Mortgage technology

Lenders First Choice, Simi Valley, Calif., and Calyx Software, San Jose, Calif., have announced the integration of LFC's title insurance and settlement services application into Calyx Point, which connects loan officers and processors to lenders and service providers.LFC is using the Calyx WebConnect technology, which the companies said ensures compatibility with Point and Point Data Server. "WebConnect allows brokers to launch the LFC transactional website directly from inside Point, enabling users to send and receive loan data without leaving the application," the companies said. "When the LFC application returns data to Point, the loan file to which it pertains is automatically updated, and any supporting documentation is stored with the loan file." The companies can be found online at http://www.lendersfirstchoice.com and http://www.calyxsoftware.com.

Boasting offshoring credentials for the mortgage industry going back to 2000, Global Realty Outsourcing, Blackheath Financial, and Zenta (formerly H-Cube) have announced that they are uniting under the Zenta brand to offer business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services to the real estate and financial services industries.According to the announcement, the combined company has 5,000 employees in six locations across three continents, with many employees holding MBA degrees and chartered accountant certifications. In an earlier announcement, American Capital Strategies Ltd. said it invested $17 million in H-Cube LLC to support the acquisition of Blackheath Financial, which provides outsourced real estate analysis and consulting services to commercial mortgage-backed securities underwriters and investors. Zenta can be found on the Web at http://www.zenta.com.

After joining the Mortgage Bankers Association and starting the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization over seven years ago, Gabe Minton is stepping down to assume the role of chief strategy officer at Mortgage Cadence, a Denver-based enterprise lending solution company.A source close to the situation confirmed that Harry Gardner will assume Mr. Minton's responsibilities at the MBA and that Dan Szparaga, who runs the commercial portion of MISMO, will now oversee the residential portion as well. Both appointments are interim, but are expected to become permanent. Mr. Minton told MortgageWire that he will miss the MBA and running MISMO, but looks forward to moving on to Mortgage Cadence and continuing to participate in MISMO as a member. "I honestly couldn't think of a better fit for me than Mortgage Cadence," he said. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgagecadence.com.

Home values declined slightly on a year-over-year basis for the second consecutive quarter in the first quarter of 2007, though the Pacific Northwest is bucking the trend, according to Zillow.com, an online real estate community based in Seattle.Zillow's quarterly national home value report, which is also released in 46 metropolitan areas, found that home values fell 1.01% in the first quarter and were 0.83% lower than in the first quarter of 2006. "While numerous cities around the nation are showing actual year-over-year declines in home values, the Pacific Northwest is largely bucking that trend and, in fact, is showing double-digit appreciation in some areas," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics. "Four of the top five highest-appreciating metropolitan areas are located in Washington state or Oregon. Conversely, the two areas with the most depreciation are on the Gulf Coast of Florida, both with double-digit depreciation." Zillow can be found online at http://www.zillow.com.

Cincinnati-based eLynx has formed a strategic partnership with MortgageDocs, a nationwide mobile notary and attorney service provider, to further facilitate the use of hybrid electronic mortgage practices.Through eLynx's automated package delivery application, lenders can electronically submit documents to MortgageDocs, which then manages the signing and notarization process. On average, a notary is assigned to an individual borrower within 30 minutes of receipt, and sometimes as quickly as one minute in highly populated locations, the companies said. The network also provides real-time performance history statistics. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.elynx.com and http://www.mortgagedocs.com.

Rapid Reporting, Fort Worth, Texas, has announced a partnership with Calyx Software, a broker loan origination vendor based in San Jose, Calif., to help brokers detect fraud earlier in the process.Rapid Reporting said it will offer mortgage fraud detection capabilities to users of Calyx's core group of products and services, including the company's flagship loan origination application, Calyx Point. As part of the agreement, Calyx Software users will be able to interface to Rapid Reporting's Web-based IncomeChek and DirectChek tools. Through established relationships with both the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration, Rapid Reporting enables users to detect and reveal potential mortgage fraud associated with deceptive income and identity information, the company said. Rapid Reporting can be found on the Web at http://www.rapidreporting.com.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia is one of the lenders drawing high marks for its just-launched campaign to offer customers the option of closing a mortgage loan refinancing online without ever leaving their home or office.Bank customers who go to the company's website and click on "mortgage" are presented with a banner advertisement inviting them to close a loan "from any location with an Internet connection." The online service is powered by ClosingStream, a product of Fidelity National Information Services' LSI. Early indications show a third of Wachovia's refinancing and home equity borrowers choosing the e-closing option over the traditional closing process. To date, Fidelity claims 20,000 e-closings via ClosingStream, which its LSI unit touts as the first viable Web-based closing solution to be offered nationwide. Wachovia can be found online at http://www.wachovia.com.

After running origination vendor Del Mar Database, San Diego, for several years, the company's president, John Walsh, has decided to leave the company.Fiserv Lending Solutions recently acquired Del Mar and kept Mr. Walsh on as president. "Simply, the earn-out on the deal expired," Mr. Walsh told MortgageWire. "It was time for me to cut the umbilical cord. Del Mar is, and will continue to be, a very successful company, I have no doubt. I consider myself an entrepreneur, and it was the right time for me to move on." Mr. Walsh said he has no immediate plans. He told MW that Fiserv is in the process of finding a successor. Del Mar, which specializes in providing technology to small and medium-size lenders, can be found on the Web at http://www.delmardb.com.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization and its Credit Reporting Workgroup have announced recommendations regarding the use of the MISMO standard for reporting reissues of credit reports to credit repositories.The MISMO Credit Reporting standard allows companies, credit bureaus, and credit repositories to exchange data regarding a borrower's credit information, the organization said. The document "will provide guidance on how to better use this standard in light of a recent change in the federal Fair Credit Report Act," said MISMO, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Gabe Minton, executive vice president of MISMO and the MBA's vice president of industry technology, noted that credit data repositories collect and store credit data, while credit bureaus create the credit report for the lender. "This newly released document discusses how the existing MISMO Credit Request transaction format can be used to provide the information needed by credit bureaus to report additional end-users to the repositories," Mr. Minton said. MISMO can be found online at http://www.mismo.org.

Genworth Financial Inc., Raleigh, N.C., has announced the introduction of a new and interactive website designed to educate users about mortgage insurance.Genworth said SmarterMI.com features talking tour guides, video testimonials, and animated tutorials to help lenders and real estate professionals stay ahead of trends, learn from their peers, and improve their sales process. Online "webinars" are available free of charge to professionals who want to learn more about mortgage insurance, as well as easy-to-use calculators. "Our new website is a one-stop resource that explains the available alternatives and makes cost comparisons easy," said Kevin Schneider, president of Genworth's U.S. Mortgage Insurance business. "There are safe, secure mortgage options for first-time and low-downpayment buyers, and we want people to know about them." The new website can be found online at http://www.smartermi.com.

Lead-management specialist Kaleidico has reported a tripling of website traffic since the beta launch of a new Lead Marketwatch widget on its homepage that ranks lead providers in order of their conversion of leads to loan applications.The data reflect the current weekly moving average of icoSales client results. A Kaleidico representative said lenders and lead providers alike are using the site to gauge the effectiveness of mortgage lead campaigns. At MortgageWire's deadline, the widget -- which reflects the total of all leads in the icoSales system -- showed LendingTree achieving a 10.53% conversion rate with its long form, followed by Loan Web at 6.67%. Kaleidico says it integrates with every lead provider "that we determine is a viable entity," with the requirement that a provider must tally at least 100 leads in the week recorded. The company can be found online at http://www.kaleidico.com.

Encomia, a Houston-based provider of electronic mortgage technology, and Mortgage Banking Services Direct, a management consulting company based in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, have announced a partnership aimed at offering lenders greater access to e-mortgage software and consulting services."This partnership brings value and scalability to both MBSD and Encomia's customers through technology that will help them be ahead of the curve in the mortgage industry," said David Lykken, founder and president of MBSD. "For competitive lenders, our partnership provides a system for evaluating the most effective online technology and utilizing it to maximum profitability." The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.encomia.com and http://www.mbsdgroup.com.

Turkey's AkBank has become the first lender on the European continent to deploy Fair Isaac's Falcon ID anti-fraud tool, according to the Minneapolis-based company.With Turkey now an aggressive adopter of technology, AkBank takes applications over mobile phones and is initially using the solution to protect its credit card portfolios before using Falcon ID with mortgage loan applications, a Fair Isaac representative said. Falcon ID combines predictive analytics, a sophisticated authentication interview process, and multiple sources of data for validating identities. AkBank will be able to separate applications into three buckets: those that need no review for identity theft, those that have a high risk of fraud, and those that need further review. All U.S. users of Falcon ID are covered by nondisclosure agreements, the Fair Isaac representative said. The company can be found online at http://www.fairisaac.com.

RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, has announced a redesign of Yahoo! Real Estate Foreclosure Center that integrates three key functions: foreclosure searches, trend analysis, and education about buying properties in foreclosure.In the current slowing real estate environment, potential buyers can realize substantial discounts on homes that are in foreclosure while helping out homeowners in default and cutting costs for foreclosing lenders, RealtyTrac said. The redesign "incorporates some of the most advanced tools and analytical features from RealtyTrac, and is a major leap forward in providing millions of consumers who access Yahoo! Real Estate with data on foreclosures," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. The company can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com, and the Yahoo foreclosure center can be found at http://realestate.yahoo.com/foreclosures.

Sollen Technologies, an Internet-based application services provider of product, pricing, and best-execution capabilities, has announced improvements to its rate acquisition procedure and processing performance that are designed to improve the time to market for its customers' rate sheets and online pricing."Rate acquisition has definitely improved over what it was in the past," said Sollen client Jason Knapp, secondary manager for Dallas/Fort Worth-based Premier Nationwide Lending at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference in Tampa, Fla. "I used to build my rate sheets at 10:00 or 10:30 in the morning. Now, I’m done by 9:30." Based in Dallas, Sollen helps to enhance the relationship between originators and lenders. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.sollen.com.

Advectis Inc., Alpharetta, Ga., has updated its BlitzDocs tool to include new features that enable enhanced password management, configuration, and additional investor delivery options.The company touted the update at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference in Tampa, Fla., reporting that the enhanced capabilities streamline loan processing from capture and submission through the sharing and delivery of electronic loan documents through the BlitzDocs collaborative document network. The BlitzDocs patented technology provides an electronic loan folder that mirrors the paper loan folder. Advectis can be found on the Web at http://www.advectis.com.

HomeTeam, creator of the nationally syndicated "cause" television program of the same name, has added real estate and mortgage partners to its first-time homebuyer online portal beta, www.hometeam.com.The company pointed out at the Mortgage Bankers Association's 2007 National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo, Tampa, Fla., that homebuyers can search HomeTeam's database of real estate and mortgage partners by zip code. Additionally, homebuyers will have access to extensive mortgage information and education, networking capabilities, as well as real estate agent and loan officer searches. HomeTeam's real estate and mortgage partners will now receive leads via e-mail when a homebuyer makes a service request. They choose to receive scheduled or periodic reports on the leads sent to them. Partners currently live on the HomeTeam beta portal include Century 21 United, Real Estate One, Prudential Fox and Roach, Prudential California and Keller Williams - The Alaska Group, among others. The Seattle-headquartered HomeTeam can be found on the Web at http://www.hometeam.com.

Financial Industry Computer Systems Inc., a mortgage technology vendor that provides in-house residential origination and servicing technology and commercial servicing technology to the mortgage industry, has enhanced the architecture of its iNetAp product.FICS reported at the Mortgage Banking Association's National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo, Tampa, Fla., that iNetAp's new architecture provides lenders with faster page loading, increased branding options and loan officer access. New customization functionality is now available giving lenders the ability to configure their own mortgage loan application, including: fields, tabs, navigation and branding. The new architecture extends iNetAp to multiple origination channels through the use of the Loan Officer Pipeline with a real-time connection to Loan Producer, the central database of record. The Dallas-based company can be found on the Web at http://www.loanware.com.

Lender Support Systems Inc., a provider of origination and loan servicing technology solutions, has released LSSIConnect, an Internet connection point for ordering any LSSI product, service and specific third-party partner service sold through LSSI.It was unveiled at the MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo, Tampa, Fla. LSSIConnect serves as a stand-alone or integrated application directing users to a number of Web service interfaces to create a marketplace of origination services for lenders. Products and services accessed through LSSIConnect include Docs3D, WebDocs, DocWin, LSSI E-Disclosure services, LSSI flood certificates and access to ComplianceEase products. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.lendersupport.com.

CoreLogic, a Sacramento, Calif.-based provider of mortgage risk assessment and fraud prevention solutions, said at the MBA's National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference and Expo, Tampa, Fla., that loan defaults are on the rise and a large number of lending institutions are left to foot the bill.According to a recent FBI report, the first half of 2006 saw 600,000 borrowers go into foreclosure. In many cases, the lender had been misled about the borrower's ability to repay the loan and the resulting foreclosure created a financial burden for lenders with consequences reverberating throughout the mortgage economy. In an effort to combat this problem, technology is available to evaluate the borrower's ability to pay through the life of the loan, the company said. CoreLogic recently released a new product, IncomePro, which helps lenders validate a person's income using multiple sources, without needing borrower documentation or approval. IncomePro also uses the borrower's current residence and previous addresses to derive an affordability progression by using income composition at the neighborhood level. CoreLogic can be found on the Web at http://www.corelogic.com.