CrossLand Mortgage Corp. is offering to approve home loans to Florida residents within 30 minutes, Fannie Mae announced.
The loans are available through CrossLand's statewide network of about 200 mortgage brokers and will be underwritten and approved electronically through Fannie Mae's Desktop Originator and Desktop Underwriter systems.
The linked systems can give product guidance, take an application, supply a rate lock, and deliver an approval in less than half an hour, Fannie said. They also integrate with lenders' existing networks and allow a full loan decision from application up to loan closing - including a streamlined, drive-by appraisal in some cases - in as little as two days on any conventional loan.
Automated appraisals that draw on data bases of housing prices have become a key element in the mortgage industry's efforts to reduce costs and the time needed for closings.
NanEtte Epperson, CrossLand's Southeast region vice president, said the new capability would let CrossLand expand both its own storefront mortgage operations and its links with mortgage brokers.
Robert Weiss, Fannie Mae's vice president for technology sales and marketing, said, "We believe our streamlined loan decision system will provide CrossLand and their network of mortgage brokers with a real competitive edge in making it easier, faster, and less expensive for consumers to get mortgages."
Mr. Weiss also noted that CrossLand, a unit of First Security Bank, Salt Lake City, had received certification from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to underwrite FHA mortgages electronically.
CrossLand will use Desktop Underwriter to underwrite FHA loans after Fannie Mae introduces the capability this year. The system now offers underwriting on loans bought by Fannie Mae, formally the Federal National Mortgage Association.
CrossLand is making an "800" number available for consumers seeking a mortgage broker in their area.
The company has more than 75 offices in various parts of the country, including the West, Northeast, and Florida. Its Florida operations are based in Bradenton. CrossLand ranked 50th nationally among mortgage servicers last year, with a portfolio of $9.5 billion.
