General Questions
Q: Is TEGO Certified a Loan Originator?
A: No, TEGO Certified is an independent watchdog company that is committed to fairness to consumers in lending.
Q: Does TEGO Certified protect my privacy?
A: Yes, TEGO Certified does not request, review or maintain any sensitive personal financial information about our customers. Click here to see the TEGO Certified Privacy Policy.
Q: What kind of data does TEGO Certified obtain and from whom?
A: TEGO Certified requests information about the property location, loan type and amount of the mortgage loan you are requesting. From your lender or broker we collect detailed information describing the structure of your loan. From your closing agent or attorney we validate the loan terms initially collected from your loan originator and ensure the final loan documents reflect the correct rate fees and terms.
Q: How much does TEGO Certified cost?
A: The TEGO Certified service is free for borrowers.
Q: How does TEGO Certified work?
A: To hear more about the TEGO Certified service, please watch our video.
Q: Why do I need the TEGO Certified services?
A: TEGO Certified is the only method for consumers to protect themselves from overpaying for their mortgage. Even in the age of information, consumers seldom have any idea what is fair pricing for a mortgage loan. TEGO Certified outlines acceptable fee ranges for services provided by Loan Originators, TEGO Certified monitors your loan transaction from start to finish to ensure no changes are made to your fees and rate without you knowing and to assure you get a fair loan when you close.
Q: Does the TEGO Certified service slow down the processing of my loan?
A: No, to input the necessary information into TEGO Certified takes only minutes to complete and shouldn't delay any processing of your loan.
Loan Originator Questions
Q: What does TEGO Certified do for me?
A: As a TEGO Certified Loan Originator, you will be displayed in search results when Borrowers are looking for a Loan Originator to add to their transactions. This will provide free lead generation and will build on your credibility as an honest loan originator with nothing to hide.
Q: Will participating in TEGO add more time to the loan process and create more work for me?
A: The TEGO Certified process will not add time to the loan process. Inputting the loan details for a Borrower's transaction may require some additional time for the loan originator, but each report will only require a few minutes of your time.
Q: Why do I have to complete a Loan Origination Agreement (LOA) and a Closing Cost Worksheet (CCW)?
A: As part of the TEGO Certified process, the LOA and CCW are used to collect the loan terms offered to your borrower and to track them through each phase of the process.
Q: What if the loan terms change after I complete the Loan Origination Agreement (LOA)?
A: If the loan terms change after you have completed your LOA entry, you can view the LOA report and elect to modify your previously entered information. Once you have submitted your changes, the Borrower will be notified of the change and will review the updated LOA document. They will then "Accept" or "Reject" your updated LOA document.
Q: What is the How Your Loan Really Works (HYLRW) report?
A: The HYLRW report is a Borrower report that explains the Borrower's loan terms in easy to understand language. The report is based on information input by the loan originator. Click here to see a sample report of what the Borrower will receive.
Q: How are loan originators rated in the TEGO Certified system?
A: The loan originator rating system in TEGO Certified is based on how well a loan originator delivers a loan based on what they originally promised the borrower.
What does TEGO consider "fair" when it comes to what lenders should make on a loan?
A: While TEGO expects you to be honest with your clients and we expect you not to manipulate your fees at the expense of your clients, we do expect you to be profitable as a lender. Therefore we have established an acceptable range of income based on loan amount. For loans $0-$100K, total net income (YSP + loan origination + SRP – credits to borrower’s closing costs) ≤ 1.50% of loan amount. For loans > $100-$125K, total net income ≤ 1.25%. For loans > $125K, total net income ≤ 1% of loan amount.
Consumer (Borrower) Questions
Q: What if I agree or do not agree to a change in loan type, features or fees that my Loan Originator is trying to make to my loan?
A: Any change in your loan terms and reports that exceeds TEGO's fairness levels will be flagged in the TEGO reports you will receive and you will have the option to "ACCEPT" or "REJECT" these changes. If you choose to REJECT them, your loan originator will be notified and encouraged to contact you immediately.
Q: Why do I need the TEGO Certified services?
A: The TEGO Certified service provides a method for uncovering hidden fees and excessive income to your loan originator. By asking the right questions and capturing the right information, the TEGO Certified service can help you save thousands of dollars in unnecessary loan expenses.
Q: What information can I expect to receive from TEGO Certified?
A: As your Loan Originator and Closing Agent input your transaction information, you will receive a variety of reports showing you the details of your loan and alerting you if changes occur.
- Loan Origination Agreement (LOA) Report: The LOA report will capture your original loan terms offered by your loan originator and will help you identify possible excessive fees and/or income that may be "hidden" in your paperwork. If you do not agree with the LOA report, you can Decline it which will alert your Loan Originator that you disagree with the information they have input into the TEGO Certified system. Our watchdog system will empower you to know more about your loan process and fees so that you can make the best decisions.
- Closing Cost Worksheet (CCW) Report: As the process continues, the CCW report will compare the updated loan information to the original LOA report to see what has changes may have occurred. Areas that have changed or increased by a significant amount will be flagged for your review. We would encourage you to discuss these changes with your Loan Originator if you were not expecting the information to be different. Excessive fees will continue to be monitored on this report as well.
- HUD Report: At the end of the process, your Closing Agent will take your final loan documents and will enter your loan information a final time into the TEGO HUD report. The TEGO HUD report information will be compared to the CCW and the LOA to ensure nothing has changed. Areas that have changed or increased by a significant amount will be flagged for your review. We would encourage you to discuss these changes with your loan originator if you were not expecting the information to be different. Excessive fees and loan originator income will continue to be monitored on this report as well.
- How Your Loan Really Works Report: Two different versions of this report will be made available to you. The first will be input by your Loan Originator during the processing of your loan. The second will be input by your Closing Agent at the closing of your loan. This report will provide an easy to understand description of your loan details. Any areas that should be of concern will be identified and described further as well.
Q: What if I don't find my loan originator on the website?
A: No problem. At TEGO Certified, you will be able to invite your loan originator. You will just need to provide us with your loan originators name and email address to get the process started.
Q: What do I do if I don't like the loan originator I found on TEGO Certified?
A: If you are not happy with the loan originator you found on TEGO Certified, you can request to switch to another loan originator as long as your loan originator has NOT completed the CCW. On your property details page in TEGO Certified, you will find the "Reassign Your Lender" link above your loan originator's name. If you want to switch to a new loan originator within a large lending company, please contact TEGO Certified for further information.
Q: What is a closing agent?
A: A Closing agent is the company and/or person who will assist you in signing your loan documents and reconcile the financial aspect of your loan closing. In some states, they are known as escrow agents or closing attorneys.
Q: I clicked on a report, but it’s not displaying for me.
A: So that you can maximize your user experience, the TEGO Certified website opens most reports in their own window. Please ensure that popups are enabled for the TEGO Certified website or the reports may not open for you.
Closing Agent Questions
Q: Why should I sign up on the TEGO Certified website?
A: As a TEGO Certified Closing Agent, you will be displayed in search results when Borrowers are looking for a Closing Agent to add to their transactions.
Q: What is the Closing Agent's role in the TEGO Certified transaction?
A: The Closing Agent will enter the HUD Form information into the TEGO Certified website. This information will then be compared with the Loan Originator's entry for the Closing Cost Worksheet (CCW) to ensure the loan information has not changed. Once the HUD information is input by the Closing Agent, the Borrower will then review the report showing what information has been changed and whether they agree with those changes. After entering the HUD, the Closing Agent will then enter some final information for a document called "How Your Loan Really Works." This is a report that simplifies the loan information into an easy to read format for the Borrower. The final How Your Loan Really Works report is important so that the Borrower can understand the final loan terms that they have agreed to.
Q: Does it cost anything to be a TEGO Certified Closing Agent?
A: Not at this time.
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