NACA Underwriter

NACA•Atlanta, GA

23d•Onsite

About The Position

NACA makes the dream of affordable homeownership a reality for many who have faced systemic racism and other barriers. This includes access to NACA’s Best Mortgage in America and a streamlined mortgage process. NACA works with homebuyers (“Members”) from the initial educational workshop, individual counseling, purchase process and mortgage process. The NACA Underwriter provides quality control to ensure that submissions for NACA Qualification meet NACA’s underwriting policies and criteria. NACA’s underwriting criteria are character-based, which is significantly different from lenders' traditional underwriting guidelines. The NACA Underwriter must review and decision Member files for NACA Qualification. The NACA Underwriter’s review is based on NACA's comprehensive policies and procedures described in detail in NACApedia. The NACA Underwriter makes approval decisions by determining whether the Member is ready for homeownership and helps determine an affordable mortgage payment after reviewing a complete document and information package. This position requires effective communication with NACA Counselors to help them understand how to achieve NACA Qualification. The NACA Underwriter educates and coaches NACA Counselors on NACA policies, qualification requirements and underwriting standards. The NACA Underwriter provides guidance to ensure NACA Qualification submissions are complete, accurate, well documented and compliant with NACA and lender requirements. The comprehensive review may reject the NACA Qualification submission and/or require additional information or and/or documentation. Detailed narratives are essential for documenting conversations with the NACA Counselor, detailing the steps the NACA Counselor and Members need to take to become NACA Qualified. The NACA Underwriter is responsible for ensuring adherence to the NACA criteria and is a good resource for the NACA Counselor to answer questions. The NACA Underwriter grades each file submitted for NACA Qualification for completeness and accuracy. The grading is to evaluate and provide constructive feedback to the NACA Counselor and promote increasingly complete, accurate and well documented submissions.

Requirements

3+ years of mortgage residential mortgage underwriting or similar experience – Required
Experience analyzing complex income, assets and credit – Required
Bachelor’s degree or offsetting work experience
Training, and licenses that demonstrate important knowledge and credentials
Mortgage or real estate courses
HUD-certified housing counselor
Completed 20-hour course required by the SAFE Act
Passage of the NMLS National portion of the Mortgage Loan Originator exam

Nice To Haves

Effective NACA Counselor — Preferred
Underwriting using character-based criteria and compensating factors – Preferred
Education, training, or teaching experience - Preferred
Work with low- to moderate-income individuals and communities.

Responsibilities

Examine and underwrite the full document package and data entry to ensure accuracy and completeness in accordance with NACA’s Policies and Procedures in NACApedia.
Comprehensive understanding of NACA's Best in America Mortgage; character-based underwriting with compensating factors; NACA eligibility requirements, including income and area limitations; NACA's priority interest rate eligibility and priority area designations; and NACA's homeownership programs including Purchase & Rehab Mortgage, HOT-PHA (Housing Choice Voucher) and One-Dollar Purchase.
Understanding and operationalizing of NACA's mission of fighting for economic justice and neighborhood stabilization, and how this mission informs qualification decisions.
Decision files within two days of assignment.
Provide guidance for a NACA Counselor to resubmit a file where necessary documents or information is not provided to make a qualification.
Recommend reductions in NACA Counselor’s file compensation based on incomplete files.
Manually calculate income and assess Members’ readiness for homeownership with an affordable mortgage payment.
Calculate the Members’ maximum affordable mortgage payment (“MAMP”) including adherence to the limits of the housing and debt ratios.
Review files under contract that are over the Maximum Affordable Mortgage Payment (“MAMP”) and decide if the MAMP can be approved for the needed increase to grant NACA Credit Access approval.
Review and approve the Members MAMP by verifying compliance with the Payment Shock Savings Pattern requirement whenever the proposed monthly mortgage payment exceeds the Members current rent.
Grade the submitted files and if not given full credit, provide an explanation in categories with point or grade reductions.
Review the Member's payment history and explanations to determine if the Member is ready for homeownership based on payments they control, without consideration of credit score, consistent with NACA's character-based lending philosophy
Provide clear guidance and detailed lists of conditions to the NACA Counselor for next steps for NACA Qualification at both NACA Qualification (prior to housing search) and Credit Access.
Accurately calculate Member's income using NACA's approved methodologies.
Verify Member's liabilities (debt) and ensure all obligations are properly documented.
Ensure Member eligibility requirements are met, including verification that Members do not have ownership interest in other properties, income and area limitations, and residency requirements.
Assess and approve interest rate buy-down options and principal reduction requests in accordance with NACA guidelines.
Write comprehensive, detailed narratives documenting all file reviews, decisions, and communications with NACA Counselors in accordance with NACA documentation standards.
Other responsibilities as determined by NACA management.