INDEPENDENCE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to help increase homeownership opportunities for first-time homeowners, Nations Lending has announced it will implement Fannie Mae’s positive rent payment history enhancement. The new feature enables Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) to use verification of asset (VOA) reports to identify recurring rent payments to potentially enhance the credit assessment of prospective, first-time home buyers.
This is a positive-only change to the risk assessment for a homebuyer. Rent payments absent from the asset report will not be counted against a homebuyer. Desktop Underwriter will attempt to identify consistent payment amounts of $300 or more per month for rent from the 12 months of transaction data appearing on the VOA. In the short time Nations Lending has used this new feature, the company has improved the loan eligibility recommendation by 40% for loan applications with a VOA report for the prior 12 months.
“At Fannie Mae, we believe that including positive rent payment history in the automated mortgage loan application process is a significant step toward knocking down barriers to homeownership,” said Cyndi Danko, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Single-Family Chief Credit Officer. “The response has been very positive, with many of our partners across the housing industry leaning in to support the program. We welcome the additional lenders who are embracing this option and making it available for potential first-time homebuyers.”
“Integrating rent payments as part of our risk assessment checks will help more Americans achieve the dream of purchasing their first home,” said Jeremy Sopko, CEO of Nations Lending. “A lot of landlords don’t report rent payment history to credit bureaus, so renters are impacted negatively. By analyzing rent payment history, we can help renters benefit from their timely rent payments.”
Since its founding in 2003, Nations Lending has become one of the fastest-growing independent lenders in the country. It retains nearly 100 percent of its mortgage servicing rights – the only way it could ensure a quality end-to-end experience for borrowers.
For more information, please visit www.nationslending.com.
About Nations Lending
Nations Lending Corporation™ is one of the fastest-growing mortgage lenders in the U.S. Headquartered in the Cleveland, Ohio area, it is licensed to lend in all 50 states and employs more than 1,200 at its corporate headquarters and throughout 134 branches across the U.S. The company makes its mission of "home loans. made human.™" an integral part of its mortgage experience, offering tailored customer service and a variety of programs to suit any home buyer's needs: FHA, VA, Conventional, Jumbo, USDA, and more. Nations is an agency-direct lender with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae and retains mortgage servicing rights on 96 percent of the loans it originates. The company is a two-time Inc. 5000 winner, which lists the fastest-growing privately held companies in the country. Nations was named a top-100 lender by National Mortgage Professional Magazine; a six-time winner of Scotsman Guide's Top Mortgage Lenders; and a Top Workplaces for Millennials winner by Fortune Magazine. Nations consistently ranks as a top IMB at National Mortgage Professional and Mortgage Executive Magazine. For more information, visit www.NationsLending.com.
