Mortgage technology

The Internal Revenue Service's indefinite delay of a deadline for a new authentication procedure has headed off concerns about potential interruptions in mortgage production.

To successfully respond to the most pressing challenges facing the mortgage industry right now, lenders and servicers must navigate issues of competition, governance, affordability and margins.

Lenders and servicers haven't faced the same scrutiny over data security as their peers in retail and other financial services sectors. But mortgage companies must remain vigilant, as the extensive data they collect can expose consumers to identity theft if it got in the wrong hands.

By decreasing costs through technology, outsourcing and scale, servicers not only can give their margins a much-needed boost, but also set themselves up to reap rewards in the future.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization has launched a new portal for collaboration and communication across the industry and updated its website.

Condominium associations cannot afford to take on the potential legal risk that reporting delinquent borrowers to the credit bureaus would bring.

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. Unfortunately, it's taken years of widespread regulatory upheaval for mortgage servicing to find it necessary to start thinking about technology innovation.

Servicers have long skimped on technology investment, leaving legacy systems that can't keep pace with compliance demands. But rising costs and a new round of regulations are compelling both servicers and vendors to finally address these deficiencies.

First American Financial Corp. has acquired post-closing services and document management technology provider TD Service Financial Corp.

Companies in the path of the storm have battened down the hatches, as others have prepared for the impact the hurricane could have on home sales and loan servicing in the weeks to come.