Home asset management account

• US 7,324,970 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2002
• Issued: 01/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wells Fargo Bank NA (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Original Assignee: Wells Fargo Bank NA (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Inventors: Epstein, Adam, Oakes, Doreen, Magruder, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Kramer; James A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Maguire; Lindsay M.
• Application Number:
  US10/072,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20030149656A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,182 Days
• Field of Search: 705/38
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof

Abstract

A method and apparatus for a home asset management account system is provided that combines a first mortgage account and an equity line of credit (LOC) and offers a periodic sweep feature between the first mortgage and equity LOC, a periodic property value review feature of the first mortgage, and a statement feature that provides a customer valuable information on the subject property estimated value and the relationship between the first mortgage and the equity LOC. The first mortgage and equity LOC results from a proprietary automated decisioning/pricing system, the periodic sweep feature, the periodic property value review feature, and a unique statement feature are bundled into a financial package available for customers.

Claims

1. A method for home asset management, comprising:

providing a first mortgage, having a principal balance;

providing an equity line of credit (LOC);

performing automatically a periodic principal sweep and line increase offer from said first mortgage into said equity LOC, comprising the steps of;

identifying home asset management account loans on a preexisting mortgage system associated with said first mortgage;

pulling home asset management account loans and all necessary data fields per mortgage account into a first extract file;

identifying home asset management account loans on a preexisting equity system associated with said LOC;

pulling home asset management account loans and all necessary data fields per equity account into a second extract file;

merging and comparing all home asset management account loans from the preexisting mortgage system and the preexisting equity system extract files and storing said merged file in an intersect database;

filtering and testing said home asset management equity accounts for a sweep flag equal to No in the preexisting equity system;

excluding from the sweep process home asset management equity accounts with No set in the sweep flag field and populating with a sweep flag set to no reason code;

filtering the home asset management mortgage accounts for bankruptcy status, wherein the home asset management mortgage accounts that are in bankruptcy status on the first mortgage are excluded from the sweep process at this point and are populated with a bankruptcy on the first mortgage reason code;

filtering the home asset management mortgage accounts for foreclosure status, wherein the home asset management mortgage accounts that are in foreclosure on the first mortgage are excluded from the sweep process at this point and are populated with a foreclosure on the first mortgage reason code;

filtering home asset management mortgage accounts for current status on first mortgage, where current status on the first mortgage is defined as if the current month is beyond the due month then the loan is not current and payment must be received on or before end of the month of the due date month to consider the account current, and wherein the home asset management mortgage accounts that are not current on the first mortgage are excluded from the sweep process at this point and populated with a not current on the first mortgage reason code;

filtering home asset management equity accounts for current status on the equity LOC, wherein the home asset management equity accounts that are not current for the equity LOC are excluded from the sweep process at this point and are populated with a not current on the equity LOC reason code;

identifying the first mortgage principal pay down amount and rounding said payment amount down to the nearest dollar for all merged and matched accounts that have passed all filters;

sweeping automatically the first mortgage principal pay down amount to the available equity LOC amount on the preexisting equity system to effect an increase; and

performing automatically a periodic property value review of said first mortgage and an associated offer of an automatic line increase to said equity LOC.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said periodic property and credit review is an annual review.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said period sweep is a quarterly principal sweep.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a periodic position statement reflecting said sweep equity LOC increase, and a property valuation statement reflecting estimated change in property value and, if said offer is accepted, said associated automatic equity LOC increase.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said periodic position statement is provided quarterly, and wherein said property valuation statement is provided annually.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing automated decisioning results on any of said first mortgage, said equity LOC, and credit grade.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said equity LOC is a renewable home equity line of credit with convertibility features.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said renewable equity LOC provides a combined loan to value from 0.01 percent to 100 percent at time of loan closing.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising any of:

allowing customer to complete one loan application;

providing customer with a single point of contact for processing;

allowing customer to receive one loan approval communication;

allowing customer to attend one loan settlement and/or simultaneous closing;

providing customer with a single point of contact for general servicing of questions;

performing a first annual review of credit and property value, wherein if customer passes said annual and credit review, customer'"'"'s equity LOC increases to a maximum combined loan to value pre-established taking advantage of an increased value of said property;

increasing said equity LOC based on principal reduction sweeps, wherein as said principal balance on said first mortgage is paid down, said equity LOC increases, said increased amount allowable up to an upper limit of approved credit limits;

initially operating said principal reduction sweep in a calendar quarter following a first anniversary of simultaneous accounts closing and operating subsequent sweeps thereafter on said periodic basis;

increasing said equity LOC based on said periodic review of credit and property values, wherein said periodic review is annual, and wherein said equity LOC does not decrease based on a decrease in property value;

providing a customer with communication regarding said periodic sweeps and reviews results via a position statement, wherein said sweeps are quarterly and said review is annual;

providing a base equity line product that is a convertible equity line thereby providing ability to convert portions of said equity LOC up to a predetermined number of loans with a fixed interest rate and term at a time, and up to a maximum number of loans over a number of years;

making available an expanded array of mortgage products including most or all conforming and non-conforming conventional products;

providing card access and/or convenience checks to equity LOC funds;

providing automated decisioning capabilities at point of sale and operations;

providing a one-time automated application information feed from established data centers or systems on home asset management account loans and simultaneous close loans;

facilitating enhanced sales and operations communication between components by providing daily loan status updates on said equity LOC;

providing automated pricing for said equity LOC at point of sale and operations;

providing enhanced marketing and retention functionality to identify and appropriately segregate customers; and

automated populating first mortgage and equity LOC delinquency accounts with information on existing collections systems.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said first mortgage and equity LOC are priced as separate products.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a mortgage entity is responsible for credit risk on said first mortgage and an equity entity is responsible for credit risk on said equity LOC.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using any of mortgage and home equity pricing engines.

13. An apparatus for home asset management account loans, comprising:

means for providing a first mortgage, having a principal balance;

means for providing an equity line of credit (LOC);

means for performing automatically a periodic principal sweep and line increase offer from said first mortgage into said equity LOC, comprising the steps of;

means for identifying home asset management account loans on a preexisting mortgage system associated with said first mortgage;

means for pulling home asset management account loans and all necessary data fields per mortgage account into a first extract file;

means for identifying home asset management account loans on a preexisting equity system associated with said LOC;

means for pulling home asset management account loans and all necessary data fields per equity account into a second extract file;

means for merging and comparing all home asset management account loans from the preexisting mortgage system and the preexisting equity system extract files and storing said merged file in an intersect database;

means for filtering and testing said home asset management equity accounts for a sweep flag equal to No in the preexisting equity system;

means for excluding from the sweep process home asset management equity accounts with No set in the sweep flag field and populating with a sweep flag set to no reason code;

means for filtering the home asset management mortgage accounts for bankruptcy status, wherein the home asset management mortgage accounts that are in bankruptcy status on the first mortgage are excluded from the sweep process at this point and are populated with a bankruptcy on the first mortgage reason code;

means for filtering the home asset management mortgage accounts for foreclosure status, wherein the home asset management mortgage accounts that are in foreclosure on the first mortgage are excluded from the sweep process at this point and are populated with a foreclosure on the first mortgage reason code;

means for filtering home asset management mortgage accounts for current status on first mortgage, where current status on the first mortgage is defined as if the current month is beyond the due month then the loan is not current and payment must be received on or before end of the month of the due date month to consider the account current, and wherein the home asset management mortgage accounts that are not current on the first mortgage are excluded from the sweep process at this point and populated with a not current on the first mortgage reason code;

means for filtering home asset management equity accounts for current status on the equity LOC, wherein the home asset management equity accounts that are not current for the equity LOC are excluded from the sweep process at this point and are populated with a not current on the equity LOC reason code;

means for identifying the first mortgage principal pay down amount and rounding said payment amount down to the nearest dollar for all merged and matched accounts that have passed all filters;

means for sweeping automatically the first mortgage principal pay down amount to the available equity LOC amount on the preexisting equity system to effect an increase; and

performing automatically a periodic property value review of said first mortgage and an associated offer of an automatic line increase to said equity LOC.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said periodic property and credit review is an annual review.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said period sweep is a quarterly principal sweep.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

a periodic position statement reflecting said sweep, equity LOC increase, and a property valuation statement reflecting estimated change in property value and, if said offer accepted, said associated automatic equity LOC increase.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said periodic position statement is provided quarterly, and wherein said property valuation statement is provided annually.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

automated decisioning results on any of said first mortgage , said equity LOC, and credit grade.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein equity LOC is a renewable home equity line of credit with convertibility features.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said renewable equity LOC provides a combined loan to value from 0.01 percent to 100 percent at time of loan closing.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising any of:

means for allowing customer to complete one loan application;

means for providing customer with a single point of contact for processing;

means for allowing customer to receive one loan approval communication;

means for allowing customer to attend one loan settlement and/or simultaneous closing;

means for providing customer with a single point of contact for general servicing of questions;

means for performing a first annual review of credit and property value, wherein if customer passes said annual and credit review, customer'"'"'s equity LOC increases to a maximum combined loan to value pre-established taking advantage of an increased value of said property;

means for increasing said equity LOC based on principal reduction sweeps, wherein as said principal balance on said first mortgage is paid down, said equity LOC increases, said increased amount allowable up to an upper limit of approved credit limits;

means for initially operating said principal reduction sweep in a calendar quarter following a first anniversary of simultaneous accounts closing and operating subsequent sweeps thereafter on a said periodic basis;

means for increasing said equity LOC based on said periodic review of credit and property values, wherein said periodic review is annual, and wherein said equity LOC does not decrease based on a decrease in property value;

means for providing a customer with communication regarding said periodic sweeps and reviews results via a position statement, wherein said sweeps are quarterly and said review is annual;

means for providing a base equity line product that is a convertible equity line thereby providing ability to convert portions of said equity LOC up to a predetermined number of loans with a fixed interest rate and term at a time, and up to a maximum number of loans over a number of years;

means for making available an expanded array of mortgage products including most or all conforming and non-conforming conventional products;

means for providing card access and/or convenience checks to equity LOC funds;

means for providing automated decisioning capabilities at point of sale and operations;

means for providing a one-time automated application information feed from established data centers or systems on home asset management account loans and simultaneous close loans;

means for facilitating enhanced sales and operations communication between components by providing daily loan status updates on said equity LOC;

means for providing automated pricing for said equity LOC at point of sale and operations;

means for providing enhanced marketing and retention functionality to identify and appropriately segregate customers; and

means for automated populating first mortgage and equity LOC delinquency accounts with information on existing collections systems.

22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said first mortgage and equity LOC are priced as separate products.

23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a mortgage entity is responsible for credit risk on said first mortgage and an equity entity is responsible for credit risk on said equity LOC.

24. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

means for using any of mortgage and home equity pricing engines.