System for analyzing loan data

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for a borrower to obtain and/or evaluate desired financial services. Personal information from the borrower is obtained and recorded. A credit grading for the borrower is determined based on the personal information, and based on pre-established and objective criteria used by at least one established financial institution that provides financing of the type sought by the borrower. The credit grading is determined by an independent entity (or its computer system) that will not provide the financing to the borrower. The financing may be a loan, such as a mortgage loan or an auto loan or the financing may be the issuance of a credit card or a line of credit. The independent entity may also compile a comparison of closing costs associated with the financial transactions.

1 . A computer-implemented method of assisting borrowers in shopping for loans and associated closing services, the method comprising:
 receiving financial data of a borrower via a computer network;   identifying a plurality of mortgage loans for which the borrower qualifies based at least partly on said financial data, said plurality of mortgage loans including loans offered by at least one lender;   identifying, in connection with the plurality of mortgage loans, closing services and associated closing costs, said closing services offered by service providers other than the at least one lender; and   outputting, for presentation to the borrower via a user interface of a web site, information regarding the set of mortgage loans and the closing services, said information including, for each of the plurality of loans, a total cost of each loan, including said associated closing costs for closing services;   said method performed by a computer-based system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the plurality of mortgage loans for which the borrower qualifies comprises applying evaluation criteria of the at least one lender to financial data of the borrower. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the computer-based system is operated by an entity that serves as an intermediary between the borrower and the at least one lender. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, via the user interface of the web site, providing an option for the borrower to select a mortgage loan, and to authorize a release of personal information of the borrower to a lender corresponding to the selected loan. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method comprises providing guaranteed closing costs for said closing services to the borrower via said web site. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the closing services include services provided by a closing agent, a title company, and a home inspector. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, via said user interface of the web site, providing functionality for the borrower to select particular service providers for providing the closing services. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method is performed while the borrower remains anonymous to each of the one or more lenders associated with the plurality of mortgage loans. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising pre-qualifying the borrower for at least one of the mortgage loans while the borrower remains anonymous to the corresponding lender. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, by said computer system, using an automated valuation model (AVM) to assess a value of a real estate property associated with the mortgage loans. 
     
     
         11 . A system for shopping for a loan and associated closing services, the system comprising:
 a computer system that hosts a web site that is accessible to borrowers, said computer system configured to implement a process that comprises:
 receiving financial data of a borrower via a computer network; 
 identifying a plurality of mortgage loans for which the borrower qualifies based at least partly on said financial data, said plurality of mortgage loans including loans offered by at least one lender; 
 identifying, in connection with the plurality of mortgage loans, closing services and associated closing costs, said closing services offered by service providers other than the at least one lender; and 
 outputting, for presentation to the borrower via a user interface of the web site, information regarding the set of mortgage loans and the closing services, said information including, for each of the plurality of loans, a total cost of each loan, including said associated closing costs for closing services. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer system is configured to identify the plurality of mortgage loans for which the borrower qualifies by applying evaluation criteria of the at least one lender to financial data of the borrower. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the computer system is operated by an entity that serves as an intermediary between the borrower and the at least one lender. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer system is configured to provide an option for the borrower to select a mortgage loan, and to authorize a release of personal information of the borrower to a lender corresponding to the selected loan. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer system is configured to provide guaranteed closing costs for said closing services to the borrower. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the closing services include services provided by at least a closing agent, a title company, and a home inspector. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer system is configured to provide functionality for the borrower to select particular service providers for providing the closing services. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer system is configured to perform said process while the borrower remains anonymous to each of the one or more lenders associated with the plurality of mortgage loans. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer system is configured to pre-qualify the borrower for at least one of the mortgage loans while the borrower remains anonymous to the corresponding lender. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer system is configured to use an automated valuation model (AVM) to assess a value of a real estate property associated with the mortgage loans.