FAQs: EarlyCheck

EarlyCheck was created in response to customer feedback regarding the need for assistance in identifying and correcting potential eligibility and/or data issues as early in the lender’s business process as possible. The goal is to help lenders identify potential problems prior to loan delivery.  Lenders may access the service at any point in their processes. The service is available for loans underwritten using Desktop Underwriter® (DU®), manually underwritten, and underwritten through a non-DU automated underwriting system (AUS).

To evaluate loans prior to closing or in the post-closing/secondary marketing stage, there are two access options:

• a web-based user interface; and
• a seamless interface that can be directly integrated with a lender’s loan origination system (LOS) and/or delivery/secondary systems.  

Visit Fanniemae.com for the current Master Vendor List of technology solution providers integrated with EarlyCheck. If your provider is not listed, contact them directly.

Currently, EarlyCheck accepts the following formats:

• Origination Files (ULAD) MISMO AUS 3.4
• Delivery File (ULDD) MISMO 3.0

Yes. If you are importing a delivery ULDD MISMO 3.0 file your file may contain more than one loan. Such a submission is considered a “batch” loan file submission. 

EarlyCheck contains hundreds of delivery edits,  including edits for SSN, occupancy, address and unit number and appraisal data; output of the standardized property address; calculation of key delivery fields (LTV, CLTV, DTI, monthly debt expense, monthly income); and edits for DTI limits, loan limits, required fields, and other basic eligibility and data integrity.  For conventional DU loans, EarlyCheck also includes a series of DU Compare edits, comparing loan data submitted to EarlyCheck with the data used in the most recent DU submission.  Edits for the loan delivery XML file format also include special feature code (SFC) edits.

EarlyCheck does not include product eligibility edits (loan terms, mortgage insurance coverage, etc.), customer contract and commitment pricing edits, and pooling rules.

No, lenders are not required to use EarlyCheck. However, Fannie Mae’s EarlyCheck™ service assists lenders in identifying and correcting potential eligibility and/or data issues as early as possible in a lender’s business process.

No, there is no usage fee associated with the edits that are currently available.

Depending on the file type used, EarlyCheck can be used at any point in the loan process. Potential process points to consider include underwriting, pre-closing, prior to funding correspondent loans, and as part of the post-closing/secondary marketing process.

Real-time results are available in a user-friendly report or data file. Loan-level results contain messages that highlight issues that need to be resolved (i.e., failed edits), the corresponding delivery severities and key result data (including key calculated values and the standardized subject property address). For DU loans, the results also show a comparison of the submitted loan data with the data used in the most recent DU submission.

EarlyCheck returns summary results for all loan delivery XML file submissions. The user is provided the ability to view loan-level detail.  

Each edit displayed within EarlyCheck will include one of the following severities:

• Fatal: describes edits that must be resolved, and that will prevent successful loan submission for delivery.
• Warning-to-Fatal: describes edits that are currently Warning in the Loan Delivery application but will soon be made Fatal. These edits should be corrected prior to submission for delivery.
• Warning: describes edits that should be corrected prior to submission at delivery, but will not prevent loan submission for delivery.
• Informational: describes edits that are currently inactive (in Loan Delivery) but are planned to become active with a severity of Warning in the near future.
• Observational: describes edits that provide information that may help lenders prepare the loan for delivery.

Yes, to the extent possible. For example, DU provides lenders with the SSN and address/unit number edits performed at delivery, but does not include the DU Compare edits and certain data integrity checks that do not apply to DU.

No, the service runs all possible edits based on the data provided.

EarlyCheck is available to approved Fannie Mae sellers. Registration for EarlyCheck is completed via the Technology Manager application.  Learn how to add new users and manage access here.

• When you click the “Download HTML” button to export the submission-level summary results in HTML format: integration response and UI download with Edit Summary, Submission Summary, and detailed Loan Level results in an HTML format
• When you click the “Download XML” button to export the submission-level summary results in XML format: integration response and UI download with Edit Summary, Submission Summary, and detailed Loan Level results in an XML format

To print your enhanced EarlyCheck results, you can use any of your browser print options (e.g., CTRL+P or right click and select Print; formatting may be required).

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