User Stories
Refinancing Website
Deliverable Use: Requirements Gathering
Dale "The Researcher"
Dale is 48 years old, and lives in Salem, NH with his wife. He wanted to refinance his mortgage because he has read news stories about rates being extremely low. He has refinanced before, and already has a fixed mortgage, but he thought that now was a good time to get a lower rate. Dale has excellent credit, and took the time to request credit reports and a credit score before proceeding with the refinancing. Dale spoke to several brokers before deciding to get the refinance through his current lender. He also got his house appraised early on in the process. Dale had heard about HASP, and wondered whether it would affect him, but did not spent a lot of time doing in-depth research on it, as he assumed that in his situation he would not have problems refinancing. After doing online research on closing costs and rates, he proceeded to lock in a new rate with his existing mortgage lender, Salem Coop. The whole refinancing process took Dale took about 4 months.
Elizabeth "The Smooth Sailor"
Elizabeth is 37 and lives in Atlanta, GA with her family. She wanted to refinance her mortgage to get a lower rate before her ARM rate would go up, and to lower her monthly payment. She did not check her credit because she knows that she has good credit and believed she would be able to refinance without any problems. Elizabeth checked rates online a few times, and went to several refinance websites and lenders' websites, but once she saw an offer that she liked at Wells Fargo, she moved to apply relatively quickly. She reviewed all the paperwork and spoke with the underwriter to make sure all was in order before closing. The whole refinancing process took Elizabeth about 2.5 months.
Stephen "The Worrier"
Stephen is 30 and lives in Livonia, MI. He wants to refinance his mortgage to get a lower rate before the rate on his ARM goes up, but is worried because he believes the value of his home has gone down recently. He has spoken to his current lender, and was told that he will probably qualify for refinancing. He has used the Zillow home value estimator to try to estimate the value of his home, taking into consideration the home improvements he has made over time. He's read about HASP, and has visited several government websites to get more information. He is impatient about having the refinance go through, but is frustrated that his current lender has not been very responsive to his needs.
Donna "The Rate Watcher"
Donna is 40 and lives in Dallas, TX with her husband. She wants to refinance her fixed rate mortgage to get a lower rate and monthly payment. She got a credit score recently, and has good credit. Her home value has gone up slightly since she got her original mortgage. She has spoken to a broker and has done a decent amount of online research. She signed up to receive updates about rates from AimLoan. She wants to make sure that the time is right to get a low rate, but is also concerned that if she waits too long, rates will go up again. She also isn't sure how to choose the right rate/point combination. Donna has visited several websites and filled out forms to get quotes, and began an application at two bank websites. It's been 3 months since she started the process, but she isn't getting much closer to applying to refinance.