Loan Selling Advisor September 2023 Updates
We’ve been busy making enhancements to Loan Selling Advisor® to help improve your loan delivery. See what’s new and coming.
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Important: ULDD Phase 4a Updates and Phase 5 Specification
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs) are updating the Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD) to align with current GSE requirements and support the continued improvement of loan delivery standards. The GSE announcement provides updates that align with the Enterprise Credit Score and Credit Reports Initiative requirements, the new Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6, and the Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide updates for Sellers and business critical needs. It also provides an overview of the Phase 4a updates.
Most updates have different effective dates. For additional information, please refer to the Summary of ULDD Phase 4a Updates and Phase 5 Specification and the ULDD webpage.
Auto Evaluate on Import Loan
When importing loans, the checkbox for “Evaluate the loans in this file at import” in Loan Selling Advisor will be pre-selected to help save you time. If you don’t want the loan to be evaluated at import, you may deselect the checkbox.
New Loan Delivery Rules Supporting the Duty to Serve Credit Fee Cap
We announced in Guide Bulletin 2023-16 and the subsequent Credit Fee Cap announcement on August 18, new warning messages were implemented in Loan Selling Advisor when you deliver a related Investor Feature Identifier (IFI) for Duty to Serve. These warning messages support certain requirements for the Duty to Serve Credit Fee Cap, as described in Guide Exhibit 19 , Credit Fees and in accordance with Guide Exhibit 19A, Credit Fee Cap Eligibility Criteria, Guide Exhibit 19A, Credit Fee Cap Eligibility Criteria.
Effective October 2, Freddie Mac will use the system-derived indicator for High Needs Rural Region (HNRR) to assess the Credit Fee Cap. A benefit of this change is you will no longer need to send the J85 identifier with these loans.
In December, the warning messages in Loan Selling Advisor will become Critical messages.
Initial Principal and Interest Payment Amount Conditionality Update
We updated the conditionality for ULDD Data Point Initial Principal and Interest Payment Amount (Sort ID 515.1) with the Phase 4a mandate. This data point will be required for purchase transaction loans when the HELOC Indicator (Sort ID 513) is “false” and the Loan Affordable Indicator (Sort ID 513.1) is “true.” It will not be required for delivery on every related loan as the conditionality is currently stated.
COMING SOON
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data Points Retirement Date Change
We previously announced that, effective November 6 for all newly imported loans, the current format for three specific ULDD datapoints will no longer be accepted and must use the new format. The retirement date for these data points and replacement with new datapoints has moved to October 23, 2023.
We encourage you to update your processes and systems for the updated data points.
On the effective date, start using the new MISMO v3.0 Data Point format and Sort IDs:
- Sort ID: 608.3 – HMDAGenderType
- Sort ID: 609.1 – HMDAEthnicityType
- Sort ID: 610.5 – HMDARaceType
For additional information, please refer to the Summary of ULDD Phase 4a Updates and Phase 5 Specification.
Improved Import Loan Processes When You Evaluate Unallocated Loans
In March, we announced our improved validation messages in Loan Selling Advisor when you import new loans and are not evaluating or allocating the loans to contracts.
Effective October 23, you’ll see these same improvements when you import and allocate new cash loans. This will continue to improve your loan delivery experience by ensuring your validation messages are more clear, accurate and actionable.
We’d love your feedback on these improvements and other enhancements you’d like to see in Loan Selling Advisor. Contact your Freddie Mac representative or our Customer Support Contact Center (800-FREDDIE) to share your feedback.
Auto Re-evaluate: Improvements to Modify and Evaluate
Effective October 2, we are improving the single-loan modification and evaluation capabilities in Loan Selling Advisor:
- From the View Import Results and View Evaluation Issues pages, you will be able to click the Seller Loan identifier to view and clear loan edits, one at a time.
- Adding a Save & Evaluate button to the Modify Loan page when you’re searching for a single loan search from:
- Homepage - Seller Loan ID
- Loan Pipeline Search using Seller Loan or Contract #
- Adding a Calculated Values tab (also known as slider bars) to the:
- Modify Loan page
- Evaluate Loan page
- View Loan page for loans
Enhancements to Cash Contracting: Mandatory
Coming this winter, you’ll see improvements in Loan Selling Advisor when creating or modifying a Cash Mandatory contract. Here’s what to expect:
- Reduction of the number of screens for Mandatory Take-out Cash contract flow (Retained and Released).
- Removal of the 15 second timer when creating and/or modifying contracts.
- Removal of some unused attributes such as prepayment type, remittance options and others.
- Redesign of the contract details page.
- Additional data validations/form validations on the Take-out contract screen and Modify screens.
- Addition of new tabs (also known as slider bars) in the Contract Details page to replace the existing Contract Options and Loan Options sections.
New Feature in Cash Rate Sheet
We’re enhancing the Loan Selling Advisor Cash Rate Sheets capabilities effective October 23. The changes include an “add template” feature where you can save your selection. This new enhancement will save time and mitigate operational risk by eliminating duplicative processes associated with requesting cash rate sheets.
Look for more information and training materials soon.
Upcoming Maintenance for Freddie Mac Technology Tools
On May 2, we communicated several upcoming extended maintenance windows for Loan Selling Advisor, our Selling APIs and XChange CenterSM as part of our ongoing efforts to improve the resilience of the tools you rely on. As we continue these efforts, we want to remind you of an upcoming maintenance window.
- From 11 p.m. ET on Friday, September 29 through 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 30. During this time, some features of Loan Selling Advisor will not be available.
Refer to our Technology System Status page for the most up-to-date information about the status of our technology tools. We encourage you to bookmark this page for future reference.
If you have any questions, contact your Freddie Mac representative or the Customer Support Contact Center (800-FREDDIE).
Loan Selling Advisor Warning and Critical Edits Comparing Data in LPA and Loan Quality Advisor®
We are introducing new purchase eligibility edits in Loan Selling Advisor for loans assessed by Loan Product Advisor® (LPASM) and Loan Quality Advisor. These data integrity checks can help you assess your compliance with Freddie Mac’s purchase eligibility guidelines and reduce the time you spend fixing delivery errors. Read more about these upcoming data types and the effective dates in our July 24 and August 18 announcements:
- Purchase Price Amount (net sales concessions) – Critical edit effective October 2
- Project Legal Structure Type – Warning edit effective October 2*, Critical edit effective January 1
- Secondary Financing – Critical edit to be implemented later this winter
*On August 18, we communicated effective October 2, critical purchase eligibility edits will fire in Loan Selling Advisor if ULDD Data Point Project Legal Structure Type (Sort ID 47) does not match the Uniform Loan Application Dataset (ULAD) Data Point Project Legal Structure Type (Unique ID 50.00) in LPA and ULDD Data Point Project Legal Structure Type (Sort ID 47) in Loan Quality Advisor– including when Project Legal Structure Type is blank. We have revised the timeline, and effective October 2, a Warning edit will fire, which will convert to a Critical edit effective January 1.
New Loan Selling Advisor Critical Edit for Application Received Date
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rulesrequire disclosures be provided before the borrower’s closing and settlement of the mortgage. Accordingly, in the first part of next year, we’re adding a new Critical edit to validate ULDD Data Point Application Received Date (Sort ID 224) is before ULDD Data Point Note Date (Sort ID 320).
Other Important News
Resources and Required Data Delivery Fields for First-Time Homebuyer Mortgages
Check out our on-demand training and other Client Education resources for more information:
- Deliver First-Time Homebuyer Data video
- Deliver First-Time Homebuyer Data, online help
- Refer to the Guide Exhibit 1 to assist you in making a First-Time Homebuyer determination.
Also, make sure you are taking advantage of our Duty-to-Serve First Time Homebuyer Credit Fee Cap to benefit your borrowers. The cap is applied based on data points delivered on ULDD within Loan Selling Advisor. Learn more on First Time Home Buyer Credit Fee caps in Guide Bulletin 2022-22.
You’re Invited to Participate in Our Auto Build 1034E Prototype Testing Program
Earlier this year, Freddie Mac initiated the development of the Auto Build 1034E feature with the goal of simplifying the batch certification process. As we approach the final stages of our design efforts, we’re excited to invite you to participate in our exclusive prototype testing program. We look forward to sharing with you a prototype solution that will improve your batch certification build process, allowing you to efficiently request the certification of multiple contracts at once. By participating in this program, you’ll have the opportunity to explore this feature firsthand and give valuable feedback on its usability, functionality, and any improvements you may suggest.
Click here to join the prototype testing program (SurveyMonkey Link).