CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading provider of information, analytics and business services, recently announced a new set of services designed specifically to address the anticipated increase in refinance activity expected from revisions to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The redefined program, recently announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and named HARP 2.0, was introduced to assist qualified underwater homeowners in refinancing their mortgages. Many lenders are expected to look to third-party providers, such as CoreLogic, to help them manage the expected spike in mortgage refinancing. According to the company, CoreLogic HARP 2.0 services bring together the benefits of CoreLogic data and analytics with experienced teams of outsourcing professionals to enable lenders to better segment qualified borrowers and improve operational pull-through.
The company recently published an analysis of the HARP 2.0 program, titled CoreLogic Identifies HARP 2.0 Winners and Losers, which can be found at http://www.corelogic.com/WinnersAndLosers. CoreLogic was the first to publish data calculating how many homeowners are in negative equity, also referred to as being underwater, in which a borrower owes more on his/her property than it is worth.
The CoreLogic HARP 2.0 services will provide identification of HARP-qualified borrowers to enhance lenders’ retention and acquisition efforts and fulfill day-to-day workflow requirements for underwriting, closing, and post-closing auditing and quality control. CoreLogic will supply HARP-specific teams, available as staff augmentation or full-component outsourcing, as part of the service.
Using proprietary predictive analytics, the CoreLogic service will help lenders determine how much of a volume increase they are likely to see due to HARP 2.0, which will enable them to approach the potential demand increase more strategically. Lenders will be able to gauge the likelihood and potential success of imminent refinance activity, staff accordingly and improve results by employing transaction-based outsourcing to help meet retention and acquisition targets.
“Over the past few years, mortgage companies have really been fighting a battle on two fronts. On one front, origination volumes have been down as the economy struggles to rebound,” says Scott A. Brinkley, senior vice president of Outsourcing and Technology Solutions for CoreLogic. “On the other front, servicers continue to wrestle with the complex elements associated with enhanced regulatory oversight and related compliance issues in the default space. The combination of these two realities has created operational strain on many organizations. We’ve positioned our service offerings in a manner that will allow us to seamlessly integrate our solutions within a lender’s decisioning and work-flow processes to help them better manage these spikes and spend more time and energy focusing on their core business operations,” says Brinkley.
CoreLogic HARP 2.0 services will provide deep, logic-based analysis for portfolio segmentation of the entire HARP-eligible population. Using additional data layers, such as searches for voluntary and involuntary lien information, lenders will gain greater clarity into accurate market opportunity and streamline the closing process.
According to Kevin Wall, senior vice president of Business and Information Services for CoreLogic, “the introduction of HARP 2.0 will place an additional capacity strain on an already taxed origination model. Difficulty maintaining a balanced infrastructure during this turbulent and uncertain market will test lenders’ ability to realize the overarching benefits of the program. Our solutions will assist lenders in identifying and prioritizing HARP-eligible borrowers and provide the capacity to move them effectively through the refinance process. Ultimately, this will enable them to execute at higher levels and with greater success.”
The CoreLogic HARP 2.0 services include:
• Data and analytics services for clearer identification of HARP-qualified borrowers for retention and acquisition, including lien searches to prevent challenges in closing.
• Underwriting services such as data verifications, including Uniform Residential Loan Application Form 1003 information, product eligibility and Automated Underwriting System (AUS) findings; income and asset verifications; collateral reviews for title, appraisal and Automated Valuation Modeling (AVM); fraud detection and investigation; and conditions management, assignment and review through loan approval.
• Closing services such as loan term validation, credit reporting, closing coordination and loan disbursements.
• Post-closing services, including LQI compliance solutions, post-close audits designed to ensure accuracy, reduce compliance risk of loan file, aid in discovery process of inefficiencies and provide loan file reviews and verification of essential loan file documentation.
For more information, visit: http://www.corelogic.com/HARPServices.
