Patent Publication Number: US-7593893-B1

Title: Computerized systems and methods for facilitating the flow of capital through the housing finance industry

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/331,680, filed on Dec. 30, 2002, which is a divisional of, and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/593,106, filed on Jun. 13, 2000. This application is also a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/736,399, filed on Dec. 15, 2003 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/488,785, filed on Jun. 21, 2003. This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/640,511, filed on Dec. 30, 2004. Each of the above-referenced applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates generally to computerized systems and methods for facilitating the flow of capital through the housing finance industry. More particularly, the present invention relates to computerized systems and methods that may be used in connection with one or more of mortgage qualification, application, approval, underwriting and pricing. 
   When considering the purchase or refinance of a home, potential home buyers consult mortgage lenders such as mortgage companies, savings and loans institutions, credit unions, state and local housing finance agencies or the like to obtain the funds necessary to purchase or refinance their homes. These lenders, who make (originate and fund) mortgage loans directly to home buyers, comprise the “primary mortgage market.” 
   When a mortgage is made in the primary mortgage market, the lender has several options which include: (i) holding the loan as an investment in its portfolio; (ii) selling the loan to investors in the “secondary mortgage market” (which includes financial institutions, pension funds, insurance companies, securities dealers, and various other investors) to replenish its supply of funds; or (iii) packaging the loan with other loans and exchanging them for securities like mortgage backed securities which provide lenders with a liquid asset to hold or sell to the secondary market. By choosing to sell its mortgage loans to the secondary mortgage market, or by selling the mortgage backed securities, lenders get a new supply of funds to make more home mortgage loans, thereby assuring home buyers a continual supply of mortgage credit. 
   A secondary mortgage market purchaser finances the loans and mortgage backed securities it buys for its own mortgage portfolio by the sale of debt securities in the global capital markets. Working with investment banks, the purchaser sells its debt to both domestic and international investors such as central banks, pension funds, investment funds, commercial banks, and insurance companies. 
   In the housing finance industry, a need exists for new systems and methods to make the process of buying a home quicker, easier and less costly. Particularly, a need in the industry exists for a loan platform that would (i) enable non-traditional players to originate loans without having to build the requisite infrastructure, (ii) streamline the loan process to provide a positive consumer experience, (iii) lower the cost of the loan origination process and reduce the costs and uncertainty associated with managing credit risk, and (iv) create a competitive pricing structure where specific components of the costs and fees associated with the loan may, at the borrower&#39;s option, be aggregated or “bundled” with the loan principal. 
   Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and process which provide a potential borrower with (i) a meaningful and readily understandable, real time, anonymous assessment of the likelihood of being approved for a loan based on limited information provided by the potential borrower without the need to obtain a credit report or a collateral appraisal, (ii) an online, real time, firm underwriting decision on each loan product offered by the lender for which the borrower is eligible, regardless of whether or not the borrower has identified actual collateral (e.g., real property) for the loan, (iii) the opportunity to aggregate closing costs with the loan principal, (iv) an interest rate and points specific to the potential borrower based on the credit risk to the lender and secondary mortgage market purchaser posed by the borrower in connection with the loan products for which the borrower is eligible, (v) reduced loan fees and costs resulting from requiring only limited appraisal field work or no appraisal field work (or the waiver of certain processing steps based on the purpose of the transaction and the loan product types requested), as appropriate, and (vi) reduced documentation verification requirements. It is also desirable to provide systems and processes that minimize the uncertainty faced by the loan originator when dealing with the secondary mortgage market by providing the loan originator with the acquisition price it may expect to receive for an individual loan (not an aggregate of loans) in the secondary market from the secondary mortgage market purchaser. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with an embodiment, an online system for identifying and pricing a mortgage loan that meets a predetermined business objective of a mortgage market participant, the mortgage loan having borrower and loan data, includes a business objective database configured to store a set of loan characteristics for at least one business objective of the mortgage market participant, and an underwriting engine coupled to the business objective database, the underwriting engine configured to receive loan application data via an online network, the loan application data including financial information regarding a borrower, to provide an underwriting approval status for the mortgage loan, to identify if the mortgage loan is a business objective mortgage loan by comparing the loan application data to the set of loan characteristics for the at least one business objective and if the mortgage loan is a business objective mortgage loan, to determine a business objective pricing component for the mortgage loan. 
   In accordance with another embodiment, a computer implemented method for identifying and pricing a mortgage loan that meets a predetermined business objective of a mortgage market participant using an online computer network, the computer network including a database storing a set of loan characteristics for at least one business objective of the mortgage market participant includes receiving loan application data via the online computer network user interface, the loan application data including financial information regarding a borrower, comparing the loan application data to the set of loan characteristics for the at least one business objective to identify if the mortgage loan is a business objective mortgage loan, and if the mortgage loan is a business objective mortgage loan, determining a business objective pricing component. 
   In accordance with another embodiment, a method for identifying and pricing a mortgage loan that is targeted to serve a predefined class of borrowers based on housing goals defined by a government regulation using an online computer network, the computer network including a database storing a set of loan data characteristics based on at least one government regulation, includes receiving loan application data for a mortgage loan via the online computer network, the loan application data including property data and financial information regarding a borrower, comparing the loan application data to the set of loan data characteristics for the at least one government regulation to identify if the mortgage loan is targeted to serve the predefined class of borrowers or if the mortgage loan is made in a predefined geography. If either or both of these conditions is met, a housing goals pricing component is determined. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a fuller understanding, reference is had to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of the system constructed and arranged according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 2   a  is a high-level flow chart depicting the process flow according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIGS. 2   b - 2   u  depict exemplary computer display screens illustrating the process flow depicted in  FIG. 2   a;    
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart depicting the probable qualification calculation process according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIGS. 4-13  depict exemplary computer display screens used in connection with the probable qualification calculation process according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIGS. 14   a - 14   c  are flow charts depicting the process interaction of the underwriting engine and the pricing engine according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 15  is a flow chart depicting the risk-based pricing process according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 16  is a flow chart depicting the process steps of calculating the customer risk-based price component in connection with the pricing process according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 17  is a flow chart depicting the process steps of retrieving the risk-based guaranty fee in connection with the pricing process according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIGS. 18   a - 18   b  are flow charts depicting the process steps of generating a spot price according to an exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 19  is a flow chart of the underwriting and pricing process including determining a business objective pricing component according to an exemplary embodiment. 
       FIGS. 20   a - 20   b  are flow charts of an exemplary process to identify business objective loans meeting HUD housing goals according to an exemplary embodiment. 
       FIG. 21  is a flow chart of a process for determining a business objective price component according to an exemplary embodiment. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   System and processes are disclosed that provide potential borrowers with the means to first ascertain the likelihood that they will be eligible for a loan (e.g., a mortgage loan) in real time over a global computer network, such as, for example, the Internet, and to apply for, and perhaps obtain, a loan online. Although discussed herein in the context of mortgage loans, it should be understood that the systems and methods are not limited to mortgage loans, but have application with respect to other types of loans. 
     FIG. 1  depicts a simplified schematic illustration of a system, generally indicated at  10 , which includes the component elements and means necessary to effect and control the various process steps as described hereinafter. Desirably, and where appropriate, system  10  utilizes existing computer capabilities, both hardware and software, and electronic communications links, for example, to display loan information to a potential borrower and to receive and process, in real time, data input by the potential borrower. 
   System  10  includes a computer server  12  which includes a processor  14 . Server  12  has electronic access to a database  16  containing control files  18  also known as look up tables. Server  12  operates under the control of computer software to carry out the steps described in greater detail hereinafter. The computer software includes a probable qualification calculator  20 , a pricing engine  22 , an underwriting engine  24 , and a collateral assessment module  26  within the underwriting engine, each a set of software objects and/or program elements collectively having the ability to execute independently in a separate thread or logical chain of process execution, while permitting the flow of data inputs therebetween. Calculator  20 , engines  22  and  24 , and module  26  can each be executed as a separate logical server or using a separate physical device. However, for lenders and potential borrowers, server  12  preferably operates as a single logical server. Server  12  may include other engines (e.g., functional programs configured to assist or complete a functional task) for facilitating various stages of a mortgage loan process (e.g., originating and providing loans in a primary market and selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of a loan in the secondary market) such as a loan processing and closing engine, an engine for commitment, selling, funding and delivery, an administrative engine, a disclosure document generation engine, a service ordering engine, a customer satisfaction services engine, a lending practices analysis engine, a mortgage insurance routing engine, a servicing rights routing engine and an investor sales routing engine. Preferred embodiments of such engines are described in detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/736,399, filed Dec. 15, 2003, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
   Server  12  is electronically coupled to a remote server  28  on the lender side. Server  28  is coupled to a user interface  30  including conventional input and display devices  32  and  34 , respectively. Interface  30  is preferably a remote interface coupled to server  28  via a publicly accessible global computer network. A common example of such a network is the Internet. Other remote user interfaces may be coupled to server  12  on the secondary market side or server  28  on the lender side to provide access to system  10  to various users of system  10 . For example, user interface  30  may include a consumer user interface, an advisor user interface, a call center user interface, a pipeline manager user interface, an access administrator user interface, a platform administrator user interface, a closing agent user interface, an attorney user interface, a realtor user interface, a property seller user interface, an appraisal service user interface, a hazard insurance user interface and a servicing agent user interface. An investor user interface may also be provided. The user interface typically provide a display such as Web pages, computer programs, etc. and may be used to provide a different customized interface to each participant in the mortgage process. Various exemplary user interfaces are described in detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/736,399, filed Dec. 15, 2003, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
   Users of system  10  include potential borrowers or consumers (e.g., home buyers), loan originators, which may be conventional lenders such as mortgage companies, savings and loans or other lending institutions, other loan originators, loan servicers, secondary mortgager market investors, document providers, appraisers, mortgage insurance providers, hazard insurance providers, attorneys, property sellers, realtors, closing agents and others. Desirably, the loan originators also include prospects in the mortgage lending business. As mentioned above, a different, customized interface is preferably provided for each of these participants, including different periods of access and different levels of access. 
   On a conceptual level, system  10  performs three functions: (i) identifying available loan products to potential borrowers, (ii) evaluating the loan application, and (iii) facilitating the sale of the mortgage loan to the secondary mortgage market purchaser. As described in greater detail hereinafter, the loan product identification function involves (a) calculating sample interest rates for presentation to potential borrowers to entice them to use system  10 , as well as, (b) assessing a potential borrower&#39;s likelihood of being approved for a loan. The loan application evaluation function of system  10  involves underwriting and pricing the loan based on the potential borrower&#39;s specific financial profile and other relevant characteristics. The function of committing or selling the individual loan in the secondary mortgage market involves the determination of a spot price for presentation to the loan originator. 
   Although functionally distinct, it should be understood that the foregoing three functions preferably overlap when it comes to the flow of data inputs through system  10  in order to avoid requiring the borrower to enter the same core data more than once. For example, information input by the potential borrower and used by probable qualification calculator  20  as described in greater detail hereinafter can be used to populate the loan application and can be used by underwriting engine  24 , pricing engine  22 , and collateral assessment module  26  to effect their respective functions within system  10 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 2   a , the prospect or other loan originator preferably displays generic interest rates (together with an assumptive rate sheet, i.e., current mortgage rates) on its Internet web site or the like to entice online mortgage shoppers to access the web site (step  50 ). The generic interest rates (“enticement rates”) displayed are not intended to be borrower specific, but are calculated by pricing engine  22  and provided to the loan originator as representative, for example, of interest rates that a “typical” borrower may expect to receive, or rates that a fictitious highly qualified borrower may expect to receive, as described in greater detail hereinafter.  FIG. 2   b  depicts an example of a computer Internet interface screen displaying enticement rates. 
   Once enticed into accessing the loan originator&#39;s web site (step  52 ), the potential borrower is given the option of proceeding immediately with an online loan application or first determining his/her likelihood of being approved for a loan (decision  54 ). If the borrower opts to first ascertain the likelihood of being approved for a loan, system  10  preferably provides the potential borrower with an exploratory, self-assessment tool driven by probable qualification calculator software  20 , as discussed in greater detail hereinafter. 
   Unlike conventional Internet mortgage web sites which offer housing affordability calculators, system  10  through its probable qualification calculator software  20  is designed to provide the potential borrower with an anonymous, risk-free and cost-free assessment of the percentage likelihood of approval for a mortgage loan (step  56 ). This is not a mere affordability calculation such as is common in conventional mortgage web sites. It should be understood, however, that probable qualification calculator  20  can be provided in tandem with a conventional affordability calculator. 
   Generally speaking, from the perspective of a potential borrower, there are distinct benefits associated with having probable qualification calculator  20  available for self-assessment purposes prior to undergoing a full online loan approval process. As discussed in greater detail hereinafter, calculator  20  can be utilized anonymously, because personal information about the borrower is not collected and a credit report from a credit reporting agency is not required to estimate the probability of mortgage loan approval. Also, the potential borrower can use calculator  20  without a specific property to evaluate. Furthermore, calculator  20  permits the borrower to compare the probability of approval for different loan “scenarios” by iteratively selecting different combinations of down payment, sales price, liquid assets, income, loan purpose, and mortgage product. Calculator  20  can be used without cost to the potential borrower since neither a credit report nor an appraisal is required for the estimation of an approval probability; rather, the borrower need only provide responses to a short online questionnaire which is designed to take only minutes to complete. 
   Once the potential borrower has ascertained the likelihood of being approved for a loan, the borrower may elect to terminate his/her online loan session or to proceed with an online loan application (decision  58 ). If the potential borrower does not wish to proceed with a loan application, the session ends (event  59 ). 
   If the potential borrower decides to proceed with a loan application (either at decision  54  or decision  58 ), system  10  captures the loan purpose (i.e., purchase or refinance) and other requested information input by the potential borrower including the borrower&#39;s and each co-borrower&#39;s name and social security number, address, employment, income, assets and current loans (step  60 ). In a preferred embodiment of the system and process, up to four (4) co-borrowers may be included on the loan application. 
   System  10  also assigns a unique identifier or casefile ID for the lender and loan application and requests authorization to obtain a credit report on the borrower.  FIGS. 2   c  through  2   o , depict examples of Internet display screens used to capture requisite information for the loan application process for both purchase and refinance loans, and to permit the potential borrower the opportunity to verify such information. 
   It should be understood that certain of the information for the loan application may be captured automatically from information already entered by the potential borrower in connection with the probable qualification process. This avoids the burden of having the potential borrower enter the same data more than once. 
   Preferably, system  10  automatically verifies information entered by the potential borrower concerning the address of the real property that is intended to underlie the loan being applied for (“address scrubbing”). As discussed in greater detail hereinafter, the verified address is preferably used to retrieve the statistical predicted value for available loans which is fed to collateral assessment module  26  during the underwriting process and is used to determine the requisite level of appraisal field work (i.e., waived, exterior-only inspection, or interior and exterior inspection). Also, system  10  preferably obtains the county in which the property is located as well as Metropolitan Statistical Area information for the address (“geocoding”). This information may be used to extract Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) median income information to help determine if the borrower could be eligible for alternative loan products. It should be understood that, by performing the address scrubbing and geocoding prior to the underwriting process described below, the actual underwriting and pricing of the loan will process faster. 
   With the permission of the potential borrower received, system  10  obtains a credit report on the borrower (step  62 ). Preferably, as discussed in greater detail hereinafter, the borrower&#39;s real estate tradelines (e.g., outstanding mortgages, home equity loans) are extracted from the credit report and provided to the loan originator. They are also displayed to the potential borrower for review and correction/explanation, if necessary. 
   With all the requisite credit and other information input, the loan application is submitted for underwriting and pricing (step  64 ), as described in greater detail hereinafter. Generally, underwriting engine  24  determines product eligibility based on preselected/preprogrammed rules. Underwriting engine  24  calls pricing engine  22  for the interest rate and point combination for each loan product. 
   The product affirmatively selected by the borrower ( FIGS. 2   j  and  2   k ), is desirably underwritten first. Underwriting engine  24  will also underwrite the borrower for all available loan products (decision  65 ) and determine those products for which the borrower is approved (decision  66 ). The response to the loan originator is all of the approved products and their associated interest rate quotes (step  68 ,  FIGS. 2   p  and  2   q ). It should be appreciated that this allows the borrower to review all of the information, compare loan products and interest rate quotes (e.g., side-by-side), and select the loan that best fits the borrower&#39;s needs (step  74 ,  FIG. 2   r ). 
   Preferably, during underwriting, underwriting engine  24  also executes a process to determine for each approved product (i) the minimum amount of verification documentation required, (ii) the selected loan underwriting parameters (e.g., maximum loan amount, maximum loan amount for bundling closing costs and minimum refinance amount), and (iii) the maximums and minimums used to tailor the interest rate quote (maximum schedule interest rate and maximum number of points) and maximum interest rate approved for float up to a preselected increase over a current approved rate. 
   Additionally, during underwriting, underwriting engine  24  executes the collateral assessment module  26  to determine the required level of appraisal field work (i.e., waived, exterior-only property inspection, or interior and exterior property inspection). Preferably, collateral assessment module  26  will also compare the statistical predicted value retrieved earlier in the property assessment process against the purchase price or estimated appraisal value of the underlying real property. An appraisal will be waived if the purchase price or estimated appraisal value is accepted. 
   As described in greater detail hereinafter, in the event that the borrower is not approved for any loans, the loan originator is preferably provided with information from underwriting engine  24  identifying problem areas with respect to the borrower&#39;s application and suggested areas for improving the borrower&#39;s chances for approval (e.g., lower loan amount or reduce debt), and the borrower may be referred to a help center to receive the benefit of such information and suggestions (step  70 ). Additionally, the HUD median income information provided during the property assessment process may be used to determine if the borrower is eligible for other types of loan products. Also, in the event that no approved products are returned, the borrower is preferably given the opportunity to review, amend and resubmit the loan application (decision  71 ) prior to the end of the session on system  10  (step  72 ). If the borrower opts to amend the loan application, the process returns to step  64  and the amended loan application is re-submitted for underwriting and pricing. 
   With the borrower approved and the selected loan captured by system  10  (step  74 ,  FIG. 2   s ), the options for aggregating lender fees (i.e., the loan originator&#39;s actual out-of-pocket fees and expenses and a prorated portion of overhead expenses and reasonable profit associated with loan origination and closing) and core closing costs (i.e., all settlement and closing costs and fees including title search/abstract costs, title examination fees, title insurance fees, etc.) with the loan principal are captured (step  75 ). The borrower is then asked to register with the prospect or loan originator (step  76 ,  FIG. 2   t ). Registering with the prospect/loan originator provides the borrower with the ability to (i) specify a lock option (e.g., float or lock) as described in greater detail below, (ii) check on loan status (e.g., documentation received?, appraisal completed, if required?, title search completed?). It should be understood that, if the borrower is floating, he/she can request a current “live” rate quote for the selected product at any time. 
   Once loan approval is secured and the interest rate is locked in (step  78 ), the loan qualification and application process is complete and a closing date is set (step  80 ).  FIG. 2   u  depicts an exemplar of an Internet display screen congratulating the borrower on the successful completion of the online loan application. 
   Additionally, the loan originator may wish to sell the loan to a secondary mortgage market purchaser in the secondary market. Upon receiving a request to sell the individual loan, pricing engine  22  calculates a live (“spot”) sales price for delivery to the loan originator in a manner described in greater detail hereinafter (step  84 ). It should be understood that the loan originator may initiate a request for a spot sales price for the loan in the system pipeline at any time after the loan has been rate locked in order to value the individual loan in the secondary mortgage market without selling the loan. However, the loan cannot be sold until it is closed. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 3 through 13 , in a preferred embodiment, probable qualification calculator  20  carries out a four stage process to return a probable qualification assessment to a potential borrower. As discussed in greater detail below, the first stage of the process involves soliciting the potential borrower&#39;s responses to questions presented in an online questionnaire, and, based on initial responses, determining whether the borrower meets the eligibility requirements for the type of loan(s) being considered. With eligibility requirements satisfied, the second stage of the process involves translating the potential borrower&#39;s responses to the online questionnaire into a proxy credit score. The third stage involves assigning a statistical weight to the proxy credit score and assigning weights to responses entered concerning non-credit related loan characteristics. The values of all of the weights for the individual characteristic responses are then added together and converted into a probability. The fourth and final stage of the process involves mapping the calculated probability to an empirically determined range of underwriting approval rates. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , the potential borrower completes and submits to the loan originator an electronic or online questionnaire which requires the potential borrower to provide certain personal information as well as the purpose of the loan (step  100 ). Other information solicited in the questionnaire may include, but is not necessarily limited to, the property type (e.g., single family dwelling), the potential borrower&#39;s employment status (e.g., self-employed?), assets, annual income, monthly debt, and the number of times the potential borrower was late on credit over the previous several years. Preferably, several of the initial questions are used to determine whether the loan meets eligibility guidelines of the secondary mortgage market purchaser. 
   The questionnaire identifies loan factors and borrower characteristics that are used to provide an approval recommendation within existing underwriting schemes. Such factors are identified by employing statistical regression techniques applied to a historical sample of underwriting submissions with valid recommendations. Once the most influential factors are isolated and identified, the questionnaire is composed to capture this information from the potential borrower. 
   A representative sample of questions and formats requested for probable qualification calculator  20  in the online questionnaire is reproduced in Table 1 below. 
   
     
       
         
             
             
             
             
           
             
               TABLE 1 
             
             
                 
             
             
                 
                 
               Text for Field Description in 
                 
             
             
               Data Item 
               Field 
               Web Page 
               Data Format 
             
             
                 
             
           
          
             
                1 
               Loan Purpose 
               Type of home loan 
               1 = Purchase 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               2 = Refinance 
             
             
                2a 
               Current 
               What is your current mortgage 
               Dollar amount 
             
             
                 
               Mortgage 
               balance? 
             
             
                 
               Balance 
             
             
                3b 
               Property 
               Purchase price 
               Dollar amount 
             
             
                 
               Value 
             
             
                3a 
               Property 
               What is the current value of the 
               Dollar amount 
             
             
                 
               Value 
               property? 
             
             
                4b 
               Funds for 
               Funds for down payment and closing 
               Dollar amount 
             
             
                 
               Down 
               costs 
             
             
                 
               Payment and 
             
             
                 
               Closing Costs 
             
             
                4a 
               Loan Amount 
               What is the loan amount? 
               Dollar amount 
             
             
                5 
               Property Type 
               Is the property a Condominium? 
               0 = No Condo 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               1 = Condo 
             
             
                6 
               Property 
               I will use the home as . . . 
               1 = Primary residence 
             
             
                 
               Usage 
                 
               2 = Second home 
             
             
                7 
               Loan Type 
               Loan type 
               1 = 30 Year Fixed rate 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               2 = 15 Year Fixed rate 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               3 = Adjustable Rate Mortgage 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               4 = Balloon 
             
             
                8 
               Number of 
               How many borrowers will be on the 
               1 = One 
             
             
                 
               Borrowers 
               home loan application? 
               2 = Two 
             
             
                9 
               Self 
               Are any of the borrowers self- 
               0 = No 
             
             
                 
               Employed 
               employed? 
               1 = Yes 
             
             
               10 
               liquid Assets 
               Current Cash Value of Assets 
               Dollar amount 
             
             
               11 
               Annual 
               Annual income 
               Dollar amount 
             
             
                 
               Income of all 
             
             
                 
               Borrowers 
             
             
                 
               Combined 
             
             
               12 
               Monthly Debt 
               Total monthly debt payments not 
               Dollar amount 
             
             
                 
               Payments 
               including current home loan or rent 
             
             
                 
               payment. 
             
             
               13 
               Bankruptcies, 
               During the past 10 years have you filed 
               0 = No 
             
             
                 
               foreclosures, 
               for bankruptcy, had a home foreclosed, 
               1 = Yes 
             
             
                 
               tax liens or 
               had a tax lien filed against you, or had 
             
             
                 
               garnishments 
               your income garnished by a creditor? 
             
             
               14 
               First Credit 
               When did you open your very first 
               1 = Less than 1 year ago 
             
             
                 
               Account 
               credit account? 
               2 = From 1 up to 2 years ago 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               3 = Greater than 2 up to 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               5 years ago 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               4 = Greater than 5 up to 10 yrs ago 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               5 = More than 10 years ago 
             
             
               15 
               Credit 
               How many new credit accounts have 
               1 = Fewer than 5 
             
             
                 
               Accounts 
               you opened in the past 2 years? 
               2 = 5 or more 
             
             
               16 
               Late on 
               When was the last time you were more 
               1 = Never delinquent 
             
             
                 
               Credit 
               than a month late on a credit account 
               2 = less than 1 year ago 
             
             
                 
               payment? 
               3 = From 1 up to 3 years ago 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               4 = Greater than 3 up to 7 yrs ago 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               5 = More than 7 years ago 
             
             
               17 
               Number of 
               How many times during the last 7 
               0 = 0 
             
             
                 
               Times late on 
               years have you been more than one 
               1 = 1 
             
             
                 
               credit 
               month late on a credit account 
               2 = 2 
             
             
                 
                 
               payment? 
               3 = 3 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               4 = 4 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               5 = 5 or more 
             
             
               18 
               Credit Limits 
               What is the approximate total dollar 
                  0-10,000 
             
             
                 
                 
               amount of your current borrowing 
               10,001-20,000 
             
             
                 
                 
               power? (i.e. sum of credit limits on all 
               20,001-30,000 
             
             
                 
                 
               credit cards) 
               30,001-50,000 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               over 50,000 
             
             
               19 
               Credit 
               What is the approximate total dollar 
                  0-1,000 
             
             
                 
               Utilization 
               amount of money you have currently 
                1,001-3,500 
             
             
                 
                 
               borrowed? This is the sum of all your 
                3,501-10,000 
             
             
                 
                 
               outstanding credit card balances. 
               10,001-20,000 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               over 20,000 
             
             
               20 
               Interest Rate 
               Interest Rate 
               Range of 50% to 10% in 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               25 basis point increments 
             
             
                 
             
          
         
       
     
   
   With the potential borrower&#39;s initial information and loan purpose input, the process proceeds to decision  102  which queries whether the loan purpose is a purchase or a refinance. If the loan purpose is a refinance, the potential borrower is prompted to enter refinance and home information (step  104   a ); if the loan purpose is a purchase, the borrower is prompted to enter purchase and home information (step  104   b ). As shown in Table 1, the questions differ depending on the loan purpose, i.e., purchase or refinance (data item  1 ). For example, referring to Table 1, if the loan is a purchase, data items  3   b  and  4   b  should be presented to the potential borrower. If the loan is a refinance, data items  2   a ,  3   a , and  4   a  should be presented. 
   Prior to the completion of the data entry, data inputs are checked for validity for both refinance or purchase loans (steps  106   a,b ). For example, the amount entered in response to system  10 &#39;s request for the current cash value of the potential borrower&#39;s assets (data item  10  in Table 1) must be equal to or greater than the amount entered for funds for down payment and closing costs (data item  4   b ). When the potential borrower enters a value for the current cash value of assets, system  10  checks it against the amount for down payment and closing costs. If the current value of assets is insufficient, a message along the lines of the following message is preferably displayed to the potential borrower:
         “The current cash value of assets must be greater than or equal to the funds for down payment and closing costs. Please check these two amounts.”       

   Thus, if all inputs are not valid, the process revisits steps  104   a,b . If all inputs are valid, the process moves to steps  108   a,b  and sets the loan purpose as either refinance (step  108   a ) or purchase (step  108   b ), as appropriate. 
   With the loan purpose set as either refinance (step  108   a ) or purchase (step  108   b ), and prior to the completion of the data input, system  10  determines whether or not the loan meets preselected eligibility requirements of the secondary mortgage market purchaser (steps  110   a,b ,  112   a,b ). This is accomplished by using the first several responsive data inputs to the online questionnaire to compare product, purpose, occupancy, and calculated loan-to-value ratio (“LTV”) to the secondary mortgage market purchaser&#39;s preselected underwriting guidelines which are retrievably stored in system database  16 . LTV is preferably derived as follows:
 
LTV when loan purpose is purchase=1−(down payment amount/purchase price)
 
LTV when loan purpose is refinance=loan amount/property value
 
   A loan may be designated ineligible under preselected underwriting guidelines for one of two reasons. The first reason is that the product, purpose, and occupancy selected are ineligible. The second reason is that the maximum LTV for the specific product, purpose and occupancy selected is restricted. The guidelines depicted in Table 2 below list representative maximum LTV&#39;s for each product, purpose, and occupancy type that fall within the scope of preselected requirements. 
   
     
       
         
             
             
             
             
             
           
             
                 
               TABLE 2 
             
             
                 
                 
             
             
                 
               Product 
               Purpost 
               Occupancy 
               LTV % 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
          
             
                 
               Fixed Rate 
               Purchase 
               Primary Residence 
               97.00 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               Second Home 
               95.00 
             
             
                 
                 
               Refinance 
               Primary Residence 
               90.00 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               Second Home 
               90.00 
             
             
                 
               ARM 
               Purchase 
               Primary Residence 
               95.00 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               Second Home 
               95.00 
             
             
                 
                 
               Refinance 
               Primary Residence 
               90.00 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               Second Home 
               90.00 
             
             
                 
               Balloon 
               Purchase 
               Primary Residence 
               95.00 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               Second Home 
               95.00 
             
             
                 
                 
               Refinance 
               Primary Residence 
               90.00 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               Second Home 
               90.00 
             
             
                 
                 
             
          
         
       
     
   
   If the potential borrower enters a combination of factors that is ineligible, the borrower is notified immediately of the ineligibility and is prompted to either change the selection or call a help center for assistance (action  116 ). It should be understood that this allows the potential borrower to change the response to a previous question and then continue on with the probable qualification process. If the potential borrower passes the eligibility screening, the borrower then is permitted to continue on with the probable qualification assessment and receives no eligibility feedback. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 3 , system  10  accepts credit related information inputs concerning the potential borrower (step  120 ). As with previous information inputs, the credit information inputs are checked for validity (decision  122 ). If inputs are not valid, the process revisits step  120 . If all inputs are valid, the process continues to step  128 . 
   At step  128 , the borrower information submitted is evaluated in real time and calculator  20  calculates (before an actual loan application is submitted) the probability that the potential borrower will be approved for a loan. It should be appreciated that, contrary to common practice, this prequalification process is accomplished without the need to obtain a credit report on the potential borrower. Rather, as described in greater detail below, the potential borrower&#39;s responses to the questionnaire are translated by computer software into a “proxy” credit score, statistical weights are assigned to the loan characteristics, and the result is then converted into the probability of obtaining a loan approval. 
   Since a credit report is not obtained, a credit score is approximated by calculator  20  based on the potential borrower&#39;s responses to the questions seeking information regarding payment history and history of credit problems, such as bankruptcy, foreclosures, tax liens, or garnishments (data item  13 ). Preferably, a proxy credit score is calculated differently for potential borrowers who have indicated in their response to the credit questions that they have been late on a credit payment in the recent past (for example, within the previous seven years) and those who did not. 
   For borrowers without a history of credit delinquency, the proxy credit score is preferably calculated as follows:
 
Proxy Credit Score(w/out delinquencies)=578+weight for credit utilization+weight for number of accounts+weight for age of credit history+weight for public records
 
   For borrowers with a history of credit delinquency, the proxy credit score is preferably calculated as follows:
 
Proxy Credit Score (with delinquencies)=525+weight for credit utilization and age of delinquency+weight for number of accounts+weight for age of credit history+weight for public records
 
   Using data obtained from the borrower questionnaire, the credit utilization ratio (the desired percentage of credit utilized) is preferably calculated as the dollar amount of credit used/dollar amount of total credit limit. 
   
     
       
         
           
             Percentage 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             of 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             Credit 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             Used 
           
           = 
           
             
               Dollar 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               Amount 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               of 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               Credit 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               Balances 
             
             
               Dollar 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               Amount 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               of 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               Total 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               Credit 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               Limits 
             
           
         
       
     
   
   The options presented to the potential borrower by system  10  for the dollar amount of credit utilized are preferably:
         $0-$1,000   $1,001-$3,500   $3,501-$10,000   $10,001-$20,000   over $20,000       

   While the current options presented to the potential borrower by system  10  for the dollar amount of total credit limits are preferably:
         $0-$10,000   $10,001-$20,000   $20,001-$30,000   $30,001-$50,000   over $50,000       

   Example 1 
   If the potential borrower selects the range “$1,001-$3,500” for credit utilized, and “over $50,000” for credit limit, the % of credit used calculation would be as follows: 
   
     
       
         
           
             Percentage 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             of 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             Credit 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             Used 
           
           = 
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
                       ( 
                       
                         3500 
                         - 
                         1001 
                       
                       ) 
                     
                     / 
                     2 
                   
                   + 
                   1001 
                 
                 50000 
               
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               1 
             
             = 
             
               44.5 
               ⁢ 
               % 
             
           
         
       
     
   
   Example 2 
   If the potential borrower selects the range “$3,501-$10,000” for credit utilized, and “$0-$10,000” for credit limit, the % of credit used calculation would be as follows: 
   
     
       
         
           
             Percentage 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             of 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             Credit 
             ⁢ 
             
                 
             
             ⁢ 
             Used 
           
           = 
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     ( 
                     
                       10000 
                       - 
                       3501 
                     
                     ) 
                   
                   / 
                   2 
                 
                 + 
                 
                   3501 
                   ⁢ 
                   
                       
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   6 
                 
               
               
                 
                   
                     ( 
                     
                       10000 
                       - 
                       0 
                     
                     ) 
                   
                   / 
                   2 
                 
                 + 
                 
                   0 
                   ⁢ 
                   
                       
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   5 
                 
               
             
             = 
             
               1135 
               ⁢ 
               % 
             
           
         
       
     
   
   The primary difference in calculating a proxy credit score for the group consisting of those who have had a delinquency, as opposed to the group consisting of those without delinquencies, is that information concerning any delinquency is combined with a credit utilization ratio to determine a component of the proxy credit score. Also, the range of proxy credit scores is lower for this group (525-753) than it is for those without delinquencies (578-781). 
   The foregoing weights by attribute or characteristic preferably reside in look up tables in the system  10  database. Examples of look up tables for proxy credit scores with and without delinquencies are reproduced in Tables 3 and 4 below. 
   
     
       
         
             
           
             
               TABLE 3 
             
           
          
             
                 
             
             
               Proxy Credit Score Attribute Weights for Applicants Without 
             
             
               Delinquencies 
             
          
         
         
             
             
             
             
             
          
             
                 
                 
               Proxy Credit 
               Maximum 
               Minimum 
             
             
               Characteristic 
               Attribute 
               Score Points 
               Score 
               Score 
             
             
                 
             
          
         
         
             
             
             
             
             
          
             
               Base Score/ 
                 
               578 
               578 
               578 
             
             
               Intercept 
             
             
               Utilization 
               80 &lt; utilization % 
               0 
                 
               0 
             
             
               (Percentage 
               40 &lt; utilization 
               19 
             
             
               of revolving 
               % &lt;= 80 
             
             
               Credit that 
               20 &lt; utilization 
               38 
             
             
               is utilized) 
               % &lt;= 40 
             
             
                 
               10 &lt; utilization 
               54 
             
             
                 
               % &lt;= 20 
             
             
                 
               Utilization 
               75 
               75 
             
             
                 
               % &lt;= 10 
             
             
               How many 
               Number 
               0 
                 
               0 
             
             
               accounts have 
               accts. =&gt; 5 
             
             
               Been establish- 
               Number 
               23 
               23 
             
             
               ed in last 2 
               accts. &gt; 5 
             
             
               years 
               Years &lt; 2 
               0 
                 
               0 
             
             
               Age of credit 
               2 &lt;= years &lt; 5 
               18 
             
             
               history 
               5 &lt;= years &lt; 10 
               34 
             
             
                 
               10 &lt;= years 
               52 
               52 
             
             
               Public Record 
               Yes 
               0 
                 
               0 
             
             
               (Bankruptcies, 
               No 
               53 
               53 
             
             
               foreclosures, 
             
             
               tax liens, 
             
             
               garnishments) 
             
             
               Proxy Score = 
                 
                 
               781 
               578 
             
             
               sum of points 
             
             
                 
             
          
         
       
     
   
                   TABLE 4                  Proxy Credit Score Attribute Weights for Applicants With Delinquencies                                                         Proxy Credit   Maximum   Minimum       Characteristic   Attribute           Score Points   Score   Score                                                 Base Score/Intercept               525   525   525       Utilization   80 &lt; utilization %       (Percentage of revolving       delq. &lt;   1 yr   0       0       Credit that is utilized)       1 yr &lt;= delq. &lt;   3 yrs   39       and Recency of Delinquency       3 yrs &lt;= delq. &lt;   7 yrs   54           40 &lt; utilization % &lt;= 80               delq. &lt;   1 yr   19               1 yr &lt;= delq. &lt;   3 yrs   56               3 yrs &lt;= delq. &lt;   7 yrs   68           20 &lt; utilization % &lt;= 40               delq. &lt;   1 yr   42               1 yr &lt;= delq. &lt;   3 yrs   79               3 yrs &lt;= delq. &lt;   7 yrs   90           10 &lt; utilization % &lt;= 20               delq. &lt;   1 yr   59               1 yr &lt;= delq. &lt;   3 yrs   97               3 yrs &lt;= delq. &lt;   7 yrs   108           Utilization % &lt;= 10               delq. &lt;   1 yr   78               1 yr &lt;= delq. &lt;   3 yrs   115               3 yrs &lt;= delq. &lt;   7 yrs   127   127       How many accounts have   Number accts. =&gt; 5           0       0       been established in last   Number accts. &lt; 5           16   16       2 years   Years &lt; 2           0       0       Age of credit history   2 &lt;= years &lt; 5           26           5 &lt;= years &lt; 10           43           10 &lt;= years           57   57       Public Record   Yes           0       0       (Bankruptcies, foreclosures,   No           28   28       tax liens, garnishments)       Proxy Score = sum of points                   753   525                    
Like LTV discussed above, weights may also be derived from the data entered by the potential borrower in response to the questions posed in the questionnaire. For example, monthly payment amount may be derived as follows given that the potential borrower enters the loan amount to be borrowed, the interest rate and the term of the loan.
 Monthly payment=(Loan Amount/(1−1/(1+Monthly Interest Rate) Term In Months )))/Monthly Interest Rate) 
   where Monthly Interest Rate=(1+Annual Interest Rate) 1/12 −1 
   If the purpose of the loan is to refinance, the potential borrower provides the loan amount. If however, the purpose of the loan is a purchase, the loan amount is calculated as follows:
 
Loan Amount=home purchase price−down payment
 
It should be understood that the down payment value used is the one extracted from the borrower&#39;s input for funds available for down payment and closing costs and not the raw value provided for funds available, which includes both down payment and closing items.
 
   Table 5 below is a chart showing model weights assigned to certain borrower characteristics. 
                           TABLE 5                          Range of Outcomes                                             High   Low       Characteristic   Attribute   Weight   Boundary   Boundary                                         Base Probability/       −7.4505   −7.4505           Intercept       Proxy Credit    741 +   0   0       Score    720 &lt;= 740   0.2252            700 &lt;= 720   0.873            680 &lt;= 700   1.5279            660 &lt;= 680   2.0891            640 &lt;= 660   2.5864            620 &lt;= 640   3.0853            600 &lt;= 620   3.4438            580 &lt;= 600   3.7109            560 &lt;= 580   3.9171            540 &lt;= 560   4.0484           &lt;= 540   4.0452       4.0452       Combined LTV   &lt;= 70   0   0             70 &lt;= 80   0.8801             80 &lt;= 90   2.3162             90 &lt;= 97   2.8347       2.8347       Back Ratio   &lt;= 20   0   0             20 &lt;= 31   0.3557             31 &lt;= 36   0.511             36 &lt;= 45   0.6244             46 +   1.129       1.129       (Liquid Assets −   = 10000   0   0       Down payment)    5000 &lt;= 10000   0.4349            3000 &lt;= 5000   0.7601            2000 &lt;= 3000   1.0667            1000 &lt;= 2000   1.4492             1 &lt;= 1000   2.1364           0   3.3219       3.3219       Term of Loan   Term &lt;= 15 yrs   0   0           15 &lt; Term &lt;=   0.8115           25 yrs           Term &gt; 25 yrs   1.1472       1.1472       Self Employed   No   0   0           Yes   1.0178       1.0178       Two or More   No   0   0       Borrowers   Yes   −0.6865   −0.6865       Amortization   Fixed Rate   0   0       Type   Mortgage           Balloon Mortgage   0           Adjustable Rate   0.6609       0.6609           Mortgage       Occupancy Status   Owner Occupied   0.0167   0.0167           Second Home   0.1324           Investor Property   0       0       Number of Units   1-2   0   0           3-4   0.0664       0.0664       Condo   No   0   0           Yes   0.1058       0.1058       Derogatory   No   0   0       Record   Yes   0.8902       0.8902       Loan Purpose   Purchase (money   0.3416           mortgage)           Refinance:   1.1672       1.1672           increase =&lt; 0           Refinance: increase   −0.3111           0.1-3%           Refinance: increase   0.0661           3.1-10%           Refinance: increase   0.0359           10.1-19%           Refinance:   0   0           increase &gt; 19%                         Weight = sum of coefficients   −8.1203   16.3863       Estimated Probability = exp(weight)/(1 + exp   0.030%   100.000%       (weight))                    
Once the characteristics have been assigned weighting coefficients, they are summed and converted to an overall probability using the following formula:
 estimated probability of not getting approved=EXP(SUM of coefficients)/(1+EXP(SUM of coefficients) 
The result is the estimated probability of not getting approved for a loan. For example, if the estimated probability is 15%, this means that the borrower has an 85% chance of being approved for a loan.
 
   Since it is desirable to communicate to the potential borrower the likelihood of getting approved, the foregoing result is desirably converted as follows and presented to the potential borrower:
 
probability of approval=1−probability of not getting approved
 
It should be appreciated that, alternatively, the likelihood of getting approved may be calculated directly as follows:
 
probability of approval=1−[EXP(SUM of coefficients)/(1+EXP(SUM of coefficients)]
 
   Referring back to  FIG. 3 , after the probability of approval is calculated (step  128 ), the process proceeds to decision  130  which queries whether an eligibility exception is present. For example, if the potential borrower is seeking a mortgage for greater than the value of the property, an eligibility exception will be present. 
   If a “yes” response is returned at decision  130 , calculator  20  provides an explanation with the opportunity to start the process over (event  134 ). If a “no” response is returned, the process proceeds to step  138  where the final probability is checked. 
   The probable qualification process ends when the probable qualification determination is presented to the potential borrower in the form of a useful and readily understandable percentage chance of approval which can be easily and meaningfully compared against determinations made for other potential available loan products to permit the potential borrower to make an informed loan decision (display  140 , or  142 , or  144 ). It should be understood that the estimated probabilities for approval generated by calculator  20  closely approximate actual approval rates, thereby giving potential borrowers an accurate assessment of their likelihood of approval should they decide to proceed with the loan application. 
   As illustrated in Table 6 below, potential borrowers who have a probability of getting approved of 80% or higher will preferably be presented with the actual numerical estimate of the likelihood that their loan will be approved shown as a percentage (event  140 ). For potential borrowers who have a 60-80% probability of getting approved, the actual percentage will preferably not be displayed (event  142 ). For those potential borrowers who have an estimated probability of approval below 60%, the actual percentage will preferably not be displayed in favor of the displayed recommendation that they consult a loan counselor (event  144 ). 
   
     
       
         
             
           
             
               TABLE 6 
             
             
                 
             
           
          
             
               For loans where 80% &lt;= estimated probability of approval: 
             
             
               [estimated probability of approval, truncated so that the range is 80% to 
             
             
               99%] of people who answered the questions the way you did were approv- 
             
             
               ed for home loans. Since this free estimation tool does not guaranty that 
             
             
               you&#39;ll be approved for a home loan, the way to find out for certain is to 
             
             
               apply. To begin the online application, click the “Save and Apply Now” 
             
             
               button below. 
             
             
               If you want to change any of the information you previously entered to see 
             
             
               how it affects your results, feel free to click the “Try Again” button below. 
             
             
               For loans where 60% &lt;= estimated probability of approval &lt; 80%: 
             
             
               The majority of people who answered the questions the way you did were 
             
             
               approved. Since this free estimation tool does not guaranty that you&#39;ll be 
             
             
               approved for a home loan, the way to find out for certain is to apply. We 
             
             
               also encourage you to call our center to speak to one of our loan 
             
             
               consultants. 
             
             
               If you want to change any of the information you previously entered, feel 
             
             
               free to click the “Try Again” button below. 
             
             
               For loans where the estimated probability of approval &lt; 60%: 
             
             
               We have insufficient information to give you a response at this time. If 
             
             
               you want to change any of the information you previously entered to see 
             
             
               how it affects your results, feel free to click the “Try Again” button 
             
             
               below. We also encourage you to call our help center to speak to one of 
             
             
               our loan consultants. We will work with you to come up with the right 
             
             
               home loan solution to meet your needs. Or you can proceed directly to 
             
             
               the online application by clicking the “Save and Apply Now” button 
             
             
               below. 
             
             
                 
             
          
         
       
     
   
     FIGS. 4-13  depict preferred exemplars of computer Internet interface display screens used to guide a potential borrower through the online probable qualification process. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , (steps  1  and  2 , respectively) the potential borrower is prompted to provide responses to online questions which ask for information such as, for example: (i) the loan purpose (e.g., purchase or refinance), the number of borrowers who will be named on the loan application, (ii) the potential borrower&#39;s annual income, (iii) whether or not the potential borrower is self-employed, (iv) the potential borrower&#39;s monthly debt payments exclusive of current mortgage payment obligations or rent, (v) the current cash value of the potential borrower&#39;s assets, (vi) whether or not the subject property is a condominium, (vii) the intended use of the property (e.g., as a primary residence), (viii) the loan type (e.g., 30-year fixed rate), (ix) the anticipated purchase price, and (x) the available funds for down payment and closing. It should be understood that the funds available for down payment and closing cannot be greater than the input current cash value of the potential borrower&#39;s assets. 
     FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate an effect of the selection of refinance as the loan purpose. As shown in  FIG. 7 , a somewhat different set of questions from the purchase scenario is presented to the potential borrower. Rather than questions regarding purchase price and funds for down payment and closing, the borrower is prompted to respond to questions concerning current mortgage balance, current property value and the desired loan amount. 
   Certain combinations of income, debt, loan amount/down payment, property value and loan type produce loan profiles that are not handled by calculator  20 . Such loans are deemed to be ineligible. The determination of eligibility can be made after receiving inputs from steps 1 and 2 (regardless of whether purchase or refinance is selected). If calculator  20  determines that the input characteristics indicate ineligibility, a message such as depicted in  FIG. 8  is displayed. 
   As stated above, it should be understood that the funds available for down payment and closing cannot be greater than the input current cash value of the potential borrower&#39;s assets. If the current cash value of assets is less than the amount indicated as funds available for down payment and closing costs, a message preferably such as depicted in  FIG. 9  is displayed. 
   Step 3, the final step, is concerned with the potential borrower&#39;s credit. As depicted in  FIG. 10 , the potential borrower is prompted to provide responses to online questions which ask for information such as, for example: (i) whether or not in the previous ten (10) years the borrower filed for bankruptcy, or had a loan foreclosed, or had a tax lien filed against him/her, or had income garnished by a creditor, (ii) when the potential borrower opened his/her first credit account, (iii) the number of new credit accounts opened in the previous two (2) years, (iv) the last time the potential borrower was more than a month late on a credit account payment, (v) the total credit potentially available to the potential borrower, and (vi) the potential borrower&#39;s total outstanding credit balance. The last two questions combine to produce the percentage of credit used (i.e., money borrowed divided by borrowing limit) which, utilizing the tables set forth above, is used to arrive at the proxy credit score. 
   Step 3 does not depend on whether purchase or refinance was selected by the potential borrower as the loan purpose in step 1—but the borrower will not reach step 3 unless the loan was deemed to be eligible after completion of step 2. At the completion of step 3, the calculated probable qualification assessment is communicated to the potential borrower (e.g., after the borrower clicks on the “See Results” button on the previous screen depicted in  FIG. 10 ). 
   If the calculated probability of approval is equal to or greater than 80%, the exact approval figure is presented to the potential borrower. In  FIG. 11  for example, an 86% approval figure is displayed. 
   With probabilities of approval less than 80% but equal to or greater than 60%, percentage figures of approval are preferably not shown. The results message depicted in  FIG. 12 , however, is preferably displayed to users in this middle bracket. 
   With a probability of approval of less than 60%, a message such as shown in  FIG. 13  is preferably displayed to the potential borrower. 
   If the borrower chooses to apply for a loan, the loan originator makes a request for an underwriting decision. In response to such request, system  10 , through underwriting engine  24 , will provide to the loan originator an underwriting recommendation, lender and borrower findings, and a borrower/product specific interest rate as described in greater detail hereinafter. It should be recognized that if the borrower used probable qualification calculator  20 , all applicable information will preferably populate the loan application to minimize data entry. 
   Prior to commencement of the underwriting process, it is desirable that a credit report be obtained on the potential borrower. The principal reasons for obtaining a credit report at this point are twofold: (1) to speed loan evaluation so that when the loan application is ready to be underwritten, the process need not be delayed while the credit report is obtained from outside credit agencies, and (2) to extract the potential borrower&#39;s real estate tradelines (e.g., outstanding mortgages, home equity loans) appearing on the credit report and present them to the borrower for clarification if necessary (e.g., that the tradeline has already been paid off, or that it will be paid off with the present contemplated loan, or that it is in error). Also, it should be appreciated that this reduces the level of data entry expected from the potential borrower as the borrower need not enter information concerning any tradelines. Moreover, this streamlines processing by the lender by eliminating the need for the lender to reconcile tradelines prior to underwriting. 
   A property assessment is also preferably obtained prior to underwriting for three principal reasons: (1) to speed loan evaluation, (2) to permit the potential borrower the opportunity to correct the address of the underlying property if necessary, and (3) to determine government HUD median income information for use by underwriting engine  24  in connection with the problem solution finding process or borrower guidance process described in greater detail hereinafter. Generally, the solution finding process is a process within underwriting that provides the loan originator with suggestions regarding potential areas for improvement in the event a borrower is not approved by underwriting engine  24  (e.g., the suggestion that the potential borrower apply more money toward the down payment to lower LTV). The solution finding process can use the HUD median income information to determine if the borrower meets low/moderate income requirements. This information is provided to the loan originator and can be used if the loan originator wishes to offer other types of products to the borrower. 
   Underwriting engine  24  provides to the loan originator one of two recommendations: (1) “approved,” or (2) “refer to help center” or like message. It should be understood that the underwriting recommendation provided by the secondary mortgage market participant (preferably, Fannie Mae) through underwriting engine  24  for each loan submitted through system  10  does not constitute an approval or denial of the loan application by such secondary market participant. With respect to loan applications which receive a “refer to help center” recommendation, the loan originator will preferably work with the potential borrower, as appropriate, to (i) reconcile inaccurate information in the loan application, (ii) counsel the potential borrower regarding ways to improve the likelihood of obtaining an approval, and (iii) resubmit the application for re-underwriting through system  10 . 
   For loan applications receiving an “approved” recommendation, underwriting engine  24  preferably communicates the conditions to be satisfied by the loan originator and the potential borrower before the application can proceed to closing. These conditions preferably include (i) the required level of collateral appraisal field work, if any, (ii) title insurance requirements, (iii) required information relating to verification of the potential borrower&#39;s income, assets, employment, and identity, and (iv) review and collection of required supporting documentation. 
   It should be understood that the foregoing verification process may require human participation. For example, in the case of a mortgage loan, a credit report is pulled and may require review, and, notwithstanding the waiver of the requirement for an appraisal by collateral assessment module  26  (as discussed in greater detail hereinafter), the loan originator might arrange at least for a cursory exterior-only inspection of the underlying real estate. 
   For loan applications receiving a “refer to help center” recommendation, underwriting engine  24  preferably provides problem solving or guidance information to facilitate borrower counseling by the loan originator regarding steps the potential borrower can take to improve the likelihood of approval within system  10 . This is the problem solution process referred to above. Such guidance information preferably includes the amount the down payment needs to be increased, and the amount of debt that the potential borrower needs to pay off. 
   The process between underwriting and pricing is iterative. For each product on which system  10  is making an underwriting decision, pricing engine  22  is invoked to provide a borrower/product specific interest rate, and underwriting engine  24  underwrites the selected product as described in greater detail hereinafter. The interaction between underwriting and pricing is best illustrated in  FIG. 14   a.    
   Underwriting engine  24  underwrites the borrower for selected loan products as well as for other available products, and determines if the borrower is approved for each product. The response to the loan originator is all of the approved products and their associated interest rate quotes. This allows the borrower to review all the information, compare products and interest rates and select the product that best fits the borrower&#39;s needs. 
   Underwriting engine  24  also determines, for each approved product, the minimum amount of verification documentation (e.g., minimum assets to verify, minimum income to verify), selected loan underwriting parameters, assuming no other data changes, (e.g., maximum loan amount for approval, maximum loan amount for aggregating closing costs with the loan principal, and minimum refinance amount), as well as the maximums and minimums used to tailor the interest rate quote (maximum schedule interest rate and maximum number of points) and maximum interest rate approved for float up to a preselected increase over a current approved rate. It should be appreciated that this allows the potential borrower to provide only that information that is necessary for an approval decision, rather than all potentially relevant financial and other borrower information. This also reduces the processing burden on system  10 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 14   a , when the loan originator makes an underwrite and price request, the request is received by underwriting engine  24  (step  200 ). If the loan originator provides the borrower selected product and indicative interest rate (decision  202 ), the process continues to step  204 . If the loan originator is not providing an indicative interest rate with a selected product, underwriting engine  24  preferably requests a sample indicative interest rate (e.g., for a “typical” borrower) to seed or start the underwriting process for a specific product, and pricing engine  22  returns the seed interest rate (step  206 ). It should be understood that the seed interest rate may be the same as the enticement interest rate described herein. 
   Underwriting engine  24  then determines the data required to generate a borrower/product specific interest rate (step  204 ). Thereafter, underwriting engine  24  requests the borrower/product specific interest rate, and pricing engine  22  then calculates the borrower/product specific interest rate and the yield/point trade-off schedule to be returned to the loan originator in a manner described in greater detail hereinafter in connection with  FIG. 15  (step  208 ). 
   At decision  210 , underwriting engine  24  determines if the potential borrower is approved for the product at the borrower/product specific interest rate. 
   If approved, underwriting engine  24  tailors the yield/point trade-off schedule for the loan product by (i) limiting the upper interest rate boundary by the maximum schedule interest rate and the maximum schedule premium points, and (ii) limiting the lower interest rate boundary by the minimum schedule interest rate and the maximum schedule discount points (in a manner described below in connection with  FIG. 14   b ). Underwriting engine  24  then provides the underwriting findings and interest rate quotes to the loan originator (step  214 ). 
   The maximum schedule interest rate is the maximum interest rate approved by underwriting engine  24 ; and the maximum schedule premium points are the maximum number of premium points approved by the underwriting engine. The minimum schedule interest rate is the minimum interest rate approved by underwriting engine  24 ; and the maximum schedule discount points are the maximum number of discount points approved by the underwriting engine. 
   Referring to  FIG. 14   b , underwriting engine  24  preferably determines the minimum amount of verification documentation required for each approved borrower-specific loan product More particularly, underwriting engine  24  determines the minimum income and assets to verify, as appropriate (step  216 ). 
   The selected loan underwriting parameters are then determined (step  217 ). That is, approval for the maximum loan amount (and LTV), the maximum loan amount for aggregating closing costs with the loan principal, and the minimum refinance amount are determined, as appropriate, provided no other data changes. 
   The pricing parameters used to tailor the interest rate quote are then determined (step  218 ). That is, the maximum schedule interest rate and maximum number of premium points, and minimum schedule interest rate and maximum number of discount points, and maximum market interest rate approved for float (up to a preselected increase over a current approved rate) are determined, as appropriate. 
   The foregoing are then used to tailor the borrower/product specific interest rate quote (step  220 ). After step  220 , the process proceeds to step  222  where the underwriting findings are formatted for presentation to the loan originator (see  FIG. 14   a , step  214 ). 
   Referring back to  FIG. 14   a , once the underwriting findings for a specific selected product are presented to the loan originator, underwriting engine  24  repeats the foregoing process to determine all approved products for the borrower until all such products have been underwritten (step  232 ). It should be appreciated that this places at the borrower&#39;s fingertips a valid, borrower-specific interest rate quote for all loan products for which the borrower has been approved (e.g., whether a 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan, a 15-year fixed rate loan, or other loan product) so that the borrower has a complete range of approved products with associated interest rates to select from. 
   If the potential borrower is not approved for any product at step  210 , underwriting engine  24  preferably executes a process to provide the loan originator with information designed to provide guidance with respect to problem areas that need to be addressed to improve the potential borrower&#39;s chances of approval for the product selected by the potential borrower. As best illustrated in  FIG. 14   c , underwriting engine  24  computes the maximum loan amount for approval (step  224 ), the monthly debt reduction required for approval (step  226 ), and determines if the potential borrower meets low/moderate income requirements for other types of loan products (step  227 ). 
   Referring to  FIG. 14   a , after execution of the problem solution routine, underwriting engine  24  discards the pricing schedule for the specific selected loan product (step  228 ). If underwriting engine  24  determines that there are additional loan products available for underwriting (step  229 ), the process repeats (i.e., returns to step  200 ). If there are no additional loan products to be underwritten, the process ends (event  230 ). 
   Pricing engine  22  of system  10  calculates the retail gross interest rate and points for each approved borrower/loan specific product combination passed through underwriting engine  24  to present to the borrower, as described in greater detail below. Pricing engine  22  also calculates a sales price (spot price) for each loan, i.e., the secondary market price that a secondary mortgage market purchaser will pay the loan originator for the individual loan. 
   The gross interest rate calculated by pricing engine  22  preferably includes a portfolio required yield and a customer risk-based price component. The portfolio required yield is a real time required yield based on current market conditions, and is preferably stored in a look up table residing in system  10 . The portfolio required yield is also used to determine a spot price. 
   The yield/point trade-off schedule shows the relationship between points paid or rebated and the associated change in interest rate (preferably in ⅛ increments) for a given mortgage product. Yield is expressed as an offset from the par portfolio required yield, and points are expressed as offsets from par (100%). An example of a yield/point trade-off schedule is set forth in Table 7 below. 
   The customer risk-based price component includes a risk-based guaranty fee and a collateral risk price adjustment, among other appropriate fees and adjustments such as servicing fees and other borrower-specific credit risk price adjustments. The risk-based guaranty fee compensates the secondary mortgage market purchaser for its exposure to the credit risk posed by the particular borrower. The risk-based guaranty fee varies by loan product and is expressed in yield. 
   The collateral risk price adjustment is a per loan adjustment to the interest rate to compensate the secondary mortgage market purchaser for any risk arising from not requiring a property appraisal. Relying, in part, on historical data retrieved from a system database concerning the collateral (e.g., prior assessments of real estate, assessments of comparable real estate), collateral assessment module  26  determines the minimum type of appraisal, if any, that is required with respect to each individual loan application submitted for an underwriting recommendation through underwriting engine  24  of system  10 . Collateral assessment module  26  may not require any appraisal or property field work. Alternatively, collateral assessment module  26  may require an appraisal with an interior and exterior inspection, or it may require that an appraisal with an exterior-only property inspection be performed and reported to underwriting engine  24 . In the event that collateral assessment module  26  waives the appraisal or field work requirement, a loan level interest rate adjustment is made (i.e., the collateral risk price adjustment). 
   For loans with an LTV in excess of 80%, pricing engine  22  provides a low down payment rate adjustment to be added to the interest rate. The low down payment rate adjustment compensates the investor for potential borrower default associated with a lower down payment. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 15 , the following underwriting characteristics are preferably input into pricing engine  22  in order to begin the pricing process: (i) casefile ID, (ii) requested product, (iii) prospect or loan originator ID, (iv) combined loan-to-value (CLTV), (v) LTV, (vi) property type, (vii) loan purpose, (viii) cashout percentage, (ix) self-employment indicator (e.g., Y/N), (x) months of cash reserves, (xi) total expense ratio, (xii) appraisal field work type, and (xiii) appraisal waiver reason (step  300 ). Pricing engine  22  retrieves the foregoing underwriting characteristics (step  302 ). The process then proceeds to step  304  where pricing engine  22  calculates the customer risk-based price component. 
     FIG. 16  illustrates the calculation of the customer risk-based price component. At step  400 , pricing engine  22  retrieves the risk-based guaranty fee.  FIG. 17  illustrates the process associated with looking up the risk based guaranty fee. 
   With access to the underwriting characteristics input at the beginning of the pricing process as illustrated in  FIG. 17 , the lookup process moves to decision  500  which queries if the loan purpose is refinance. If a “no” response is returned, the process moves to decision  502  which queries if the loan purpose is purchase. If a “yes” response is given at decision  500 , i.e., if the loan purpose is refinance, the process moves to decision  504  which queries if the equity taken out exceeds closing costs. If a “no” response is given at decision  502 , i.e., if the loan purpose is indicated as being neither a purchase nor a refinance, an error message indicating an invalid loan purpose is generated and the process terminates (event  503 ). 
   If, at decision  504  the equity taken out (“cashout percentage”) exceeds closing costs (which represents an increased risk associated with the loan), the process proceeds to step  506  where the loan purpose is set as refinance, and then to step  508  as described below. If the equity taken out does not exceed closing costs, the process proceeds to step  510  where the loan purpose is set as purchase, and then to step  508 . The risk associated with a loan refinance where the amount of equity taken out is not believed to be substantially greater than an amount sufficient to cover closing costs is equivalent to the risk associated with a loan the purpose of which is not refinance but rather purchase (hence, step  510 ). 
   If a “yes” response is returned at decision  502 , i.e., if the loan purpose is purchase, the process moves to step  508 . 
   At step  508 , pricing engine  22 , using the risk-based guaranty fee schedule stored in system  10  associated with the loan registration date and time, looks up the risk-based guaranty fee by the input underwriting characteristics, and makes the fee available for further use in the pricing process. 
   Referring back to  FIG. 16 , with the retrieval of the risk-based guaranty fee (step  400 ), pricing engine  22  retrieves the low down payment rate adjustment from a look up table (step  402 ) and adds it as yield to loans with an LTV over 80% to compensate the investor for potential borrower default associated with a lower down payment. 
   At step  404 , pricing engine  22  sets the risk-based guaranty fee equal to the risk-based guaranty fee retrieved from the look up table less the low down payment rate adjustment (step  404 ). Then, based on prospect/loan originator ID and product, pricing engine  22  executes a look-up to retrieve the servicing fee (step  406 ). 
   Pricing engine  22  retrieves a product specific conversion ratio at step  410 . Pricing engine  22  then retrieves a technology price adjustment (step  414 ) and converts it to a basis point value (step  416 ). It should be appreciated that converting dollar value to basis point value is accomplished by a mathematical calculation that is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. 
   The process for computing the customer risk-based price component continues to decision  418  which queries whether the requirement for a field property appraisal has been waived. If a “no” response is returned at decision  418 , the collateral risk price adjustment is set equal to zero basis points (step  420 ), and the process proceeds to decision  422 , i.e., there is no reason to increase the interest rate of the loan to cover the risk associated with not requiring an appraisal. If a “yes” response is returned at decision  418 , the interest rate of the loan needs to be increased to reflect the risk associated with not requiring an appraisal. Pricing engine  22  interrogates the appraisal waiver reason identification to determine the appropriate increase to the interest rate—that is, the process proceeds to decision  424  which queries if the reason for waiving the appraisal is that the market value of the underlying property (as evidenced by the sale price of the property) agrees with the property assessment and has been accepted by system  10 . 
   If a “no” response is returned at decision  424 , the collateral risk price adjustment is set equal to a preselected number of basis points (step  426 ), and the process proceeds to decision  422 . If a “yes” response is returned at decision  424 , the collateral risk price adjustment is set equal to another preselected number of basis points (step  428 ), and the process proceeds to decision  422 . It should be understood that the foregoing basis points are preselected based on the risk associated with the loan. 
   At decision  422 , pricing engine  22  queries if the loan purpose is a refinance. If a “no” response is returned, the title risk price adjustment is set equal to zero basis points (step  430 ), and the process proceeds to step  432 . If a “yes” response is returned at decision  422 , the title risk price adjustment is set equal to a preselected number of basis points (step  434 ), and the process proceeds to step  432 . 
   At step  432 , the customer risk-based price component is calculated as the sum of the risk based guaranty fee, the technology price adjustment, the collateral risk price adjustment, and the title risk price adjustment, among others. The resulting sum is then returned to the pricing process as yield (step  436 ), and the pricing process continues at step  332  in  FIG. 15 . 
   Referring back to  FIG. 15 , after the customer risk-based price component is calculated (step  304 ), the pricing process proceeds to step  306  where the portfolio required yield and yield/point trade-off schedule currently in effect or as of a specified date/time are retrieved from a look up table stored in system  10 . 
   Table 7 below depicts an exemplar yield/point trade-off schedule in connection with underwriting and pricing a hypothetical loan (i.e., a 30 year fixed rate mortgage with a loan principal of $87,000, a LTV of 87% and a par portfolio yield of 7.758%). In reading the schedule set forth in Table 7 starting, for example, with the first discount increment 0.125 below par (0.00), for the first 12.5 basis points in yield, the number of discount points the borrower would pay would be 0.481 points. With a discount increment of 25 basis points in yield, the number of discount points the borrower would pay would be 0.969 points. It should be recognized that the transaction data set forth in Table 7 is not fully representative of all data utilized by system  10 . 
   
     
       
         
             
           
             
               TABLE 7 
             
             
                 
             
           
          
             
               TRANSACTION: Underwrite &amp; Price (Input) 
             
          
         
         
             
             
          
             
               Application Data 
               This scenario is based on the following assumptions: 
             
          
         
         
             
             
             
          
             
                 
               30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) 
               $87,000 UPB 
             
             
                 
               87 LTV 
               45 day closing 
             
          
         
         
             
          
             
               TRANSACTION: Underwrite &amp; Price (Output) 
             
          
         
         
             
             
          
             
                1. CasefilelD 
               100000000000001 
             
             
                2. Product 
               30 Year FRM 
             
             
                3. Par Portfolio Yield 
               7.758% 
             
             
                4. Customer Price Component 
               0.500% 
             
             
                5. Low Down Payment Rate Adjustment 
               0.375% 
             
             
                6. Yield/Point Trade-Off Schedule 
             
          
         
         
             
             
             
             
          
             
                 
               Yield 
               Points 
                 
             
             
                 
               (0.500) 
               (1.786) 
             
             
                 
               (0.375) 
               (1.355) 
             
             
                 
               (0.250) 
               (0.914) 
             
             
                 
               (0.125) 
               (0.462) 
             
             
                 
               0.000 
               0.000 
             
             
                 
               0.125 
               0.481 
             
             
                 
               0.250 
               0.969 
             
             
                 
               0.375 
               1.465 
             
             
                 
               0.500 
               1.968 
             
             
                 
               0.625 
               2.475 
             
          
         
         
             
             
          
             
                7. Maximum Schedule Interest Rate 
               9.125% 
             
             
                8. Maximum Number of Points 
               2.475 
             
             
                9. Maximum LTV for Rate 
               90% 
             
             
               10. Maximum Market Interest Rate for Float 
               10.625% 
             
             
               11. Pricing as of Date/Time 
               May 22, 2000 10:00 a.m. 
             
             
                 
             
          
         
       
     
   
   At the end of the pricing process, pricing engine  22  returns the par portfolio yield for the loan product, the customer risk-based price component, and the yield/point trade-off schedule for presentation to the potential borrower (step  308 ). 
   Desirably pricing engine  22  also generates sample interest rates that prospects or other loan originators can display to the general public (e.g., over the Internet) to entice potential borrowers to consider the loan products available through the prospect or other loan originator. Preferably, such enticement rates are customized for each prospect/loan originator and will reflect either interest rates that a “typical” borrower may expect to receive, or rates that a fictitious highly qualified borrower may expect to receive to illustrate the best interest rates that the prospect/loan originator can provide. 
   As interest rates change with market fluctuations, pricing engine  22  preferably generates a new set of enticement rates for each prospect/loan originator. The system has the ability to customize a “typical” borrower for each prospect/loan originator. Additionally, each prospect/loan originator can create a plurality of “typical” borrowers in order to show ranges or interest rates which may best match the characteristics of target potential borrowers. 
   The underwriting and pricing process may also be configured to identify loans that meet business objectives for a lender or secondary market participant and provide a business objective pricing component based on those business objectives. Lenders or secondary market participants may be subject to business objectives such as product diversity, geographic diversity or regulatory requirements. For example, a lender may have a product diversity objective to originate more Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) than Fixed Rate Mortgages (FRMs) or a geographic diversity objective to originate loans in a particular region. Regulatory requirements include, for example, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing goals for a secondary market participant to purchase certain types of loans and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements for a lender to encourage investment in the local community. The system and method described for identifying and pricing a business objectives loan advantageously allows a lender or secondary market purchaser identify mortgage loans that meet HUD and/or CRA goals and to place a higher value on those mortgage loans at the time of origination. The higher value placed on a mortgage loan that meets regulatory requirements such as HUD or CRA goals may be passed along to a borrower, e.g., by allowing mortgage costs such as an interest rate for the borrower to be reduced as described in further detail below. 
   In general, current exemplary HUD housing goals include three categories of loans: (1) Low and Moderate Income; (2) Special Affordable; and (3) Underserved Areas. The income of the borrower and/or the location (geography) of the property to be purchased is used to determine whether a loan falls into a HUD housing goal category. For example, if a borrower has an income that is 80% or less of the area median income, the loan would qualify as a Low Income loan. If a borrower has an income that is 100% or less than the median area income, the loan would qualify as a Moderate income loan. If a borrower has an income that is 60% or less of the area median income, the loan would qualify as a Special Affordable loan. To qualify as an Underserved Area loan, a loan must be made to a borrower living in and/or purchasing in a neighborhood where the median income is at or below 120% of the median income for the metropolitan area and where at least 30% of the population is minority. Typically, HUD sets goals for the number of these loans a secondary market participant should purchase. When a secondary market participant purchases a loan that falls into a HUD housing goal category, the secondary market participant receives housing goals credit for the loan. 
     FIG. 19  is a flow chart of the underwriting and pricing process including determining a business objective pricing component according to an exemplary embodiment. As discussed above, when a borrower decides to apply for a loan (after entering loan application information), a loan originator may request an underwriting decision (step  802 ). For each product on which system  10  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) is making an underwriting decision, pricing engine  22  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) is invoked to provide a borrower/product specific interest rate. The underwriting process is described above with respect to  FIGS. 14   a - c . When the loan originator makes an underwrite and price request (step  802 ), the request is received by underwriting engine  24  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). If the loan originator provides the borrower selected product and indicative interest rate (decision  804 ), the process continues to step  808 . If the loan originator is not providing an indicative rate with a selected product, underwriting engine  24  preferably requests a sample indicative interest rate (e.g., for a “typical” borrower) to seed or start the underwriting process for a specific product, and pricing engine  22  returns the seed interest rate (step  806 ). 
   Underwriting engine  24  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) then determines the data required to generate a borrower/product specific interest rate (step  808 ). At block  810 , underwriting engine  24  determines if the loan is a business objectives loan. Characteristics of the loan application of the borrower (e.g., income, property location, etc.) and the loan product (e.g., ARM, FRM, balloon, etc.) may be used to determine whether a loan being underwritten is a business objectives loan and may be subject to additional pricing adjustments as a business objectives loan. For example, if a lender or secondary market purchaser has a loan portfolio heavily weighted in ARMs, the lender may set a business objective to originate (or the secondary market purchaser may set a business objective to purchase) more FRMs. Accordingly, the product type information may be used to identify fixed rate loans. In another example, a lender may set a business objective for geographic diversity in a mortgage portfolio, e.g., to originate loans in a particular geographic region. Accordingly, the location data (e.g., address, zip code) of the property to be purchased may be used to identify loans for a property in the particular region. Once a loan is identified as a business objectives loan, the loan is flagged, e.g., a data field in the loan file may be set to indicate a business objectives loan and/or the type of business objectives loan. In another embodiment, the determination of whether a mortgage loan is a business objective loan may be conducted on the lender system  28  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). The set of characteristics used to identify a business objective loan may be stored, for example, in a database associated with the lender system. 
   As mentioned above, a lender or secondary market purchaser may have external regulatory requirements such as CRA requirements or HUD housing goals, respectively.  FIGS. 20   a  and  20   b  are flow charts of an exemplary process to identify business objective loans meeting HUD housing goals according to an exemplary embodiment.  FIG. 20   a  illustrates an exemplary process to identify low and moderate income loans and special affordable loans. At block  9902 , the property address information (e.g., from the loan application data entered by the borrower, broker, lender, etc.) for the property to be purchased is compared to an area median income/property table. The area median income/property table includes the HUD area median income for particular areas or regions. The table may be stored in, for example, a database  16  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) of system  10 . The table may be updated periodically using current HUD data. The HUD area median income for the area associated with the property address is retrieved from the table at block  904 . The borrower&#39;s income (e.g., entered as part of the loan application data) is then compared to the area median income at block  906 . If the borrower&#39;s income is less than or equal to a predetermined percentage of the area median income at block  908 , the loan is flagged as a HUD housing goal loan, e.g., a data field in the loan file may be set to indicate a HUD housing goal loan and/or the type of HUD housing goal loan at block  912 . As described above, in one embodiment, a special affordable loan may be a loan to a borrower with an income that is 60% or less of the area median income, a low income loan may be a loan to a borrower with an income that is 80% or less of the area median income and a moderate income loan may be a loan to a borrower with an income that is 100% or less that the area median income. If the borrower&#39;s income is not less than or equal to a predetermined percentage of the area median income at block  908 , the loan is not flagged as a HUD housing goal loan at block  910  and processing continues at block  812  of  FIG. 19 . 
     FIG. 20   b  illustrates an exemplary process to identify a loan for an underserved area. At block  920 , the property address is compared to an underserved area property table. The underserved area property table includes property addresses located in areas where the median income is at or below 120% of the median income for the metropolitan are and which are 30% or more minority. The table may be stored in, for example, a database  16  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) of system  10 . The table may be updated periodically with current median income and minority data. If the property address matches an address in the table or is associated with an area listed in the table at block  922 , the loan is flagged as a HUD housing goal loan, e.g., a data field in the loan file may be set to indicate a HUD housing goal loan and/or the type of HUD housing goal loan at block  926 . If the property address does not match an address in the table or is not associated with an area listed in the table at block  922 , the loan is not flagged as a HUD housing goal loan at block  924  and processing continues at block  812  of  FIG. 19 . A similar process may be used to identify loans that meet CRA requirements for a lender. A tale may be provided (e.g., stored in a database  16 ) of loan characteristics that qualify a loan for CRA credit. The loan data (e.g., loan application data) may be compared to the CRA table to determine if the loan being underwritten is a CRA loan. If the loan is a CRA loan, the loan is flagged, e.g., a data field in the loan file may be set to indicate a CRA loan and/or the type of CRA loan. As mentioned above, in one embodiment, the determination of whether a loan is a business objective loan may be conducted on the lender system  28  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). Accordingly, the tables such as the HUD area median income table or the underserved area property table may be stored in, for example, a database associated with the lender system. 
   Returning to  FIG. 19 , at block  812 , the underwriting engine  24  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) requests the borrower/product specific interest rate, and pricing engine  22  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) then calculates the borrower/product specific interest rate and the yield/point trade-off schedule to be returned to the loan originator. The interaction between underwriting and pricing and the processes used in underwriting and pricing are described above in detail with respect to  FIGS. 14   a - c ,  15 ,  16  and  17 . Once the borrower/product specific interest rate and pricing schedule is retrieved at block  812 , an appropriate business objective pricing component is retrieved at block  814 . 
     FIG. 21  is a flow chart of a process for determining a business objective price component according to an exemplary embodiment. At block  1002 , if the loan has not been flagged as a business objective loan, the process ends at block  1004  and returns to step  816  in  FIG. 19 . If the loan has been flagged as a business objective loan at block  1002 , a business objective based pricing is determined at block  1006 . For example, a table may be provided that indicates an additional amount (e.g., 100 basis points) that secondary market purchaser will pay a lender or other loan originator to purchase various types of business objective loans. In another example, a table may be provided that indicates an amount a lender will adjust (e.g., discount or lower the interest rate) a price for a borrower for various types of business objective loans. Alternatively, the business objective loan pricing may be calculated for each loan based on, for example, the type of business objective loan and other loan characteristics. 
   Once the business objective pricing is determined (e.g., an additional amount a secondary market purchaser will pay to purchase the loan), business objective rules are applied to determine an allocation of the business objective pricing between, for example, a lender, a broker, a borrower, etc. The rules may be predetermined by a lender or other loan originator and stored in a database  16  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) of system  10 . In one example, a lender may establish a rule that any business objective pricing a secondary market purchaser would pay for a loan that meets a product diversity business objective would be retained by the lender. Alternatively, a lender may establish a rule that for a HUD housing goal low income loan, a predetermined percentage of the business objective pricing amount is retained by the lender and a certain percentage of the business objective pricing amount is used to reduce the borrower/product specific interest rate for the borrower. For example, if a secondary market purchaser will pay an additional 100 bp for a HUD housing goal loan, a lender may allocate 30% (30 bp) to be retained by the lender and 70% (70 bp) to be provided to the borrower. A lender may also allocate a portion of the business objective pricing component to a broker. If a portion of the business objective pricing amount is allocated to the borrower at block  1010 , the borrower/product specific interest rate is adjusted accordingly at block  1014  before being displayed to the borrower. The adjustment may decrease the interest rate or increase the interest rate presented to the borrower. If a portion of the business objective pricing is no allocated to a borrower at block  1010 , the business objective pricing is provided to the lender or a broker at block  1012 , however, the business objective pricing would not be presented or displayed to the borrower. 
   Returning to  FIG. 19 , at block  816 , the underwriting engine determines if the potential borrower is approved for the product at the borrower/product specific interest rate. If approved, as described above with respect to  FIG. 14   a , underwriting engine  24  tailors the yield/point trade-off schedule for the loan product by (i) limiting the upper interest rate boundary by the maximum schedule interest rate and the maximum schedule premium points, and (ii) limiting the lower interest rate boundary by the minimum schedule interest rate and the maximum schedule discount points, as described with respect to  FIG. 14   b  above. Underwriting engine  24  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) then provides the underwriting findings and interest rate quotes to the loan originator at block  818 . Once the underwriting findings for a specific selected product are presented to the loan originator, underwriting engine  24  may be configured to repeat the foregoing process to determine all approved products for the borrower until all such products have been underwritten (step  820 ). If the borrower is not approved for any product, underwriting engine executed a problem solution routine as described above with respect to  FIGS. 14   a  and  14   c . After execution of the problem solution routine, underwriting engine discards the pricing schedule for the specific selected loan product at block  822 . If there are additional loan products available for underwriting at block  824 , the process repeats (i.e., returns to step  802 ). If there are no additional loan products to be underwritten, the process ends at block  826 . 
   Following the underwriting and pricing process described above, the borrower has the ability to rate lock. That is, the borrower can select a product, interest rate/point combination and a rate lock option (i.e. float or lock) online. A locked rate is fixed at the time the borrower elects or is required by the loan originator to lock. 
   A benefit of system  10  is that if a borrower decides to float, they can request and receive an online, up-to-the-minute interest rate quote that is unique to them. This is not a sample interest rate. Rather, it is an actual borrower/product specific “live” interest rate quote that is available to the borrower to lock in. 
   Also, the loan originator may initiate a request for a spot sales price for a particular loan in the system pipeline at any time after the loan has been rate locked. It should be appreciated that this enables the loan originator to value the individual loan in the secondary market without selling the loan. 
   Referring to  FIG. 18   a , to request a spot price, the loan originator provides information to pricing engine  22  including the gross interest rate (step  600 ). Once the information is provided at step  600 , the process proceeds to step  602  where information concerning the selected loan product, the rate lock status, the customer risk-based price component, and the sale status is retrieved by casefile ID. 
   The process then continues to decision  604  where pricing engine  22  verifies that the input product is the selected product. If not, an error message is generated indicating that the product does not match the selected product and the process terminates (event  606 ). If the input product is indeed the selected product, the process proceeds to decision  608  which queries if the loan has been sold. 
   If a “yes” response is returned at decision  608 , an error message is generated indicating that the loan has already been sold to a secondary mortgage market purchaser, preferably, Fannie Mae (event  610 ). If a “no” response is given, the process moves to decision  612  which queries if the rate status is lock. 
   If the rate status is lock, the process moves to step  614  and a spot price is generated as described in greater detail below in connection with  FIG. 18   b . If a “no” response is returned at decision  612 , i.e., if the rate status is not lock (float), an error message is generated indicating that the loan must be locked in order to obtain a spot price (event  618 ). 
   At step  614 , pricing engine  22  generates the spot price utilizing input data including the product, customer risk-based price component, and gross interest rate. Referring now to  FIG. 18   b , pricing engine  22  retrieves the current product specific par portfolio yield from a look up table (step  700 ). Pricing engine  22  then retrieves the current product specific yield/point trade-off schedule (step  702 ). 
   At step  704 , pricing engine  22  calculates the interest rate portfolio yield as the gross interest rate less the customer risk-based price component less other appropriate adjustments. At step  706 , pricing engine  22  calculates the yield difference as the current par portfolio yield less the interest rate portfolio yield. At step  708 , pricing engine  22  calculates the price difference as the yield difference multiplied by an appropriate trade-off ratio (i.e., what is paid in price for one basis point in yield). Then, the spot price is calculated as 100 minus the price difference (step  710 ). 
   Referring back to  FIG. 18   a , with the spot price calculated, pricing engine  22  sets the pricing date equal to the current date (step  630 ) and packages the spot price and the current date as output (step  632 ). 
   To sell a loan to a secondary mortgage market purchaser in the secondary market, the loan originator initiates a sell loan transaction via pricing engine  22 . Upon receiving the request, pricing engine  22  confirms that the loan originator has provided all required underwriting characteristics (e.g., casefile ID, product, and gross interest rate), and calculates the sales price for delivery to the loan originator. This necessitates that pricing engine  22  carry out the additional step of setting the acquisition price equal to the spot price (as calculated above) at the current date (i.e., the date of the acquisition). 
   In accordance with the foregoing, an online system and process are disclosed for enabling a potential borrower to obtain (from a prospect in the mortgage business or other loan originator) a meaningful, real time, anonymous assessment of the likelihood of being approved for a loan based on limited information provided by the potential borrower without the need for a credit report or a property appraisal. The system further provides an online, real time, firm underwriting decision on each loan product offered by the lender for which the borrower is eligible regardless of whether or not the borrower has identified actual collateral to collateralize the loan, and the opportunity to aggregate fees and closing costs with the loan principal. 
   The system (i) identifies available loan products (e.g., mortgage loans) to potential borrowers, (ii) underwrites and prices loan products for which such borrowers are eligible based on their specific financial and other relevant characteristics, and (iii) facilitates the sale of mortgage loans to secondary mortgage market purchasers. This is accomplished in real time over the Internet or other global communications network. 
   Borrower information submitted to the loan originator electronically is evaluated in real time by the system software which determines, before the actual loan application is submitted, and without the need to obtain a credit report or a collateral appraisal, how likely it is that the potential borrower&#39;s loan application will be approved. The system communicates the qualification determination to the potential borrower in the form of a useful and readily understandable percentage likelihood of approval which can be easily and meaningfully compared against determinations made with regard to other potential available loan products to permit the potential borrower to make an informed loan decision. This is not a mere affordability calculation such as is common in the art. 
   If the borrower chooses to apply for a loan, the system underwrites the loan product selected by the borrower as well as all other loan products offered by the lender for which the borrower is eligible. During underwriting, the system evaluates a credit report on the borrower and makes an automatic assessment of underlying collateral based, in part, on historical data stored in a database concerning the collateral (e.g., prior assessments of real estate, assessments of comparable real estate), assuming, of course, that the borrower has identified collateral. The system and process do not require the borrower to identify collateral to obtain an underwriting decision. 
   Assuming that collateral is identified, the system may recommend an appraisal with a full interior and exterior property inspection, an appraisal limited to an exterior-only property inspection, or no appraisal. In most cases, such automatic assessments avoid the need for an appraisal involving an interior and exterior inspection of underlying collateral, and avoid the associated cost. However, the risk associated with not performing an appraisal is factored into the loan pricing as a per loan adjustment to the interest rate. Also, during the underwriting process, the system determines the criteria for aggregating or bundling closing costs with the loan principal. 
   In the event that the borrower is not approved for any loans during the underwriting process, the lender is provided with information identifying problem areas with respect to the borrower&#39;s loan application and suggested areas for improving the borrower&#39;s chances for approval. The borrower may be referred to a help center to receive the benefit of such information and suggestions. 
   The system calculates interest rate quotes (i.e., percentage interest rates and points) for presentation by the lender to the borrower for all loan products offered by the lender for which the borrower is approved during underwriting. The calculated interest rate quotes are customized to the borrower based on the specific financial profile and other relevant characteristics of the particular borrower (drawn from the information provided by the potential borrower and by the credit report and other information obtained by the system), and on the credit risk to the loan originator and secondary mortgage market participant posed by the borrower. 
   Following underwriting and pricing, the borrower may fix or lock in an interest rate and points, or the borrower may choose to float. If the borrower decides to float, the borrower can request and receive an online, up-to-the-minute interest rate quote that is customized to the borrower. 
   After the borrower has selected a particular loan option, the information provided by the borrower in applying for the loan (e.g., employment information, credit history, collateral information, etc.) is verified by the loan originator. The verification process may require human participation. For example, in the case of a mortgage loan, the credit report on the borrower may require review, or the loan originator might arrange at least for a cursory exterior-only inspection of the underlying real estate. 
   Additionally, the system and process determine the spot price for a loan. The spot price is the price that the loan originator may expect to receive in the secondary mortgage market when it sells the loan to a secondary mortgage market purchaser. The spot price allows the loan originator to value a loan in the secondary market without committing (selling) the loan. After the loan is closed, the lender can commit (sell) the loan to the secondary mortgage market purchaser at a price determined by the system and process disclosed herein. 
   The system utilizes known computer hardware and electronic communications links to effect the automated implementation of various aspects of the disclosed methods. 
   Accordingly, the system and process provide for online loan qualification, application, approval, underwriting and pricing, and enable non-traditional players (“prospects”) and traditional players to originate loans without having to build the requisite infrastructure. On the lender side, the system and process provide prospects in the mortgage business, or other loan originators, with market sensitive interest rates that may be presented to potential borrowers to attract business. These rates may be customized for each prospect or other lender. 
   The system and process provide a streamlined loan process to provide a positive experience for users. 
   The system and process give a potential borrower a meaningful and readily understandable assessment of the likelihood of being approved for a loan in real time, without the need for a credit report or a collateral appraisal. 
   The system and process provide a borrower with an online, real time, firm underwriting decision on each loan product offered by the lender for which the borrower is eligible regardless of whether or not the borrower has identified actual collateral for the loan. 
   The system and process which provide a borrower with the opportunity to aggregate closing costs with the loan principal. 
   The system and process calculate an interest rate and points specific to the individual potential borrower based on the credit risk to the lender and the secondary mortgage market purchaser posed by the borrower in connection with a specific loan product for which the borrower is eligible. 
   The system and process which provide for reduced loan origination costs resulting from requiring only limited appraisal field work or no appraisal field work, as appropriate. 
   The loan system and process which provide reduced documentation verification requirements. 
   Additionally, the system and process minimize the uncertainty faced by the loan originator when dealing with the secondary mortgage market by providing the loan originator with the acquisition price it may expect to receive for an individual loan (not an aggregate of loans) in the secondary market from the secondary mortgage market purchaser. The system and process which offer the loan originator an indication of the price it may expect to receive for an individual loan in the secondary mortgage market from the secondary mortgage market purchaser. 
   The system and process look up predefined factors so that the calculations required are simpler and the hardware requirements are decreased. 
   The disclosed method accordingly comprises the various steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the disclosed system embodies features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which are adapted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the foregoing detailed disclosure. 
   It will thus be seen that the advantages set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method and in the constructions set forth for the system without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
   It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.