Written By: Theresa Furzland, Op-Ed Writer
I sat down at my computer tonight and thought I’d see how many acronyms I could rattle off the top of my head. Here is my 10 minute effort: (and if you know what they all stand for – you’ve been in this business too long!)
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RESPA TILA GFE GSE FACTA FNMA FHLMC FHA VA USDA RD CD REO DOM LTV CLTV HCLTV DTI VOE VOM VOR VOD W2 1099 4506 URAR URLA FHFA SAFE NMLS HVCC UAD UMPD IVPI GSE UCDP DELRAP PERS USPAP MISMO AVM ECOA FDIC NAMB MBA AMC QRM LO LP UW QE MBS SISA FICO HUD DU LP NAR CFBP OCC NAIHP LQI CC CTC ALTA HMDA
There are 66 – in case you’re interested.
This is of course not a complete list. I’m sure I could reach 100 if I really wanted to. I didn’t even try to go into lender name like BofA,WF,etc.etc.etc...
I also noticed as I was typing these up that a lot of “slang” or shortened terms came to mind also – Like App for application for example. App is actually now an accepted alternative for the word application and is added to the English dictionary. However the mortgage industry can’t take the credit for getting that in the dictionary. That honor goes to the computer industry. There is certainly no argument that the computer age has undoubtedly brought many “shortcuts” into our lives.
This whole exercise makes me wonder if these shortcuts we take are really beneficial. I don’t want to go so far as to say that progress is not good, because that isn’t true, but when we sacrifice quality for the sake of time or space then I feel that we are going in the wrong direction.
For example, we have learned that eating fast food or even frozen microwave food is not healthy in the long term for our bodies and as a result obesity is a serious health issue in America, however the time and money that is saved in comparison to preparing meals from scratch with natural ingredients is substantial. Is the trade off worth it?
Now compare this example with the progress that the mortgage industry has taken in the last 10 years or so. The convenience of automated underwriting systems, reduced documentation programs, “short cuts” in training, quality control and guideline shortcuts saving time and money....we all know where that has led us.
So the real question is, where do we find the balance? Obviously we all can’t go back to making our own bread and raising our own beef or even realistically buy fresh products every day. We also cannot continue to regulate home lending at the current rate and expect any real reform.
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What we need is some home grown common sense....
About The Author
Theresa Furzland - As an op-ed writer, Theresa Furzland has 25+ years of experience ranging from origination, processing, closing and post closing. She is currently a producing Branch Manager for LendSmart Mortgage, LLC and own and operate Willow Wood Mortgage Services, Inc.
