Abstract:
One embodiment of a system comprises: a user database to store first data for a first user comprising data from one or more external sources related to the first user&#39;s ability to qualify for a mortgage and to store second data for the first user related to user responses to a questionnaire; a qualification engine to read the first data and second data from the user database, the qualification engine to perform an analysis of the first data and second data to determine a current qualification level for the first user; a recommendation engine to analyze the current qualification level generated by the qualification engine and to generate one or more recommended steps to improve the first user&#39;s current qualification level.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of and priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/323,578, filed, Apr. 15, 2016, all of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field of the Invention 
       [0002]    This invention relates generally to the field of computer systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for generating a score representative of mortgage qualification and providing recommendations. 
       Description of the Related Art 
       [0003]    Realtors and Lenders only really want to work with prospects who can buy today. That leaves the unmet desires and needs of some 30 million Millennial and other future home buyers on the table with no takers. They are intimidated by a complex and unaligned purchasing process that does not provide integrated technology support and seems incapable of directly responding to their concerns. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained from the following detailed description in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary system and apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary computer system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0007]    In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention described below. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the underlying principles of the embodiments of the invention. 
         [0008]    One embodiment of the invention generates a score representing qualification of a user to acquire a mortgage or other type of loan. Should the user fall beneath a threshold qualification level, one embodiment provides specific recommendations as to how the user can improve his/her qualification score. 
         [0009]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , one embodiment of the invention includes a qualification evaluation and recommendation service  100  to which user may connect over the Internet  180  via clients  130  and mobile devices  140  equipped with browsers and/or apps  131 ,  141 , respectively, designed to connect with the service  100 . In one embodiment, a qualification engine  103  executed on the service  100  determines a user&#39;s current qualification level  104  based on responses submitted by a user via a questionnaire  102  (e.g., such as the user&#39;s salary, assets, zip code, etc) and/or based on data from external sources  101  (e.g., such as the user&#39;s credit score). If the current qualification level  104  of the user is above some specified threshold (i.e., indicating that the user will qualify for a desired mortgage), then the user may be informed of the qualification. However, if the current qualification level  104  is below where it needs to be in order for the user to acquire a mortgage, then a recommendation engine  104  may evaluate the reasons for the user&#39;s low qualification level  104  and make recommendations comprising steps that the user may take to improve the user&#39;s qualification level  106  (e.g., reducing the user&#39;s debt). 
         [0010]    One embodiment of the qualification engine  103  and recommendation engine  105  evaluate the following variables when determining a user&#39;s current qualification  104  and making recommendations  106  to improve the qualification level: 
         [0011]    Employment: 
         [0012]    Mortgage Underwriters examine employment history for the past two years in great detail. It is important to know what they are looking for in advance so the user can explain and resolve any issues that could deny the approval process! 
         [0013]    Income: 
         [0014]    In determining qualifying income, lenders examine the past two years of income history by requiring pay stubs, W2&#39;s and income tax returns. Before the user provides this information to a lender, he/she must make sure there are no issues that could get in the way of a mortgage approval. 
         [0015]    Assets: 
         [0016]    Many prospective homebuyers make the mistake of trying to be creative when moving money around to satisfy the funds required for closing. Lenders require all funds to be sourced and any unusual deposits explained. If not done properly, this can cause delays or even a mortgage denial. 
         [0017]    Credit Score and Report: 
         [0018]    Lenders examine credit scores and credit reports to evaluate a user&#39;s credit history. It is important to know that a high or low score is not everything. When it comes to qualifying, there are many different credit factors that impact the user&#39;s score. Mistakes and outdated items are common on reports and should be dealt with. 
         [0019]    The various modules illustrated in  FIG. 1  may be implemented in software, hardware, or any combination thereof.  FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary computing platform  200  on which the embodiments of the invention may be implemented. In particular, the exemplary computing platform  200  may be used to implement one or more servers of the qualification evaluation and recommendation service  100 , the client  130 , and/or mobile device  140 . 
         [0020]    The exemplary computer system  200  may execute program code stored on a machine-readable medium to implement the various techniques described herein. Specifically,  FIG. 2  shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a computer system  200  within which instructions  224  (e.g., software) for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server machine or a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. As is further described below, this machine representation provides an example configuration to execute the processes described herein whether on the server side and/or client side. 
         [0021]    The machine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions  224  (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute instructions  224  to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. 
         [0022]    The example computer system  200  includes a processor  202  (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), or any combination of these), a main memory  204 , and a static memory  206 , which are configured to communicate with each other via a bus  208 . The computer system  200  may further include graphics display unit  210  (e.g., a plasma display panel (PDP), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system  200  may also include alphanumeric input device  212  (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device  214  (e.g., a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instrument), a storage unit  216 , a signal generation device  218  (e.g., a speaker), and a network interface device  220 , which also are configured to communicate via the bus  208 . 
         [0023]    The storage unit  216  includes a machine-readable medium  222  on which is stored instructions  224  (e.g., software) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions  224  (e.g., software) may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory  204  or within the processor  202  (e.g., within a processor&#39;s cache memory) during execution thereof by the computer system  200 , the main memory  204  and the processor  202  also constituting machine-readable media. The instructions  224  (e.g., software) may be transmitted or received over a network  226  via the network interface device  220 . 
         [0024]    While machine-readable medium  222  is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers) able to store instructions (e.g., instructions  224 ). The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., instructions  224 ) for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies disclosed herein. The term “machine-readable medium” includes, but not be limited to, data repositories in the form of solid-state memories, optical media, and magnetic media. 
         [0025]    Various modifications, changes and variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims. 
         [0026]    Embodiments of the invention may include various steps, which have been described above. The steps may be embodied in machine-executable instructions which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor to perform the steps. Alternatively, these steps may be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performing the steps, or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components. 
         [0027]    As described herein, instructions may refer to specific configurations of hardware such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) configured to perform certain operations or having a predetermined functionality or software instructions stored in memory embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium. Thus, the techniques shown in the figures can be implemented using code and data stored and executed on one or more electronic devices (e.g., an end station, a network element, etc.). Such electronic devices store and communicate (internally and/or with other electronic devices over a network) code and data using computer machine-readable media, such as non-transitory computer machine-readable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks; optical disks; random access memory; read only memory; flash memory devices; phase-change memory) and transitory computer machine-readable communication media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). In addition, such electronic devices typically include a set of one or more processors coupled to one or more other components, such as one or more storage devices (non-transitory machine-readable storage media), user input/output devices (e.g., a keyboard, a touchscreen, and/or a display), and network connections. The coupling of the set of processors and other components is typically through one or more busses and bridges (also termed as bus controllers). The storage device and signals carrying the network traffic respectively represent one or more machine-readable storage media and machine-readable communication media. Thus, the storage device of a given electronic device typically stores code and/or data for execution on the set of one or more processors of that electronic device. Of course, one or more parts of an embodiment of the invention may be implemented using different combinations of software, firmware, and/or hardware. 
         [0028]    Throughout this detailed description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In certain instances, well known structures and functions were not described in elaborate detail in order to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope and spirit of the invention should be judged in terms of the claims.