Redesign Slated for Loan Forms
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced Wednesday a redesign for the standardized form borrowers use to apply for a loan, the first substantial revision in more than two decades. The changes to the Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) include simplified terminology and new data fields capturing borrower information in an easier-to-read format, the GSEs said. The forms will have clearer instructions so that borrowers will need less help from lenders.
“The redesigned URLA is the result of extensive collaboration with industry stakeholders,” says Andrew Bon Salle, Fannie Mae’s executive vice president of single-family business. “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.”
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have collaborated with lenders, technology solution providers, mortgage insurers, trade associations, and government agencies, among others, in creating the new forms. They also conducted consumer usability testing across the U.S. to gather feedback on the designs.
To allow ample time to adjust to the new forms, lenders won’t begin using them until Jan. 1, 2018, the GSEs said.
Source: Fannie Mae