Loan origination software developer Calyx made upgrades to two of its platforms and launched a new social media marketing outlet.
The Dallas-based technology company released version 7.3 of its Point desktop LOS and PointCentral, the client server application version of the LOS. Both updates include new tools to improve loan officer workflow when preparing disclosure documents. There are new screens that originators use to generate good-faith estimate and truth-in-lending disclosures, as well as the HUD-1 settlement statement.
In mid-2009, Calyx was among the first LOS providers to update its software for the new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act requirements that took effect in January. The changes made in the 7.3 update are the result of customer feedback for ways to improve the workflow of complying with the new policies, Ted Hicks, Calyx’s product management group director, told Mortgage Technology.
“We often ask our customers how a feature works for them and get feedback on how we can make things better, then incorporate it into the software,” Hicks said. “The RESPA functionality was already in the LOS. But we reconfigured the screens with a new layout and format so it follows a more logical workflow to help originators successfully comply with RESPA.”
Another feature lets users print GFE service provider lists with and without fees. To maintain RESPA compliance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development requires lenders to provide a one-page disclosure with a list of service providers—prices aren’t necessary. Lenders are allowed to list prices on the sheet if they chose to, but are required to ensure the actual price of the service is no more than 10% of the listed price. New automation in the Point LOS lets users import fees to the settlement services provider list from the lender’s fee worksheet.
“Our customers asked us for a way to put the prices on the forms, we added that option to give the flexibility to chose whether to list the prices for service provider lists or not,” Hicks said.
Calyx also added new integrations to its Calyx Network, the developer’s collaborative network services platform. Collaborative network services platforms are a common software tool LOS developers provide to integrate third-party vendor technology to their LOS. Now, users can connect to software of New York-based Advanced Data, a provider of employment and income verification services; Oklahoma City-based a la mode’s Mercury Network, an appraisal management software platform; and Salt Lake City-based Lexington Law, which provides credit repair legal services.
One update that isn’t part of Calyx’s two enhancements is integration with Fannie Mae’s EarlyCheck. Announced in late September, the new service lets lenders run mortgage documents through Fannie Mae’s data verification platform before the loan is funded and closed. As Mortgage Technology recently reported, http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/mt_features/development-of-new--1021770-1.html, the first integrations of the service with LOS platforms are starting to come online. Hicks said Calyx developers are working on EarlyCheck integration and will provide the integration to the LOS in a later update.
Integrations with Calyx software, whether with third-party vendors or the government-sponsored enterprises are always a balancing act. Hicks explained that when the GSEs have a service that a technology provider wants to integrate with, the GSEs have a standard interface and specifications and the developer modifies its software around the parameters.
“They’re not going to budge from their standard specifications,” Hicks said. “The GSEs are working amongst many LOSs, so they’re not going to bend backward for us or anyone else.”
But in the case of the Calyx Network integrations, it’s the opposite. The third-party vendors have to make changes to their software to meet Calyx specifications for the integration.
“It’s always the case,” Hicks said. “It’s who’s gonna be the person that has to bend over.”
It’s not a set arrangement, though. Sometimes there’s room for compromise between Calyx and other vendors, he added, particularly when an integration is for the benefit of the two companies’ mutual clients.
“We have people that want to integrate with us because they see our user base and want to work with us,” Hicks said, adding, “We follow what our customers want and need, we listen to their feedback.”
