Priority Lien Field Update for New URLA

Date Available: Beta 5/26, Prod 6/23

Which customers are impacted?: Lenders who have enabled the new URLA for mortgage.

Required?: Yes, this is a required release. Required releases are features that Blend wants to standardize in the codebase, and typically do not require additional configuration. 

How to turn on: This feature will be automatically enabled on the dates listed above.

Purpose of Update and Benefit: The new URLA separates clean energy lien information into two distinct data points: 

• Whether the borrower intends to add a PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) lien as part of the transaction

• Whether the property already has an existing PACE lien at the time of underwriting

This update aligns the application experience with that separation.

Current Behavior: When the new URLA is enabled, it includes a new field on the 1003 regarding whether there is an existing PACE lien on the subject property. However, the label of this field, "Property is subject to priority lien", does not clearly reflect its purpose within the new URLA structure. Leaving the field blank results in AUS submission failures, as it is required for accurate LPA findings.

New Behavior: When the new URLA is enabled, this field is replaced with "Property currently subject to a PACE (priority) lien?" to better align with the 1003 label and field purpose. The field is defaulted to 'No,' and is required in the UI before submitting to AUS.

In addition, AUS validation ensures both clean energy lien fields (the borrower's intent to add a PACE lien and the existing lien status on the property) are included in LPA submissions in accordance with Freddie Mac guidance.

Note: This field defaults to 'No.' Lenders should verify and update this field based on title documentation. If a PACE lien exists on the property and the field is not updated, inaccurate data may be submitted to LPA, which could affect loan eligibility determinations or create QC risk.

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