Mortgage Records: A Good Time to Review Storage Processes

Published On January 14, 2019

Do you know where your customers’ mortgage records are? Can you retrieve them quickly in the event that a borrower wants to refinance or convert an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate loan?

As a result of rising interest rates, conversions from adjustable rate loans to fixed rate loans and cash-out refinances could increase, and some prospective homeowners who are on the fence could be prompted to buy a home before rates inch up much higher. Given this potential upswing in demand, lenders will need to be able to access all mortgage records.

Storage System Needs

Your system needs to be able to collect and store all customer loan details, including communications with customers, data collected on customer finances, work history and the like. It also needs to be able to collect and store property details, including title, appraisal, property tax, insurance and other relevant information. The system must link the right customers with the right properties. All data collection and storage needs to be done in a secure manner, so that only authorized personnel have access.

Storage System Challenges

The mortgage files will grow as the loan ages. Paid tax receipts, payments made, late charges, communications regarding any delinquencies, monthly and annual statements, tax documents — these servicing history records and any other collateral material need to be added to the permanent file as they’re generated.

This is why your system needs to be able to scale with increasing documentation demands without losing any appreciable speed in retrieving parts of files or complete documentation whenever the loan is to be closed or modified, or when regulators or legal authorities (such as in disputed foreclosures) request such documents.

Third-Party Storage Assistance

With mortgages and servicing rights being packaged, sold and resold and documentation, speed and security demands expanding, the complexities of today’s mortgage market are beyond the scope of what most lenders can handle. They need to concentrate on developing, marketing and closing on mortgages, along with servicing them (if servicing is retained), getting the best return on sales of servicing rights and other details involved in mortgage business.

So, it’s wise to leave the minutiae of collecting, storing and retrieving mortgage records to a professional firm with long and deep expertise in financial services, as well as the scalable technology to meet your organization’s changing needs.