E3

Resources

Documents and evidence

3 pieces.

All writing
FIGURE 1Roughly fifty documents establish about twelve factsThe file is built out of corroboration, which is why contradictions hide between documents.THE FILEWHAT IT ESTABLISHESURLA 1003PaystubW-21040 + schedulesVOE 1005Bank statementsCredit reportAppraisal 1004Title commitmentClosing Disclosure… ~40 moreIncomeEmploymentLiabilitiesAssetsProperty valueTitleLoan termsAbility to repay… twelve in allIncome alone is asserted once and corroborated four times. Only one qualifying figure can be correct.Ability to repay is downstream of every other fact: an error anywhere expresses itself there.

Why a Mortgage File Has Fifty Documents to Establish About Twelve Facts

Dozens of documents establish a much smaller set of facts. Organising a file by fact rather than by document is what makes contradictions visible.

6 min readFIGURE 1The mortgage file, grouped by what each document provesThe useful question about any document is which other document would contradict it.Income & employmentW-2Paystub1040 + schedulesVOE 1005Bank statementsAssetsVOD 1006Account statementsLarge-deposit sourcingCredit & identityCredit reportSSA-89Credit authorisationProperty & collateralAppraisal 10041073 condo1007 rent scheduleFlood certificationHazard declarationTitle commitmentDisclosure & timingLoan EstimateClosing DisclosureIntent to ProceedHMDA LARClosing & legalPromissory noteDeed of trust / mortgageBorrower certificationsMost documents are corroborating, not primary. Dates are as material as amounts, and a missing document is a finding.Form numbers as commonly used: 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1073, 1076, 4506-C, SSA-89.

The Mortgage File: A Reference to the Documents and What Each One Proves

A document map: what each form proves, its key fields, the checks that apply, and the programme exceptions that change them.

6 min readFIGURE 1Extraction is not quality controlTwo different questions, with different failure modes.EXTRACTIONWhat does this document say?Reads one document at a timeReports a confidence in the readingExcellent, and largely a commodityConfidence describes how clearly a value was read.VALIDATIONIs this file sound, under therules that apply to it?Compares values across documentsDecides from a stored, versioned ruleReproducible months laterIt says nothing about whether the value is correct in context.necessarynot sufficientA system can be excellent at the left and structurally incapable of the right. From a demo, the difference is invisible.The difference shows up later, in what escapes.

Mortgage Quality Control Is a Validation Problem, Not an Extraction Problem

Reading a document and checking a loan file are different problems. Extraction accuracy is a prerequisite for validation, not a substitute for it.

6 min read