Lenders use a combination of risk assessment and loan pricing tools to better understand a borrower’s financial position and price loans accordingly. Having access to authoritative land registry data can offer that extra layer of insight to further strengthen the critical 5 C’s of underwriting: Understanding a borrower’s capacity, their character, their capital, credit and collateral.
Here is how lenders use the power of PurView to further validate borrower information to ensure lending confidence before the underwriting process begins:
Capacity:
As lenders know, the first key “C” to underwriting is capacity. This ensures that the borrower’s income can service the mortgage under both current and stressed conditions. Understanding the borrower’s capacity is essential in the underwriting process.
Here is how PurView can help:
- Allows the lender to confirm accurate property estimate (AVM) used for debt-service calculations and stress scenarios.
- Supports loan sizing decisions by validating that the requested loan amount aligns with market value.
- Helps identify high-risk property characteristics (e.g., non-standard property types) that may require tighter capacity thresholds.
- Enables faster pre‑approval by providing immediate, trusted property valuation before the underwriting process begins.
Character:
For lenders, character is the evaluation of whether the borrower has demonstrated responsible financial behaviours over time. Having access to land registry data allows lenders to confirm the following:
- Ownership history to verify borrower legitimacy.
- Length of ownership (frequency of transfers, title activity, etc.).
- Any registered mortgages and historical encumbrances on title for greater insight into financial standings.
- Identify inconsistencies between borrower claims and property records to support fraud detection.
Capital:
To further support lenders with their 5 C’s, PurView can help the lender understand the borrowers’ “Capital”, which reflects how much the borrower has at risk, which influences default behaviour. Having insight into this can identify the borrower’s financial stake in the transaction, which identifies the “loan to value” ratio, a key underwriting metric, and considers how much capital they would have for their down payment.
PurView helps lenders dive deeper into this information by:
- Delivering current AVM-based property value calculations.
- Providing equity estimates by combining value and registered mortgage data.
- Confirming existing liens and mortgage positions on title.
- Helping identify high-leverage scenarios that may impact default behaviour.
Credit:
Credit is an essential aspect to consider when it comes to determining the financial standing of a borrower. Understanding creditworthiness can help determine the borrowers’ capabilities of repayment and ensure confidence in their lending decisions.
PurView can help strengthen this due diligence by:
- Offering the ability to confirm existing secured obligations tied to the property.
- Identifying undisclosed mortgage or encumbrances.
- Supporting validation of declared liabilities against registered property data.
- Adding an additional layer of risk confirmation alongside traditional credit data.
Collateral:
When understanding the borrower’s collateral, the lender can leverage land registry data to confirm the following details:
- Property values with the Teranet AVM (Automated Valuation Model).
- Detailed property characteristics and type.
- Sales history and comparable sales to support value confidence.
- Neighbourhood and market context to assess liquidity and risk.
- Added level of due diligence to flag unusual activity or inconsistencies.
Understanding the financial standing of a borrower is an essential aspect of the underwriting process – as fraud becomes more dynamic and complicated, having the extra layer of insight can help strengthen the 5 “C’s” of credit to validate lending decisions.
Find out how PurView can benefit you throughout the lending lifecycle and book a personalized, 1:1 demo to learn more.
