Mortgage technology

First American subsidiary Loan Performance has announced SecondLook, a new tool aimed at mortgage lenders and investors worried about undetected second loans and piggy-backs.Backed by the data-collection might of First American, SecondLook offers one-time, monthly, or quarterly monitoring of additional liens to uncover the existence of post-origination second mortgages, the company said. It also makes available a daily update of new liens with alerts to servicing and portfolio managers with the monthly or quarterly monitoring service. SecondLook combines the resources of LoanPerformance's home equity line of credit and second-lien loan database with First American RES's property database, which covers 97% of all real estate transactions in the United States, according to the company. First American's companion product LienWatch provides holders of junior liens with an automated method for monitoring a first lien's delinquency status. The company can be found online at http://www.loanperformance.com.

As Fiserv held its client conference in Las Vegas, the company announced that Fiserv Lending Solutions' CredStar has entered into an alliance with Boston-based PCi Corp. to integrate several of PCi's Wiz systems with WebStar, CredStar's credit services platform.The Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv said the combined offering is expected to streamline processes for wholesalers using CredStar with Fiserv's easyLender and UniFi LOS systems. The alliance also promises to reduce steps for brokers submitting loans to lenders using CredStar. The PCi functionality available to CredStar customers includes: geocoding, edit checks, and validation of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data using FFIEC error-checking logic, flood zone determinations, and identification of high-cost loans before they are funded. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.fiserv.com and http://www.pciwiz.com.

McCracken Financial Software, Billerica, Mass., has announced the acquisition of the DealCentral origination system from Atlanta-based MortgageRamp for an undisclosed amount.McCracken said DealCentral streamlines the origination process for commercial loan packages. The company said it plans to integrate the software with its Strategy commercial loan servicing system, enabling the transfer of underwriting and asset information into Strategy and eliminating the costs of duplicate data entry. "The commercial finance industry has been asking for a robust, single-vendor solution that can manage the entire loan life cycle," said McCracken president Noel Webster. "Now they have one." OfficeTiger, a New York-based professional support services firm, recently announced an agreement to acquire MortgageRamp, which is slated to become the Global Real Estate Division of OfficeTiger. The companies can be found online at http://www.mccrackenfs.com, http://www.mortgageramp.com, and http://www.officetiger.com.

Bill Adamowski, chairman of MortgageHub, will resume the role of president and chief executive officer of the company in conjunction with a new growth strategy for the Des Moines, Iowa-based Web services platform provider.Mr. Adamowski said the company will hire more than 30 technology professionals and open at least four news offices over the next 60 days to help execute the strategy, which will include acquisitions and the introduction of new products. "For the past two years, my team and I have been working on putting together what I feel is the future of mortgage technology," Mr. Adamowski said. "We took a team of the best technologists and completely removed ourselves from the day-to-day work of running a company and invested in the development of this revolutionary new platform." He said the new technologies will be unveiled next month at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual convention. The company can be found online at http://www.mortgagehub.com.

The Real Estate Solutions division of Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has announced that it will launch a new application using the new Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 software.The new application integrates Fidelity's Broker BackOffice Pro system, an office management tool designed to automate and streamline small to midsize real estate office processes, with Small Business Accounting to enable customers to manage their real estate and accounting transactions through a single application customized for the real estate industry. The application provides integrated contact and agent management, electronic activity scheduling, sales pipeline reporting, complete listings and sales management tools, real-time access to performance and productivity statistics, as well as a direct access to Small Business Accounting, the company said. Fidelity can be found on the Web at http://www.fnf.com.

Minneapolis-based Dexma has formed a strategic partnership with First American Fulfillment Solutions, Jacksonville, Fla., to offer a point-of-sale application directly to First American Fulfillment Solutions customers.The product is geared toward small and midsize lenders currently using First American Fulfillment Solutions for outsourced processing. Specifically, Dexma has developed a transactional consumer/retail website for First American, which can be offered on a private-label basis to its customers. These sites enable consumers and loan officers to obtain loan approvals from either Fannie Mae's DO/DU or Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector. In addition, the consumer/retail platform is already integrated with the outsource processing platform and fully supported by First American. In 2004, First American acquired LOS Xsequor, now called First American Fulfillment Solutions, to expand its role as a fulfillment outsourcer. The new combination of First American and Dexma was designed to further First American's origination technology offering and broaden Dexma's customer base, according to First American. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.dexma.com and http://www.firstam.com.

Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., Newport Beach, Calif., has announced a new "broker-to-banker" transition program that enables qualified brokers to apply for a customized line of credit through Impac's warehouse-lending group.Once approved, brokers can receive same-day fundings and up to 100% financing on alternative-A loans sold to Impac. Once loan packages are approved by Impac's iDASLg2 automated loan underwriting, there is no haircut on the transaction and brokers can close the deal on their own terms, the company said. The broker-to-banker program offers a $3 million start-up LOC, online reporting, bulk and flow delivery, flexible loan solutions down to alt-B, and electronic collateral delivery and tracking, Impac said. The company, a mortgage real estate investment trust, can be found online at http://www.impaccompanies.com.

The Washington Department of Financial Institutions has ordered a non-credit-union mortgage service provider to stop using the term "credit union" in its Internet addresses.Linda Jeckel, director of the DFI's credit union division, told Evergreen Moneysource Mortgage Co., Bellevue, Wash. that state law prohibits any entity from doing business under a name or title containing the words "credit union" or representing itself to be a credit union, unless it has a credit union charter. According to a report in MortgageWire affiliate Credit Union Journal, the company was directed by the DFI to immediately cease using "credit union" in any way on its websites. The company had been using the Web addresses, creditunionhomeloans.com and creditunionhomeloans.mortgagewebcenter.com. The company has complied with the DFI, striking the credit union reference from its Web addresses.

Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has announced the acquisition of DocX LLC, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based provider of outsourced lien release and assignment services to mortgage lenders.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. FNF said DocX also offers a lien release software platform that can be licensed for use in an in-house environment, maintains a national database of county recording office information, and provides recording fee and transfer tax calculators via its patent-pending Feewise calculator. "The acquisition of DocX enhances the scale of our lien release capabilities and provides access to a marquee customer base," said FNF executive vice president Ernest D. Smith. ".... The Feewise calculator is also a great tool that can be used by our title operations in automatically calculating closing fees." FNF can be found online at http://www.fnf.com.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has released its first-ever Commercial Technology Survey, which was designed to measure the extent of computer automation in commercial lending.The survey found that more than three-fourths of survey participants have started efforts to store electronic images of loan documents, and that nearly two-thirds of the loan proposals sent from originators to lenders were submitted in electronic format, the MBA reported. The survey also found that more than half of loan underwriting packages received by lenders were received in electronic format; usage of electronic communications is high among servicers, and larger servicers are generally more electronic than smaller ones; investor reporting and remittances are almost entirely electronic; and processing property inspections is largely electronic. The survey was developed by the Technology Initiatives Committee of the MBA's Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors. It drew responses from originators and lenders responsible for roughly $70 billion in 2004 loan originations and servicers responsible for more than 130,000 loans with an aggregate unpaid principal balance of $525 billion, the MBA said.

REIData Inc., Houston, has announced that Property Profiles, a property and ownership report used by real estate professionals, is now available for all 58 California counties via PropertyInfo.com.Property Profiles enables subscribers to easily research properties by address, owner name, legal description, or parcel identification number, the company said. "Property Profiles is an essential tool for real estate professionals to assist buyers and sellers in determining effective sales and purchase prices for specific market areas," said Robert Alcala, senior vice president of REIData market management. "It also allows both residential and commercial real estate agents and brokers to help their customers more efficiently find an appropriate property for a home or business." REIData, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., can be found online at http://www.propertyinfo.com.

The Real Estate Solutions division of Fidelity National Financial Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has released a new reporting add-on utility for its Broker BackOffice Pro system to enhance the product's reporting flexibility.Using the new reporting tool, real estate management professionals can expect more flexible and detailed reporting capabilities to support the executive-level decision-making process, Fidelity said. In addition to fully customizable reporting capabilities, the new reporting tool will include pre-formatted reports such as commission summaries, agent rosters, and earnings, trust, and ranking reports. While several of these are already included in Broker BackOffice Pro, the new tool offers enhanced versions that can pull information from any data field in the Broker BackOffice Pro system to create customized reports, the company said. In addition, all reports created using the new tool are automatically exported in report format to Microsoft Office Excel. Fidelity can be found on the Web at http://www.fnf.com.

Santa Ana, Calif.-based First American Corp. has acquired Certified Closing Network, a provider of customized and outsourced title clearance, equity calculation, and settlement services for clients with residential relocation-related transactions.The terms of the transaction, which closed on Aug. 19, were not disclosed. CCN will become a part of First American Residential Group Inc., a specialty business line established by First American in 2002 to address the service, technology, and outsourcing needs of companies serving the residential real estate and relocation markets. CCN uses a national network of attorneys and title and escrow agents who have developed relocation-related expertise. CCN's service teams will continue to operate out of the company's Bethesda, Md., and Washington, D.C., locations under the direction of managing partners G. Michael Dufour, Jennifer Swanhart Murphy, and John L. Heithaus, First American said. First American can be found on the Web at http://www.firstam.com.

Vienna, Va.-based VirPack has announced that Flagstar Bank, Troy, Mich., has begun using an enhanced version of its Virpack Direct electronic image loan delivery system.VirPack Direct conforms to Flagstar’s electronic image loan delivery specification and supports delivery to Flagstar's paperless loan processing systems for both correspondents and brokers, VirPack said. Now Flagstar's correspondents and brokers can deliver fully indexed images instead of paper loan packages to reduce costs and cycle times. VirPack said loans identified for delivery to Flagstar are immediately retrieved from the VirPack system, prepared and electronically delivered in a secure fashion. Direct is integrated with VirPack's imaging systems, which provide barcoding, scan capture, and electronic document management applications designed specifically for the mortgage industry. VirPack Direct is free to VirPack customers. The company can be found online at http://www.virpack.com.

Washington-based iComply Inc. has added state and federal disclosure forms to its online mortgage compliance service.By offering disclosures, iComply allows companies to manage all their compliance needs through one service. Companies no longer have to go to multiple sources to track compliance laws and then obtain the required disclosures, according to the company. Specifically, disclosures are offered to all iComply subscribers at no additional charge, and they can be downloaded and saved to any format. The forms are currently available for more than 10 states and will expand to include all 50 states over the next several months. The company can be found online at http://www.icomply.com.

The board of directors of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Washington, has passed a resolution that endorses the adoption by the industry of residential and commercial electronic mortgages.The decision is said to be based on a recommendation from the board of directors' technology steering committee. Specifically, the resolution noted that "the use of residential and commercial e-mortgages, based on open standards, is a significant mechanism for simplifying the mortgage process and creating other efficiencies that will reduce costs for all market participants." The MBA intends to establish e-mortgage standards and best practices, and applying its resources accordingly, including its ongoing financial support of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. The MBA stated that e-mortgages will help its members stay "ahead of the curve," and the MBA will provide its members educational and training materials. For additional information, visit MBA's Web site, http://www.mortgagebankers.org.

To help MBS investors and others to better manage the collateral side of secondary market transactions, Waltham, Mass.-based Pro-Teck Services, Ltd. has just released an advanced client feature providing enhanced flexibility in managing bulk/batch orders.Web-based Batch Manager offers real-time tracking and management of batch orders consisting of multiple properties. Users are able to define business rules around the order and manage the order within the context of those rules. Users can get a high-level summary of the order within any point of the batches lifecycle, plus loan-level drilldowns. The tool provides dynamic data access via XML, XLS or PDF zip files to subsets of data meeting user-defined filters. The collateral valuation process for a batch order may run through AVM Cascades, Collateral Fraud Indicators, Broker Price Opinions, Desktop Reconciliations and ultimately tie out with the seller. Pro-Teck's website is located at http://www.pro-teck.com.

Fidelity Information Services, Jacksonville, Fla., has released an updated version of Mortgage PhD, which makes data and services from third parties and its Mortgage Servicing Package available via a Web service. Mortgage PhD provides access to MSP data as well as a range of service providers. The enhanced version now allows in-house applications and delivery channels to launch loan-level data and service requests directly, securely and in real time using a service-oriented architecture and Web services. Among the early adopters of Mortgage PhD's Web services is one of Wachovia Corp.'s mortgage loan servicing operations. Chris Charleswirth, senior vice president with Wachovia's Retail Lending Technology organization, said, "Mortgage PhD is the integration layer bridging mortgage and service-provider systems." Fidelity can be found on the Web at http://www.fnf.com.

ABN Amro has selected the ComplianceEase automated compliance technology as its enterprise-wide solution for managing adherence to federal and state lending regulations.ComplianceEase offers an Internet-based open platform that integrates seamlessly with loan origination systems. It offers to reduce the cost of complying with "high-cost" regulations, Sarbanes Oxley oversight requirements and other regulatory risk. ABN Amro said it picked ComplianceEase for its ease of implementation and use as well as its ability to reduce the time, cost and resources the lender has to commit to compliance in the consumer-lending arena.

AppIntelligence's founder and former chief executive officer, Steve Halper, has launched a new company.The company, DataVerify, is offering a new generation of automated data integrity tools that the company said is "powered with more robust exterior database sources, superior predictive analytics and a comprehensive array of new and advanced features." DataVerify lets lenders accurately predict fraud and mitigate loss with unprecedented accuracy while increasing workflow efficiency and reducing loan approval timeframes at the point of sale, according to the company. DataVerify can be found online at www.dataverify.com.