whose clients include large banks.

Canfield noted that VA lenders use a residual income test in qualifying borrowers for Department of Veterans Affairs guaranteed loans.

In general VA loans have performed well during the housing crisis. “I would also recommend that they include loans that meet the VA residual income test,” said Canfield.

Such a move would help first-time homebuyers and other borrowers seeking low-downpayment FHA and VA loans. “They should get the benefit of a well-defined safe harbor,” she added.  

Reference: National Mortgage News, Paul Muolo and Brian Collins, Nov. 5, 2012

The QM Rule

The QM Rule is Essential for Consumers

After years of irresponsible, reckless lending—which resulted in trillions of dollars in lost wealth and millions of foreclosures—Congress finally acted to prevent lenders from selling consumers unsustainable home loans.

It enacted Dodd-Frank and included the category of qualified mortgages to encourage banks and lenders to do the right thing for consumers and themselves by offering safe, affordable and sustainable mortgage products.

The American people have not forgotten that lenders played a central role in the economic crisis, and broad distrust of banks and lenders rightfully persists.

Dodd-Frank is, in fact, the best hope for the lending industry because it tells investors from around the world that a broken system has been repaired and it is now safe to reinvest in America.

Meet An IDS Employee

IDS Employee- Shawn Gibson

IDS employee Shawn Gibson has been working at IDS for a total of 12 years. He started at IDS in 1998 to 2002 and then again in 2004 to now. His favorite thing about working for IDS is the people he works with on a day to day basis. “Everybody is great,” says Gibson.

Shawn has five people in his family and one more due in April. His favorite food is not pizza, but home grown fruits and vegetable. Shawn loves to garden. He likes finding unusual plants and starting them from seeds. Some of his favorites are purple tomatoes (Carbon), cayenne peppers, basil and ground cherries. He has made several of us in the office taste those home grown cayenne peppers and they sure are spicy.

Some of Shawn’s other favorite things are:

• Favorite movie: Back to Eden
• Favorite Quote: "Just remember you're unique just like everybody else."
• Favorite Activities: Anything with his family, gardening and hiking

Shawn has always been over the accounting department at IDS and now is doing the duties of Human Resources as well. Shawn is a great part of the team here at IDS.

Fun With IDS: An IDS Halloween

Happy Halloween from Everyone at IDS! 

We love Halloween here and almost everyone got dressed up for the occassion and we celebrated with a costume contest. It was a fun day here at IDS. Here are some of the costumes that people created.

We hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween!

171,000 Jobs Created

171,000 Jobs Created

WASHINGTON (AP)—U.S. employers added 171,000 jobs in October, and hiring was stronger in August and September than first thought. The solid job growth showed that the economy is strengthening slowly but consistently.

The unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in September, mainly because more people began looking for work. The government uses a separate survey to calculate the unemployement rate, and it counts people without jobs as unemployed only if they’re looking for one.

Friday’s report was the last major snapshot of the economy before Tuesday’s elections. It’s unclear what political effect the report might have. By now, all but a few voters have made up their minds, particularly about the economy, analysts say.

Since July, the economy has created an average of 173,000 jobs a month. That’s up from 67,000 a month from April through June. Still, President Barack Obama will face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt.

The work force—the number of people either working or looking for work—rose by 578,000 in October. And 410,000 more people said they were employed.

The influx of people seeking jobs “could be a sign that people are starting to see better job prospects and so should be read as another positive aspect to the report,” said Julia Coronado, an economist at BNP Paribas.

Investors were pleased by the news. The Dow Jones industrial average futures were flat before it came out at 8:30am EDT. When stock trading began an hour later, the Dow was up about 50 points.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed to 1.77 percent, a sign that investors were moving money out of bonds and into stocks.

Friday’s report included a range of encouraging details.

The government revised its data to show that 84,000 more jobs were added in August and September than previously estimated. The jobs gains in October were widespread across industries. And the percentage of Americans working or looking for work rose for the second straight month.

The economy has added jobs for 25 straight months. There are now 580,000 more than when Obama took office.

 But there were also signs of the economy’s persistent weakness. Average hourly pay dipped a penny to $23.58. In the past year, pay has risen just 1.6 percent. That has trailed inflation, which rose 2 percent.

The number of unemployed increased 170,000 to 12.3 million, pushing up the unemployment rate.

The October jobs report was compiled before Superstorm Sandy struck the East Coast earlier this week and devastated many businesses.

The nascent housing recovery is finally generating jobs. Construction companies added 17,000 positions, the most since January. Manufacturers added 13,000 jobs after shedding workers in the previous two months.

Professional services such as architects and computer systems providers also added jobs. So did retailers, hotels and restaurants, and education and health care. Government overall shed 13,000 jobs, after three months of gains.

The economy has shown many signs of picking up a bit in recent weeks. Americans are buying more high-cost items, like cars and appliance. Auto companies reported steady sales gains last month despite losing three days of business to the storm in heavily populated areas of the Northeast.

Yet businesses remain nervous about the economy’s future course. Many are concerned that Congress will fail to reach a budget deal before January. If lawmakers can’t strike an agreement, sharp tax increases and spending cuts will take effect next year and possibly trigger another recession.

American companies are also nervous about the economic outlook overseas. Europe’s financial crisis has pushed much of that region into recession and cut into U.S. exports and corporate profits.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

HUD Vows Foreclosure Relief in Wake of Storm Damage

Following President Barack Obama's mandate that federal agencies speed relief to those affected by Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development indicated Wednesday that it will provide multiple forms of aid in the New York City area.

With the Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Suffolk and Queens counties all declared disaster areas, several of these measure involve mortgage protection for residents.

"Families who may have been forced from their homes need to know that helps is available to begin the rebuilding process," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "Whether it's foreclosure relief for families with FHA-insured loans or helping these counties to recover, HUD stands ready to help in any way we can."

Homeowners with FHA-insured loans, for instance, have been granted forbearance on foreclosures, while other mortgage holders will receive a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures.

Additionally, HUD is offering FHA mortgage insurance through its Section 203(h) program for those who have lost their homes and need to either rebuild or buy a new one. One hundred percent financing is provided to borrowers who use FHA-approved lenders.

And state and local governments have access to federally guaranteed loans that can be used to repair public infrastructure and for economic development.

New York City area... Cars sitting in flooded water

New York City Subway's Flooded

Everyone has been affected by Hurricane Sandy

Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was affected by Hurricane Sandy and are still dealing with the aftermath that Sandy left in its wake.

Article provided by: New York Observer, Gaines, Carl

Election Day

With Election Day closely approaching, five days to be exact, IDS wants to push everyone to get out and vote on Tuesday November 6th. As an American citizen it is our right to vote for our leaders and it is a privilege to be part of this big decision as a country. 

By federal law since 1792, the US Congress permitted the states to conduct their presidential elections any time in a 34-day period before the first Wednesday of December. An election date in November was seen as useful because the harvest would have been completed and the winter-like storms would not yet have begun. A uniform date for choosing presidential electors was instituted by the Congress in 1845. The date chosen was the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. That is why Tuesday November 6th you will be standing at a voting machine casting your vote and making a difference and sporting your "I Voted" sticker for everyone to see.

Happy Halloween From IDS!

And The Winner Is....

On Sunday October 21^st IDS attended the Mortgage Technology Awards Ceremony with our fellow nominees.

When it was time for the Lenders’ Choice award category, we had no idea what the outcome would be and would be happy with any of the winners. When our name was announced as the winners we burst into tears and were full of excitement and proud of the achievement.

This was the first year for the Lenders’ Choice category and Lenders and Servicers from the MT Top 50 Tech-Savvy list voted on the winner. IDS was nominated with fellow partners QuestSoft and Xerox Mortgage. The Lenders’ Choice award focused on customer service, user experience and technology.

The IDS mentality has always been about our customers experience and the knowledge they receive from our team and the technology that allows them to do their job quickly, efficiently and in compliance. This award goes to show that the service we provide to the industry has been beneficial for all those who use it.

“It is an honor to know that Lenders and Servicers recognize the excellent customer service, cutting edge technology and user experience that IDS provides through our system idsDoc,” said IDS Executive Vice President Mark Mackey.

“IDS wants to congratulate all the other Mortgage Technology award winners for 2012 and with them the best of luck in the upcoming new year,” added Mackey.

IDS wants to thank all of our clients for being loyal and standing by IDS and the services we provide. We could not have received this award without you and your help.

I Want a Golden Ticket

Are you attending the 99^th MBA Annual Convention in Chicago? Would you like to win a Golden Ticket and some prizes? Make sure to stop by the IDS Booth #1124 for your chance to win.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Chicago

Meet an IDS Employee

IDS Employee- Kyle Long Customer Service Team

Kyle has been working at IDS for a little over two years and the thing he likes most about it is the awesome people he gets to work with on a day to day basis, both at work and with the lending institutions throughout the US.

Kyle recently got married and is the newest newlywed here at IDS. As for his family he has six total—his mom, dad, two brothers and one sister.

Throughout Kyle’s life he has lived in five states—Utah, California, Idaho, Colorado and Georgia. Something else interesting about Kyle he has completely broken both bones in his left arm during a high school football game. On top of all this cool stuff Kyle likes to sing and play the guitar.

Other things that Kyle enjoys is Italian food, especially Romano’s Macaroni Grill, but a good hamburger is close to being his favorite, but not quite. His favorite movie is a Beautiful Mind with Russell Crowe. He also enjoys spending time watching movies with his wife and playing backyard football with his friends on the weekends. Let’s hope he doesn’t break anymore bones.

To leave us off is Kyle’s favorite quote, not a common one, but a good one. “...dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon...” Parley P. Pratt. Kyle knows that many people won’t know this quote, but it inspires him to always stand for good even when I am unarmed and defenseless.

IDS & The Borrower Experience

How IDS Helps Lenders to Create a Positive Borrower Experience

In the last post, referring to MortgageOrb article Improving the Borrower’s Experience, there were five steps to achieve this goal.

The five steps were:

1. Providing a consistent point of contact;
2. Providing fast and accurate document viewing;
3.  Providing up-to-date status information;
4. Providing integrated electronic signature capabilities and
5.  Providing access anywhere

IDS is helping lenders achieve these steps. Here at IDS our first priority is our clients and now that the borrower is a top priority with all the CFPB changes proposed we are here to help.

With idsDoc you will always be able to contact any of our customer service team to get exactly what you mean in a few minutes. Whether it is customizations, a new field or the look of your documents we are able to do that.

When it comes to giving your borrowers fast and accurate document viewing, IDS archives all the documents you need to show your borrowers and a secure way for them to log in and access the documents necessary. This is one step of the document process that is important to checking the documents for mistakes or changes that need to be made before closing.

Don’t worry about not being up-to-date on the status of a loan, IDS will always let you know what step of the process you are at and what you still need to do. This makes it easier for lenders to quickly know what to tell their borrowers and confirm the status of their loan.

E-Signatures seem to be the ‘it’ thing in the mortgage industry right now, especially when it comes to documents and the borrower’s signing. Who honestly use a pen and paper anymore? Well IDS can offer all your e-signing needs for free. Seamless signing process accessed directly from your LOS interface, step-by-step signing process, archived documents, and simple viewing for unsigned documents.

IDS wants to make lenders jobs easier, which will help them make a borrower’s experience more positive and less stressful. Lenders looking to update their document preparation vendor leave a comment. Also lenders let us know what your borrowers are looking for.

Improving The Borrower's Experience

Five Steps For Improving The Borrower's Experience

MortgageOrb By: Andy Crisenbery

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has made the plight of borrowers a more important consideration for lenders making technology investments. In the past, the primary focus for regulators has been on enforcing the law. Today, however, the CFPB has made customer satisfaction one metric it will use to determine whether our industry is fulfilling its obligations to consumers.

The CFPB has taken steps on its website and through its social media efforts to make it simple for borrowers to lodge complaints against their lender. This is a significant change that impacts all lenders and mortgage technology vendors.

Traditionally, customer satisfaction has not been the most important metric for the mortgage lending industry. It's not that the nation's best lenders do not care about the experience itself, but other considerations have been deemed even more important. The legality of work, the ability to accurately measure risk, and the ability to provide the funds the borrower needed to close a real estate transaction in a fully compliant manner have been the primary measures of industry success. When judged by those metrics, the industry has performed very well throughout its history.

Fortunately, the industry has the ability to make things better. Let's consider the five distinct areas where the borrower's experience can be improved.

Providing a consistent point of contact. Federal regulators have already settled on this as a necessity- at least on the servicing side of the business, where single point of contact requirements are now in place. These requirements allow any loan borrower to reach out to a single person in the servicing show for help or support.

Many lenders have discovered consumers appreciate when a financial institution integrates information systems, allowing them access to a range of banking activities with a single log-on. Offering the same look and feel across departments makes it easier to cross-sell.

Even within the same department, offering consumers a consistent process for interacting with different types of documents increases customer satisfaction. Finally, the financial institution can provide a secure method for messaging between the consumer and the lender, which can be easily accomplished through a technology-based portal. 

Providing fast and accurate document viewing. Borrowers will not feel comfortable or enjoy the loan origination experience if they do not have the opportunity to build up a level of trust in their lender. The best way to do this is by providing documents to the borrower as quickly as possible while ensuring secure access. This provides a level of transparency that will give borrowers confidence in their choice of lender.

Many institutions are putting all of the documents the borrower needs to review directly into an online portal and then training their employees to ensure that only current documents are available, thus eliminating the risk that the borrower will review an outdated document such as a previous version of disclosure. Avoiding mistakes here will smooth the transition to the closing table and improve the borrower's overall experience.

Providing up-to-date status information. One complaint borrowers have with the industry relates to the lack of timely status updates during the lending process. By providing real-time status updates and notifications between loan processors and borrowers through a secure portal, borrowers know exactly what's happening on their loan.

Providing integrated electronic signature capabilities. Lenders intent on improving the borrower experience are leveraging portals to make it easier for borrowers to provide information the lenders need to move the loan forward. Often, signed documents are required, and portals with electronic signature capabilities make this easier for borrowers. Current technologies allow for package consent, multiple signers, signing and initialing, and other lender or investor requirements.

Providing access anywhere. Today's consumers are on the move, and they expect to do business from wherever they are. This requires technology that will grant borrowers access anywhere they can find an Internet connection. 

The technology to improve the customer service experience is available today. Many lenders are already utilizing these tools in some capacity- but more lenders need to get on board if the industry is going to rehabilitate its customer service image.

Are you a lender looking to improve your technology, giving your borrowers a better and overall successful experience? IDS offers cutting edge technology and provides customizations at no extra charge. 

99th MBA Annual Convention & Expo

Are you attending the 99th MBA Annual Convention & Expo in Chicago October 21-23, 2013

Make sure to stop by the IDS Booth #1124 to try and win a Golden Ticket & Prizes

If you would like to set up a meeting with Ali, Curt, Kortney, Mark, Matt or Molly email Ali at ali@idsdoc.com

A History:Christopher Columbus

Happy Columbus Day!

The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he accidentally stumbled upon the Americas. Though he did not really ‘discover’ the New World—millions of people already lived there—his journeys marked the beginning of centuries of trans-Atlantic conquest and colonization. Some say Christopher Columbus was the age of discovery and his unintentional discovery of the New World changed the course of world history

Columbus Day is a federal holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World on Oct. 12, 1492.

Columbus Day was unofficially celebrated across the country in the 18^th century, but did not become a federal holiday until 1937, according to the History Channel.

Although the holiday and Columbus have stirred up controversy, many celebrate to honor his achievements and Italian-American heritage. But many alternatives to the holiday have appeared in recent years.

IDS hopes that everyone has an enjoyable Columbus Day!

IDS Employee- Beth Price

IDS Employee Beth Price: Customer Service Support Team

Beth and her cute boy Dexter!

Beth is one of the ‘noobies’ or so she says to the IDS support team. She has been working with IDS for eight months and is really becoming part of the team. Even though Beth is not related to anyone here at IDS she heard about the job from her cousin who is good friends with Alecia Shaw. Beth has come to find out that she has lots of connections here at IDS.

One of Beth’s favorite things about working at IDS is that this isn’t a job that she has to take home with her! Before IDS Beth was a teacher and that requires a lot of extra time after work is finished. Of course she also loves that this is a job that exercises her brain. Beth had instituted bagel Friday. What's better than having a delicious bagel every Friday!? Not much!

Beth lives with all boys! Oh Boy! Her husband Adam, two-year-old son Dexter and puppy Diesel. Her favorite food is… food, but she especially likes Mexican, Italian and American.

Once you get to know Beth you instantly fall in love with her bubbly personality and the fun that she brings to work. Some interesting things you might not know about Beth are that she has a scar on her lip from where a DUCK bit her. The duck was trying to steal her sandwich! She is also a ‘Navy brat’ and grew up all over the U.S. Her left pinky finger is shorter than the right one because the top of it got cut off in a door and was sewn back on, pretty gross Beth!

Beth’s favorite movies are Moulin Rouge, Labyrinth, and Nacho Libre, all great picks that everyone should see.

Beth has been a great addition to the IDS customer service support team. She has been a quick learner and has been great with IDS clients and partners.