Mortgage technology

The real estate industry's data standards organization embarks on a new chapter as a standalone group.

Real estate agents and brokers should evaluate the portals where they place their home listings to maximize their effectiveness, said Spencer Rascoff, the CEO of home listing portal and mortgage rate search marketplace Zillow.

Rob Katz, Ellie Mae's executive vice president of product strategy, resigned last week, for personal reasons.

Freddie Mac is making it easier for investors to track the performance and credit quality of its multifamily mortgage-backed securities known as 'K Certificates.'

Many mortgage industry observers believe the HARP 2.0 program will contribute greatly to loan origination volumes in 2012. The question for many originators is where do we find consumers who are eligible for the program under the expanded criteria?

Wipro Gallagher Solutions has redefined its fulfillment offerings to meet the demands of loan originators and servicers for middle and top-tier lenders.

In 2011, technology tools were crucial for lenders and servicers to adapt to changing compliance demands, new trends in origination and servicing, as well as in the valuations and default arenas. And many industry players are expecting more of the same in 2012.

The MT Advisory Board discusses lender M&A, tech interests in 2012 and the effect of MERS on e-mortgages.

Big news in the online lead generation world—Google is no longer selling mortgage rate advertising to lenders in all but four states and the District of Columbia.

Thanks for checking out “Mortgage Bytes,” the new blog of Mortgage Technology magazine.The genesis of this blog, and its name, goes back more than a year ago, shortly after I came on board as managing editor of the magazine. With all of the product releases, technology integrations and company hire news coming out of the mortgage tech sector, I wanted a way to bring all of these briefs together in one place for readers to quickly get informed on the latest industry updates.

Successful selling almost always requires the salesperson to obtain information from the prospect to facilitate a sale. Regardless of your product or service, obtaining insightful facts about the prospect’s needs, concerns and desires should serve as a guide on how to accomplish a favorable outcome. The problem that always presents itself is determining how to effectively probe and extract information without sounding like a C.I.A. interrogator whose next question might involve waterboarding.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has extended the deadline for financial institutions to adopt the agency's new Currency Transaction Report and Suspicious Activity Report until the end of March 2013.

Despite a sluggish mortgage origination market, an energetic atmosphere surrounds technology advances in this sector of specialty home finance. “There’s never been a more robust selection of tech for originators,” said Jeff Taylor, president of Wendover Consulting.

Since launching its short sale module in November 2009, the default servicing technology provider Equator said approximately 1.2 million short sales have been facilitated through its platform.

Insight Lending Solutions, the developer of the PriceMyLoan automated underwriting system and pricing engine, has relaunched and rebranded its loan origination system.

National Bank of Kansas City used to depend on UPS to send and receive mortgage documents that required multiple wet-ink signatures and section sign-offs. Now the entire signature and disclosure process can be done electronically with an e-signature application from DocuSign. This has enabled the bank to avoid prolonged closing times, some of which used to stretch to more than 30 days, incurring hundreds of dollars in weekly fees levied by the larger banks to which National sells its loans.

How well a tool performs depends on how well it's used. Bank of York in South Carolina found that out this summer when Wolters Kluwer Financial Services conducted a review of the bank's use of the vendor's ComplianceOne loan origination and deposit systems, which Bank of York brought into production four years ago.

Mary Joine Dum, a leading expert on the use of computers in real estate appraisal, died on Dec. 15 in Brentwood, Calif., after suffering a series of strokes. She was 80 years old.

The parent company of United Wholesale Mortgage appointed Paul Orlando as its chief information officer and Bill Van Nort as chief technology officer.

MortgageKeeper, the anonymous referral service that helps lenders and counseling agencies connect struggling home owners with qualified sources of assistance, is ending the year with a bang.