Defining Initial Values for Mortgages

Once you have collected all of the information about a mortgage, you are ready to enter it into Keystone. The following instructions describe how to enter much of the general information needed to set up a mortgage in Keystone.

If you have not already done so, review the Entering Mortgages section before proceeding. You will find these instructions much easier to follow if you have compiled and set up all of the information about a mortgage prior to entering it into Keystone. You also may find the Mortgage Entry Worksheet helpful in your preparation.

These instructions apply to entering both new and existing mortgages, except as noted. The process of entering existing mortgages requires a few additional pieces of information. These are described in the instructions below where needed.

Homeowner names and other information are entered on the Family Partner screen. The minimum information needed to enter a mortgage is Homeowner, Co-Owner (if applicable), Address, and Family Partnership Level.

Open the Finances tab in the Keystone ribbon and click Mortgage Payments.
The Mortgage/Payment Information screen appears.
Check the Show All check box at the bottom right of the screen, then select the homeowner from the Name(s) drop-down list.
Only homeowners with active mortgages appear in the Name(s) drop-down list unless you check the Show All box.
On the Payment Due/Schedule tab, enter the amount due each month toward principal.

Only enter information into the fields with a white background.

Once you enter the monthly principal payment, press the Enter or Tab key. This causes the Principal History screen to appear. The amount you just entered in the Principal field is entered in the Value column of this window. You should ensure that the Date for this entry is the DFP. You may also enter a note with any relevant details regarding this amount.

If you are entering existing mortgages, you may need to adjust the principal schedule in cases where the homeowner is ahead or behind in payments as of the DFP you entered above. For more information, refer to the Adjusting Payments section.

If you are going to enter historical payments for an existing mortgage, the amount of the monthly principal payment may have changed since the DFP. If this is the case, go to the new record line and enter the revised amount. The Date field in this case should be the first day of the month in which the new amount became effective. Also, enter a note explaining the change. If the amount has changed multiple times, enter a new record line for each change.

When you finish entering the record, Keystone presents a confirmation dialog box. If the effective date of this change is in the past, click Yes to indicate that this new value is the amount in effect at the current time.

For any mortgage, you may also enter any known or anticipated future changes to the principal schedule at this time. On a new record line, simply enter the new amount and the future date on which it will take effect. If presented with the dialog box described above for anticipated future changes, click No. Keystone automatically updates the principal amount due once the effective date is reached.

When finished, click the Close button to exit the Principal History screen.

Enter the monthly escrow payment due on the month of the DFP in the Escrow field on the Payment Due/Schedule tab. Once you enter this amount, press the Enter or Tab key. The Escrow History screen appears. The amount you just entered in the Escrow field is entered in the Value column. Verify that the date for this entry is the same as the DFP.

If you are entering historical payments for an existing mortgage and there have been changes in escrow since the DFP, you will need to enter the date and the amount for each change. Enter the revised amount. The Date field should be the first day of the month in which the new amount became effective..

When you finish entering the record, Keystone presents a confirmation dialog box asking if the current monthly payment should be set to this new value. If the effective date of this change is in the past, click Yes to indicate that this new value is the amount in effect at the current time.

For existing mortgages, you may need to adjust the escrow schedule in cases where the homeowner is ahead or behind in payments as of the DFP you entered above. For more information, refer to the Adjusting Payments section.

You may also enter any known future changes to the escrow schedule at this time. On a new record line, simply enter the new amount and the future date on which it will take effect. If presented with the confirmation dialog box for anticipated future changes, click No to keep the current payment amount as it is. Keystone automatically updates the escrow amount due to the scheduled value once the effective date is reached.

When finished, click the Close button to exit the Escrow History screen.
If there is an other debt balance owed, enter the monthly payment expected toward this in the Other field in the Payment Due pane.
There is no schedule for other debt as there is for principal and escrow payments. Keystone automatically resets the Other field in the Monthly Payments Schedule pane to $0 once the other debt amount has been paid. The total other debt amount is entered in the Other pane of the Mortgage/Principal/Escrow/Other Debt tab.
Switch to the Mortgage/Principal/Escrow/Other Debt tab and enter the mortgage origination date, mortgage term, and initial debt.
In the Mortgage pane, enter the Origination Date and the Initial Value, which is the total cost of the home or the initial principal debt of the homeowner. The Term is set automatically to the default from Affiliate Setup, however you can modify it for this particular mortgage here as needed.

If there are any amounts owed by the homeowner outside of principal and escrow, you may enter the amount in the Initial Debt field in the Other pane.

There is a separate field for the Closed date, which is located on the Property Addresses screen. See the Property Addresses Tabs section for more information.

Enter the necessary information on the Escrow Admin tab.
Click the Expect Escrow Categories button to view the Expected Categories window. When you create a new mortgage, Keystone will automatically add the Default Escrow Categories you indicated on the Escrow tab of Affiliate Setup. Review these and delete the ones that do not apply to this mortgage; and add any missing ones that do apply. These will be used to ensure that all the appropriate Escrow Recurrent Payees have been added.

Select the payees to whom the homeowner has escrow obligations from the Escrow Payees drop-down list. This automatically fills in the Category field with the category set up for that payee.

Doubling-clicking the Escrow Payee field takes you to the Escrow Recurring Payee screen where you can review the definition of that particular payee. Clicking the Return button on that screen brings you back to this screen.

It is important to establish all of the homeowner’s escrow obligations at the time you enter the mortgage even if you do not know the exact escrow payee yet. For this reason you may want to create, for example, an Unknown/Insurance escrow recurring payee record to serve as a placeholder until you know who the actual payee is and can enter it for this mortgage.

If there is a Reference number for this type of payment (Tax ID, Policy Number, etc.), enter it in the Reference field.
Enter the Due Date for the escrow payee. If you are uncertain about this date, you should enter your best estimate rather than leave this field blank. You can modify it later.
Enter the Next Payment Amount. Since this is a disbursement, enter it as a negative number. If you are uncertain about this value, you should enter your best estimate rather than leave it blank. It can be modified later.

Once you have entered the Next Payment Due Date and Amount, the Annual Liability field will be filled in by Keystone. This is dependent on the frequency of payments to be made to the escrow payee.
If there is a renewal date associated with the escrow payee, for example as with insurance policies, enter it in the Effective Date field.

Switch to the Administration tab and enter the following information.
When you switch to the Administration tab, Keystone will display the Grace Period and Late Fee default values as defined in Affiliate Setup. Review these to see if they are applicable to this homeowner and modify, if necessary.

Enter the date of first payment (DFP) in the First Full Payment Date field.
The DFP is the date of the first individual monthly payment you will enter into Keystone for this mortgage.

For existing mortgages, unless you enter all of the historical payments for the mortgage into Keystone, the DFP is the date of the first monthly payment you actually enter into Keystone. In that case, all activity prior to the DFP would be summarized as one single payment to establish the current balances and status of the existing mortgage.

For new mortgages, the DFP is the date of the first regular monthly payment the homeowner makes toward the mortgage. In either case, Keystone makes all of its calculations for balances and mortgage status based on this date, so it is very important that you set it up correctly.
Enter the Silent Second Mortgage Initial Lien value and, in the Notes field, how it is to be forgiven, if applicable. This is information only.
If the homeowner is making payments under a special payment plan, check the Special Payment Plan check box and enter the details of the plan in the note field that appears. When this box is checked, you will be able to generate custom delinquency notices or other adjustments using Delinquency Management. Homeowners under a special payment plan receive a letter number of 99.

Check the Active check box next to the homeowner's name to mark the mortgage as active.
You can now start recording payments toward the mortgage.
Use the Closing Fees screen to enter any closing fees and to transfer those fees to the homeowner's escrow account.
Because closing fees are considered escrow, they may be subject to escrow interest distribution rules. For more information about closing fees, refer to the Closing Fees Screen section. For more information about escrow interest distribution, refer to the Distributing Escrow Interest section.

You are now ready to proceed with entering any historical payments and establishing the balances for the mortgage. For more information, refer to the Entering Payments and Balances section.