While it won't be available for more than a year, the government sponsored
enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have unveiled a new Uniform
Residential Loan Application (URLA). The
new form, for use in applying for a single-family mortgage, will contain the
first substantial revisions to the application in more than 20 years. In addition to applying for Fannie and Freddie's
mortgages the new form can be used for mortgages that are federally insured by
the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Veterans Administration (VA), or
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service (RHS).
The redesigned URLA resulted from collaboration of the two GSEs with
lenders, technology solution providers, mortgage insurers, trade associations,
housing advocates, borrower groups, and other industry participants and
consultation with the FHA, VA, RHS, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The GSEs have also created a common corresponding
dataset, called the Uniform Loan Application Dataset (ULAD) to ensure
consistency of data delivery.
Revisions made to the URLA form and
corresponding ULAD include:
- Redesigned format:
Improved navigation and organization that will support accurate data
collection, better efficiency and is more consumer-friendly.
- New and updated fields: Capture loan application details that reflect today's
mortgage lending business and support both the GSEs' and government
requirements. Among the new fields are those for mobile phone
numbers, email addresses, and military service information.
- Clearer instructions:
Simplified terminology enables borrowers to complete the loan application
with less help from the lender.
- Revised government monitoring information: Incorporates the revised Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
(HMDA) demographic questions.
A Spanish language version of the
form will soon be available as well.
Fannie Mae said the documents are being
published now to provide the industry with ample time to become familiarized
with the updates and plan necessary changes to their systems. Lenders may begin
using the redesigned URLA on January 1, 2018 and a timeline for mandatory use
will be forthcoming.
Samuel E. Oliver III, Vice President of Single Family Business
Transformation Management at Freddie Mac, said, "The redesigned URLA
allows much greater flexibility than in the past by acknowledging that not all
loan applications are the same. It does
a great job of capturing new data that aligns with the needs of Freddie Mac,
Fannie Mae, and other agencies, eliminating irrelevant underwriting data
fields, and displaying information in an easier-to-read format."
"The redesigned URLA is the result of extensive
collaboration with industry stakeholders," said Andrew Bon Salle, Executive
Vice President, Single-Family Business, Fannie Mae. "We are proud to be a part
of this effort that enables lenders to better serve their customers by
providing ease and clarity to borrowers during the loan origination process."
The GSEs said the announcement is
part of the Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP), a larger joint initiative
undertaken by the GSEs, under FHFA direction, to standardize single-family
mortgage data in the U.S.