The Challenge

Soon after Day 1 Certainty® was announced in 2016, Police and Fire Federal Credit Union (PFFCU) leadership was quickly sold on the potential benefits that it and the Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) validation service offered through automated data validation, but their staff was hesitant. As with the adoption of any tool, they were concerned about the adjustments PFFCU would need to make in existing technology and processes, and how its borrowers would react to the changes.

The Solution

Collaboration & Learning

Based on a suggestion from their Fannie Mae relationship manager, the PFFCU lending team, led by Joseph Pazienza, PFFCU Senior Vice President, started a small income and employment verification pilot with experienced loan advisors. After seeing early success, they rolled out income and employment verification to their entire team, who became more comfortable with the results. Now they obtain income and employment validation for about 20 percent of their loans.

To widen their perspective of what is possible with Day 1 Certainty, PFFCU looked outside of its organization to hear about what others are doing. By participating in events, including roundtable discussions, PFFCU sparked conversation between several lenders regarding implementation and wins. PFFCU’s success with Day 1 Certainty has been amplified by their willingness to learn from each other and industry peers.

Technology Integration

PFFCU leveraged its vendor relationships to weave the DU validation service technology into its existing processes. To track hit rates and other Day 1 Certainty information, the staff created customized fields in their loan application using Ellie Mae’s Encompass™ Lending Platform. Now, they can analyze loans that receive Day 1 Certainty compared to other loans. Additionally, their borrowers’ verification information is stored in the Encompass e-folder, which helps decrease data entry errors. As a result of these changes PFFCU is able to scale their workforce during busy seasons by hiring seasonal staff who can be easily trained to use their system.

Empowering Loan Advisors to Satisfy Borrowers

DU validation service’s greatest benefit in Pazienza’s opinion is the confidence it provides to his staff when they speak to their borrowers. Loan advisors are able to give factual information to customers about their loan qualifications early in the loan process.

“Members love the instant validation,” Pazienza continued. “We tell them that they don’t have to get appraisals, and combined with income and employment validation, we already have much of the closing data right off the bat and it’s high-fives all around.”

To help their staff increase employment verifications, the PFFCU team compiled a list of employers they know are in The Work Number’s database. Loan advisors reference the list during their initial conversation with the borrower, to determine eligibility for employment verification.

The Result

By adopting Day 1 Certainty and the DU validation service, PFFCU is seeing positive results in satisfied customers and process efficiencies. The team’s ability to process 20 percent of loans with the DU validation service gives loan advisors extra time to spend on more complex cases. PFFCU’s conventional loans for first-time mortgages experience average turnaround three days faster than the industry average, reported in Ellie Mae’s 2018 October Origination Insight Report. Pazienza is thrilled with the efficiencies that Day 1 Certainty has brought the PFFCU staff and looks forward to seeing continued improvements.

*Customer comments are based on their own experiences with Day 1 Certainty. Reductions in cycle times may not be typical.