Interthinx Offers Robust Analytics to Detect Mortgage Loan Occupancy Fraud and Undisclosed Properties

January 1, 2011 / 3 min read

FraudGUARD®’s enhanced detection of undisclosed properties could lead to further detection of ownership and occupancy fraud within loan files

AGOURA HILLS, CA, May 21, 2008 — Interthinx®, Inc., the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, announces a new module available through FraudGUARD® to identify and manage potential occupancy and ownership misrepresentations in loan files. The module includes an unparalleled analysis of a borrower’s history of property ownership and critical new alerts within the proven FraudGUARD® scoring system. Interthinx customers are able to detect undisclosed properties that can skew debt-to-income ratios, and discover investors who falsely claim owner occupancy status in loan applications. Detection of these misrepresentations gives lenders the opportunity to investigate and avoid mispricing loan products before a loan is funded.

“Borrowers misrepresenting occupancy status is one of the most common types of mortgage fraud, representing slightly more than 10 percent of the applications scored by FraudGUARD as ‘high risk,’” said Stacey Louie, senior vice president of product development and engineering for Interthinx. He continued, “Our supplementary data set allows for nationwide searches of borrower-owned properties, and our exception-based alerts help our clients discover other borrower property liabilities. Occupancy issues are identified, as well as seller carryback financing, foreclosures, and unidentified addresses used by borrowers. All of these are indicators of potential fraud, which cannot be tolerated in this market.”

Occupancy fraud occurs when borrowers try to disguise an investment property by representing it as the primary residence. Because lenders typically charge a higher interest rate for non-owner-occupied properties (which historically have higher delinquency rates), the false representation results in the lender underestimating the risk, mispricing the loan, and being overexposed to loss.

Inaccurate borrower debt-to-income ratios can stem from undisclosed properties. Since debt-to-income ratios are a crucial underwriting criterion used to determine eligibility for most mortgage loans, misrepresenting occupancy and omitting other borrower-owned properties artificially lowers the debt ratio, which can lead to a borrower fraudulently qualifying for a larger loan or a lower interest rate.

The new occupancy and ownership module of FraudGUARD analyzes detailed borrower ownership data from deed and assessment records and helps lenders assess a borrower’s ownership history with interactive timelines. “The analysis and underlying data provided is not only the most comprehensive in the marketplace, but is the easiest to use because the format was designed to promote operational efficiency,” concluded Kevin Coop, president of Interthinx. “One of our many goals is to consistently provide our customers with crucial and digestible data to help them make the most informed lending decisions based on borrower activity.”

About Interthinx
Interthinx, Inc., an ISO business, is the nation’s leading provider of proven risk mitigation and regulatory compliance tools for the financial services industry. Used at every point in the mortgage lifecycle to prevent mortgage fraud, compliance violations and to assess risk, Interthinx is relied upon by more than 1,100 customers, including 15 of the top 20 mortgage lenders and three of the top five largest financial institutions. With technology that earned Mortgage Technology Magazine’s prestigious 10X Award as “a diagnostic and corrective solution of the highest order,” Interthinx expertise in predictive analytics, data mining, and risk scoring sets the standard for the industry and directly increases the value of client portfolios. For more information, visit www.interthinx.com or call 1-800-333-4510.

About ISO
A leading source of information about risk, ISO provides data, analytics, and decision-support services to professionals in many fields, including insurance, finance, real estate, health services, government, human resources, and risk management. Using advanced technologies to collect, analyze, develop, and deliver information, ISO helps customers evaluate and manage risk. The company draws on vast expertise in actuarial science, insurance coverages, fire protection, fraud prevention, catastrophe and weather risk, predictive modeling, data management, economic forecasting, social and technological trends, and many other fields. To meet the needs of diverse clients, ISO employs an experienced staff of business and technical specialists, analysts, and certified professionals. In the United States and around the world, ISO helps customers protect people, property, and financial assets.

Release: Immediate

Contact:
Michael DiVirgilio
MWW Group (for ISO)
213-486-6560 x328