Easy HUD has already been shown to cut closing time by as much as 70% but you can finish your paperwork even faster if you think ahead. Create and save a partially completed HUD 1 settlement statement, which you can then use as a template for future closings.
Why You Want To Use Templates
Some of the information on the HUD form is the same in every sale. The most obvious example is the settlement agent — that’s you. If you go under Tools > Default Settings, and click on the Settlement Agent tab, you can enter your information and it will automatically be placed on every HUD 1 statement you complete.
However there are probably other parts of the form that are common to your sales. You might tend to use the same lender or Title Company. Even if you don’t use the same agency in every single sale, if you use an agency more often than not, then it is a waste of your time to keep filling in the same information on every form. Wouldn’t it be better to pull up a HUD form that already has the information on it?
How To Create A Template
Let’s say home sales in your area are often financed by a local lender, ABC Bank. You’ve done a number of sales that use them so why keep retyping the name? Create a new form, enter the information on ABC Bank in Section F, and then save it. Give it a name that’s easy to remember, like “Template – ABC Bank”. Now whenever you start a sale that is funded by them, you just open that template and get a head start. Not only is it faster but you know the information will always be right in new forms.
Here’s a pro tip that will prevent you from overwriting your templates if you forget to save it under a new name. After saving your template, click Open to bring up the file dialog. Right-click on your template and select Properties. Click the box labeled “Read-only” and then click OK. Then click Cancel on the file dialog to dismiss it. Now if you accidentally try to save over that template, the Easy HUD software will prompt you to type a new name instead.
Little tricks like this let you get more out of Easysoft’s line of legal practice management software. Keep an eye on this blog for future postings with helpful tips for all our software products.
