General Questions:
What is LenderLetter?
LenderLetter is a web application service where lenders create customized and editable pre-approval letters. Buyers and their agents may then access these letters for field specific updating of letter values.
The LenderLetter application allows loan officers to establish editing limits that prevent agents and buyers from entering values outside the ranges set by the loan officer. The benefit here is that these changes may be made nights and weekends when the lender may not be available.
Often times buyers and their agents need to act quickly when the right house comes along. Having on-demand access to a customized pre-approval letter is a distinct advantage for Realtors, especially when the letter must perfectly match an offer price and terms that are contained in the purchase agreement.
LenderLetter puts the Lender, Agent and Buyer all on the same page.
You may view our role based videos by clicking on the links below:
LenderLetter for Lenders
LenderLetter for Agents
LenderLetter for Buyers
Is LenderLetter a lender or bank?
No. LenderLetter is not a Lender or Bank. LenderLetter is an on-line platform allowing Lenders or Banks to post editable pre-approval letters that can be updated by the Buyer or their Agent.
NOTE: The Lender completely controls which fields are editable and the range of values allowed to be entered.
Does LenderLetter gather and store highly sensitive information?
LenderLetter does not gather any highly sensitive information. No SSN's, no drivers license numbers, no birth dates. Only necessary profile information is collected and stored that is necessary to the function of our application. Some of the information includes user names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, state license numbers, buyer income/expenses.
Find our Privacy Policy link in the Footer of each page at Lenderletter.com or click HERE.
Is LenderLetter RESPA compliant?
LenderLetter is RESPA compliant. Please go to the Lender section for more information.
Is LenderLetter T.R.I.D. friendly?
LenderLetter is TRID friendly. Please go to the Lender section for more information.
Lender Questions:
How do I sign up?
Simply visit LenderLetter.com and click on the "SIGNUP" link at the top right of any page. You will be taken to an area on the Home page where you can complete a Sign Up form.
Answer a few question, make sure to click on "I am a Lender", agree to the Terms & Conditions, acknowledge the reCAPTCHA and finally click on the "SIGN UP" button at the bottom.
All of the sign up fields are required. Don't worry, we don't sell your data to third-party's.
An active credit/debit card is required to activate any new account.
NOTE: This Sign Up process is done once for a "Company Owner". All loan officers within a Company will be added by the Company Owner account or Company Administrator accounts that the Company Owner assigns.
If you experience any difficulties, simply contact support by phone, email, or online chat.
How much does LenderLetter cost?
New subscribers receive an automatic 30-day free trial. After the trial ends, the new lender account converts to a monthly fee based subscription.
The current standard monthly fee is $19.50/loan officer. However, we are always trying to help small lenders to succeed. In addition, we appreciate large lenders that bring volume.
Please contact us. Tell us your story. We will be happy to work with you towards special pricing!
May I cancel my subscription at any time?
Yes! We only want happy customers. You may cancel at any time.
PLEASE NOTE: Monthly subscriptions are paid in advance, so if your subscription renewed on a Monday and you canceled the next day on Tuesday, your subscription will continue until the end of the current monthly billing cycle.
Upon cancellation, your account remains available to you. You can still log in. However, access to most of the features are unavailable until the subscription is re-activated.
If I cancel, may I keep my letters and data?
Yes! Your letters and data are owned by you. You may distribute all letters, buyer information, agent contact information and loan officer details prior to cancelling your service. LenderLetter Support is able to assist in retrieving this information if your subscription cancellation has already occurred. There may be a small fee for this service.
In addition, we archive your data for 7 years after cancellation.
Do you offer subscription refunds?
Subscriptions are month-to-month and you may cancel your subscription at any time. However, since our billing is generated one month in advance, if you cancel after the next monthly billing cycle has started, your subscription will continue until the end of the billing month.
Therefore, no refunds are issued unless the service is unavailable to you through no fault of your own.
All new accounts start with a 30-day free trial, so if you cancel within the first 30 days, you will owe nothing!
After I sign up, will LenderLetter help me get started?
Absolutely! And at no additional cost!
These are the 7 basic steps a lender takes towards getting started:
1.Create Account (Company Owner)
2.Add Loan Officers (Administrators, Loan Officers)
3.Enter Loan Programs (Conv., FHA, VA, Jumbo, etc.)
4.Generate Letter Templates
5.Invite/Link to Agents (automated with email)
6.Enter Buyers (automated Max Price Calculator)
7.Process Letters (Agent and Buyer interaction)
1.Instant notification to all parties for each letter change
2.Historical Letter Storage with Date/Time Stamp
We will help you all along the way!!!
Can I use my own company letterhead with logo and signature?
Yes.
Lenders can duplicate their own letterhead with logo, signature image and all other details using our LenderLetter Editor.
If you currently have your favorite pre-approval letters in a Microsoft Word® or other format, the LenderLetter Editor allows for copy/paste functions. This makes recreating your pre-approval letters into reusable LenderLetter templates very easy!
How do I create a Pre-Approval Letter on LenderLetter.com?
LenderLetter provides pre-designed templates that you can use or modify. You may also create your own templates that conform to your company’s standards and guidelines.
Pre-approval letter templates are created using the LenderLetter Editor.
Once a letter template is created, it can be reused endlessly and modified at any time. You may view our training videos.
How many pre-approval letters can be generated with a subscription?
There is no limit to the number of pre-approval letters that a lender may generate. In addition, lenders may also add an unlimited number of Realtors and buyers.
Will I be notified if a buyer or agent makes a change to a pre-approval letter?
Yes. Each time the lender, agent, or buyer makes a letter change, all parties (lender, Realtor, buyer) will be instantly notified by email.
The email provides details of the changes made. Information provided includes who made the change, when the change was made (date/time stamp), what was changed and for how much.
How is my client's information protected in LenderLetter?
Numerous security steps are taken to assure data integrity. From periodic backups to hardened firewalls and application code designed with security in mind. SSL certificates for private application usage and periodic security scans to test all of our systems. We do not disclose all of the layers of security for obvious reasons.
Our servers are housed in a high security data center with redundant power, Internet feeds, physical security, 24×7 monitoring, off-site backups…plus many other security features.
It’s important to note that no highly sensitive information is gathered and maintained on the LenderLetter servers…no SSN’s, no drivers licenses, no birth dates, no credit details. However, we do collect lender, agent, and buyer profile information as well as buyer income/expense details.
Do you have a Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use?
Yes. We have a Policies section in the Footer with links to our:
Terms & Conditions
Private Branding
Privacy Statement
Acceptable Use
Compliance
Other organizational policies are available upon request.
My company is nationwide. Can you support all of our branch locations?
Yes. LenderLetter has multiple support system paths that include the following:
Email support@LenderLetter.com
Phone: (415) 462-1956 / (800) 647-3107
Live Chat – online at LenderLetter.com
Remote computer support (Remote Control)
Assume Login by LenderLetter Support Staff
Onsite support when necessary
For large organizations, we prefer to “train the trainer”. We can come onsite at your location and train a core group of people that serves as your organization’s first line of defense when loan officers seek assistance. Our support staff will always be available for any escalation.
What States or Countries are you established?
LenderLetter.com supports the entire United States and Canada. Future expansion to other countries is planned.
Is LenderLetter RESPA compliant?
The short answer is Yes.
In 1974, Congress enacted the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) as a consumer disclosure and anti-kickback statute.
Here’s the long answer:
What activities are prohibited under RESPA Section 8(a)?
ANSWER:
RESPA Section 8(a) and Regulation X, 12 CFR § 1024.14(b), prohibit giving or accepting a fee, kickback, or thing of value pursuant to an agreement or understanding (oral or otherwise), for referrals of business incident to or part of a settlement service involving a federally related mortgage loan.
Fee, kickback, or thing of value. Thing of value is broadly defined in RESPA and Regulation X. 12 USC § 2602(2); 12 CFR § 1024.14(d). Regulation X defines the term to include, without limitation: monies, things, discounts, salaries, commissions, fees, duplicate payments of a charge, stock, dividends, distributions of partnership profits, franchise royalties, credits representing monies that may be paid at a future date, the opportunity to participate in a money-making program, retained or increased earnings, increased equity in a parent or subsidiary entity, special bank deposits or accounts, special or unusual banking terms, services of all types at special or free rates, sales or rentals at special prices or rates, lease or rental payments based in whole or in part on the amount of business referred, trips.
So…why is LenderLetter exempt?
Lenders have been handing out pre-approval / pre-qualification letters to buyers and their agents for decades. The methods of distribution are quite varied and include; handing the letter directly to buyers and/or agents, emailing letters as attachments to both buyers and agents, uploading the file onto an online data storage service where both buyers and agents may login and download/print the documents, among other methods of distribution.
To the best of our knowledge and research, HUD has never charged any lender with a HUD violation for a lender’s dissemination of pre-approval / pre-qualification letters regardless of what method was used.
LenderLetter.com provides a public service by providing security features surrounding the manipulation and distribution of pre-approval or pre-qualification letters that benefit all parties to a real estate transaction and to the society in general.
Real estate agents are not required to sign up with LenderLetter in order to work with a LenderLetter subscribed lender. The agent will still receive pre-approval / pre-qualification letters, but through another method of distribution as the lender and agent agree upon.
If a real estate agent signs up and creates an account on LenderLetter.com, the agent is not obligated to associate with any particular lender, but may become associated with many lenders and work with multiple buyers all at the same time.
LenderLetter.com merely provides another type of conduit in which to distribute pre-approval / pre-qualification letters.
No compensation is paid to the agent by the lender for using the LenderLetter pre-approval / pre-qualification letter distribution application.
For these and other reasons, providing secure, controlled and verifiable pre-approval letters via LenderLetter.com is RESPA compliant.
Is LenderLetter T.R.I.D, friendly?
LenderLetter is T.R.I.D. friendly provided that the lender/loan officer subscriber creates their editable pre-approval letter template(s), accordingly.
In other words, the lender/loan officer subscriber is aware and cognizant of whether or not any of the variables or wording used in their template may trigger or complete all of the 6 requirements that comprise an ‘Application’ and thereby require that the Loan Estimate (LE) be generated within 3 business days and delivered to the borrower/buyer.
Agent Questions:
Is LenderLetter free to agents?
Yes. LenderLetter is FREE to Agents.
May I work with my favorite lender?
Yes. You may invite all of your favorite Lenders to sign up with LenderLetter. There is a lender invitation menu item on the agent dashboard. You simply need to know your lender’s email address.
How do I invite Lenders to LenderLetter?
Once you are signed-up as an Agent on LenderLetter, then you may invite a lender. Click here to sign-up.
LenderLetter automatically sends an invitation email to the Lender from the Agent portal. Simply click on the ‘Invite Lender’ button, enter the lender’s email and click send.
Is there a limit to the number of letters that may be created?
No. There are no restrictions on the number of letters that may be created.
How do I update or modify a letter?
Once the Buyer has permitted you access to modify a letter via their Lender in LenderLetter, then it is as simple as:
Logging into your LenderLetter Agent portal.
Clicking on the Buyer menu item.
Then selecting the Letters button for the desired Buyer (this will present a list of letters that have been created for the selected buyer).
Select the most recent letter.
Select the Edit Letter button.
Then simply make the changes or updates that best match the terms of your offer.
