Version 1.35 is scheduled to be released between 2:00am EDT and 5:00am EDT on August 10th, 2020.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

New Features

Reminder Emails to Online Borrowers

Borrowers working online in the POS will now receive reminder emails. There are two separate instances when the system will remind the borrower: 

  1. When the borrower has created their account but has yet to submit their application
  2. When the borrower has outstanding Client Needs assigned to them


Each borrower on the loan file will receive these reminders. The borrowers will receive notifications daily for 5 days after starting an application for the first instance, and after Client Needs have been sent to a borrower for the second instance. The first remind is sent the next day.


Custom Email Templates

Company Admins will now be able to configure their company's emails which are sent to borrowers and business partners out of ARIVE.Next. Admins will be able to embed videos, images, customize the content, and more to brand emails.


The configuration options are available in the Company Settings under a new tab for Email Templates. Rich text editing is available for formatting emails properly.


Also available are loan field tags, which will allow admins to embed information about the loan file in the emails. For example, admins may include the Loan Amount in an email to let the borrower know the file has been submitted to underwriting.


Customizable Pre-Approval Letter

Company Admins will now be able to configure their company's pre-approval letter.


Admins will find the setting available in Company Settings > PreApproval Letter.


We provide a list of loan field tags which allow the user to map data from the loan file to the letter. However, if there is something missing that you need, please let us know, and we will get it added.



Expanded Loan Team Feature

We have expanded the Loan Teams feature so that Loan Officers will be able to configure their Loan Team to include multiple LOAs and Processors. This optionality assigns each Loan Team member to the file upon creation, giving them access to the file. Additionally, multiple LOAs and Processors may be assigned directly from within the loan file from the File Contacts page.



For additional details on configuring your loan team, please review our FAQ article.


Fees Enhancements

Preserving Fees

Previously, we had a 'Lock Fees' feature on the loan file, which provided a way for users to tell the system, "Do not change the value of this fee." While the functionality of that feature is desired, the feedback from users was that it was not intuitive.


Based on this feedback, we updated how fees are stored on the loan file. After a users applies a loan product from the pricing engine, the fee information is saved to the file. When repricing the file, the fees which are currently on the loan file will be used. The exception being for lender fees if the lender is changed.


Lender Fees Redesign

We have relocated Lender Fees to be under the Lender config within Company Settings. The purpose here is twofold:

  1. To provide clarity that the non-lender fees in the Closing Costs config are global. That is they apply to all lender products.
  2. Allow Company Admins a way to configure Lender Fees for their Manual Lenders.


Having a separate configuration for Manual Lender fees has been a big request for some time now. If your company does business with a non-integrated lender, admins will now be able to configure those lenders' fees in the pricing engine.


Minor Features and Bug Fixes

POS:

Loan Officer Look-Up

We have noticed that borrowers working in the POS will occasionally start an application that's not with their intended loan officer. Usually, borrowers will know the loan officer as they've already been working closing with one.


To minimize the frequency of borrowers being assigned a random loan officer when they start an online application, we have provided a loan office look-up feature, so borrowers may find their LO.


Collect Additional Employer Info

We have changed a few fields on the online application for collecting borrowers' employment information based on broker feedback. We will now require borrowers to enter their job title, the end date for previous employment, and we have added a field to collect the employer phone number.


Allow $0 Down Payment

We have fixed a bug in the online application which would prevent borrowers from submitting a zero down payment app.


We have removed a link which was available to online borrowers to start a new application. While the intention was to provide flexibility to the borrower, we found that users were unintentionally starting a new application.


The Start New Application link will be available if the borrower has no active loans. 


Configuration to Never Collect Street Address

We have added a POS configuration option available to Company Admins which will enable companies to completely prevent triggering RESPA by not collecting the street address of the subject property. This will be available to both Purchase and Refinance transactions, and may be set in the POS Config settings in Company Settings. 


First Invite to a Borrower

We have received feedback from brokers that they occasionally want to invite borrowers to only complete Client Needs to upload documents, and not invite them to fill out an application. While this was possible previously, there was an issue where borrowers would not receive an email to create their account when the broker user would first send Client Needs list items.


We have added messaging in the system to direct the broker user to send a Document Only invite, and will prevent sending the Needs List until the borrower's account is created.


LOS:

Notifications on Document Uploads

We have improved the notification for when borrowers upload documents. Previously a notification would only be sent to the loan team when the borrower completed all Client Needs that were assigned. Going forward as borrowers upload documents, the loan team will be notified on an hourly basis. 


For example, if a borrower completes a portion of the needs over an hour's time. The loan team will be notified that there are documents for review. Then if the borrower later returns to complete the rest of the needs, the loan team will  again be notified that there are items to review.


Sync Housing Expenses with Fees

We have updated the housing expenses and prepaid / escrow fees interaction. For example, if users edit the monthly property amount, then this value will sync to the fees section, and vice versa.



Lock Expiration Notifications

On loan files where the lock expiration date is entered, the system will automatically notify the loan team when locks are set to expire within two days.


Configurable Email Signatures

In addition to having custom email templates as mentioned above, we have added functionality for each user to configure their own email signature in the platform. This is located in Edit Profile > Email Signature.


Displaying Emails Sent to Borrowers

We have added an ability for users to preview emails which would be sent to the borrower. Users may also edit these emails, as necessary.


Subject Property Address Sync Checkboxes

We have added options in the Borrower Information section to sync current housing information with the subject property on refinance loans. This is available to borrowers in the POS as well.


Do Not Apply Funding Fee for VA Exempt Status

We have fixed an issue where the VA Funding Fee was applying to Exempt status loans.


Realtors Included in Milestone Notifications

Buyer and Seller agents will now be included in Milestone Notification emails.


We plan to improve this even further, so there will be separate Buyer and Seller emails, which will also be configurable.


Add Phone Extension in User Profile Settings

We have added a field for the phone extension in user settings.


Add Retirement Date to Retirement Income

For retirement income, we have added a new field to collect the retirement date.


Display Creditor Contact Info on Liabilities

The contact information of the creditor for a liability will now be available in the liability fly-out.



PPE:

Do Not Set Lock Dates when Applying Loan Product

We have fixed an issue where lock dates would unintentionally set or override the lock date and lock expiration date.


Include Debts to Be Paid from LOS

For refinance loans, the amount of debts to be paid off will now flow to the pricing engine resulting in a more accurate cash to close value.


For quick price scenarios, this field will also be available to provide more accurate quotes.