Mortgage technology

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Walnut Creek, Calif., has updated its Secondary Market Products Servicing System, rolled out pmiPaperless, and reworked its field sales, operations, and product development divisions.The company said the SMP enhancements include changes in the way the company will create and manage products, contracts, and relationships; bill and manage receivables; validate and board new loan instruments; and report on corporate results. Its new offering, pmiPaperless, is an electronic document managing system designed to enhance the efficiency of PMI's underwriting capability. Finally, the company said the restructuring of its field sales, operations, and product development divisions is expected to result in a $5 million to $6 million pretax expense savings next year. PMI Mortgage is a wholly owned subsidiary of The PMI Group Inc., which can be found on the Web at http://www.pmigroup.com.

Calyx Software, San Jose, Calif., will release a multibranch version of its Point product this fall, the company has announced at the Illinois Mortgage Bankers Association's first annual technology conference in Chicago.The new release was developed to make it possible for a large user to share files at a central headquarters, with access for an unlimited amount of branches. Dennis Boggs, Calyx's senior vice president of business development, said that "numerous multibranch owners and IT managers have shown strong interest in this connectivity."

In a move to become the No. 1 supplier of automated valuation models, the First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., has announced that it will acquire Basis100 Inc. in a cash deal valued at $33 million.The First American announcement notes that the AVM market has doubled each year for the last three years and estimates that 25% of mortgage loans qualify for an AVM in lieu of a standard appraisal. First American said it expects to benefit from significant cost synergies over the next six months that will result in total pretax earnings of $10 million on an annualized basis. The acquisition of Basis100 is expected to close in the third quarter after shareholder approval. The companies can be found online at http://www.firstam.com and http://www.basis100.com.

Ellie Mae Inc., Dublin, Calif., has entered into a strategic partnership with San Francisco-based ComplianceEase that will allow the integration of ComplianceEase's automated compliance systems into Ellie Mae products such as the ePASS Web transaction platform and Ellie Mae Document Services.Combining the offerings of ComplianceEase's automated loan origination compliance tool PredatorAnalyzer with Ellie Mae's ePASS (Electronic Pricing and Submission System) platform, lenders can efficiently integrate PA with their existing loan origination systems, the companies said. Ellie Mae said its ePASS technology connects the majority of third-party mortgage originators with their wholesale lenders and settlement service providers, enabling all parties to be more efficient while securely delivering data -- on over 1.4 million loans in the first quarter alone. Ellie Mae can be found online at http://www.elliemae.com, and ComplianceEase, a division of LogicEase Solutions Inc., can be found at http://www.complianceease.com.

Wayne, Pa.-based GHR Systems' BrokerOneSource has just added to its list of participating lenders with the signing of Saxon Mortgage, Richmond, Va., bringing to six its total of new lenders within the past month.BrokerOneSource is a mortgage origination Web-based marketplace that links wholesale lenders with mortgage brokers. At present, 18 lenders participate, six of which signed up in May of this year. In addition, 2,000 mortgage brokers are registered and actively use BOS to process and close loans. BOS can be found on the Web at http://www.brokeronesource.com.

Residential Funding Corp., Minneapolis, has announced the introduction of a new automated valuation model platform that it says will reduce costs and streamline the underwriting process for mortgage lenders and homeowners.GMAC-RFC said the new AVM platform enables it to obtain more accurate automated valuations from more geographic areas. The company said it will use the platform "to provide lenders and brokers more options to close loans without the need for a full appraisal on a higher percentage of transactions." The integration of the new AVM platform into the company's Assetwise automated loan evaluation tool enables GMAC-RFC "to choose the best AVM result available, based on such parameters as geography, estimated value, and loan amounts," the company said. Dan Bettenburg, GMAC-RFC's executive vice president for e-commerce, said the company's research indicates that "to provide cutting-edge appraisal alternatives that will have an impact similar to automated credit evaluations, it's necessary to use several different AVMs, where each provides the most value based on their respective strengths." GMAC-RFC said it has partnered with First American Real Estate Solutions to build the new platform, which will incorporate AVMs from Basis100, First American, and Veros. The companies can be found online at http://www.gmacrfc.com, http://www.firstamres.com, http://www.basis100.com, and http://www.verovalue.com.

GCC Servicing Systems, Southfield, Mich., is currently developing GServ, which will be a Web-based solution that will allow bank tellers and loan officers access to a customer's mortgage loan information.The new servicing product will make it possible for banks to use the core processing system of their choice and at the same time giving tellers and loan officers access to customer mortgage information via an Intranet setup to the bank's servicing information on the GCC platform. GServ has an anticipated release date of October of 2004. GCC is a mortgage service bureau, mortgage servicing technology and service provider that can found on the Web at http://www.gccservicing.com.

ComplianceEase, San Francisco, has updated its PredatorAnalyzer product to allow mortgage originators and issuers of residential mortgage-backed securities to obtain the anti-predatory-lending loan categorization required by Standard & Poor's.Effective July 1, loans subject to certain anti-predatory-lending legislation and sold into rated securities must be categorized and identified as "home loans," "covered loans," or "high-cost loans" in the loan-level information submitted to LEVELS -- the S&P risk analysis system. ComplianceEase said it responded to this development by enhancing its PredatorAnalyzer system to automatically categorize loans according to S&P requirements. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.complianceease.com.

With interest rates rising, now is the time for companies in the subprime market to consider investing in technology, according to Ty Jenkins, owner, founder, and chief executive officer of DocuTech Corp.Mr. Jenkins joined Elizabeth Green, chief information officer of Paragon Financial Corp, at the last panel of the Subprime Lending Symposium in San Francisco to discuss the use of technology to mitigate compliance risks. "Take advantage of the opportunity today," Mr. Jenkins said. "Four years from now, interest rates will be dropping again and there will be even greater volume. Make sure you're prepared." While everyone wants to increase volume, Ms. Green said it's important to maintain a strong business operation while taking advantage of new opportunities in technology. She advised those in the industry to look at where their business is today and where they see themselves going. "Technology is stronger than ever," she said. "But it is not a magic bullet. It is part of the overall design. You are going to have to spend money and invest time to make it work for you."

Nicholas Hahn, formerly an executive with Countrywide Home Loans, has been named chief financial officer of DeepGreen Financial, a Cleveland-based online business-to-business home equity lender.Mr. Hahn's expertise will help DeepGreen expand its securitization and asset sales programs, said Jerome Selitto, DeepGreen's chief executive officer. Mr. Hahn was executive vice president for production accounting at Countrywide, where he was responsible for all accounting and management reporting for the company's mortgage production divisions, DeepGreen said. The B2B lender can be found online at http://www.deepgreenfinancial.com.

Leader Mortgage Co., Lenexa, Kan., has deployed Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.-based PaperClip's software to enable paperless mortgages with Calyx Point.Leader installed PaperClip32, PaperClip's flagship integrated document system, and its Mortgage Assistant loan processing add-on module. The combined system makes it possible for Leader to manage all its loans from a central digital repository through which all permitted users can search, retrieve, route, process, validate, and approve loans. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.leader1.com and http://www.paperclip.com.

ElectronicAppraiser.com, Boca Raton, Fla., has release PhotoCheck, a valuation product designed to combine a professional site inspection with an exterior digital photograph and property condition report.The reports are available in Adobe PDF, XML, and HTML formats. ElectronicAppraiser.com also offers an expedited 48-hour service. PhotoCheck can be ordered as a stand-alone report or in combination with any valuation product. ElectronicAppraiser.com is a valuation technology provider, featuring two main products: PhotoCheck, an electronic property photo combined with an automated valuation model report, and AVMLink, which provides access to several national AVM providers. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.electronicappraiser.com.

Technology has increased volume and efficiency in the subprime market, WMC Mortgage Corp. president Amy Brandt told attendees Monday at the Subprime Lending Symposium in San Francisco.WMC, an online wholesale lender based in Woodland Hills, Calif., was recently acquired by General Electric's consumer finance division from Apollo Management LP. Having a quick, front-end service combined with a customer service campaign was crucial in making WMC's volume rise in recent years, said Ms. Brandt, who was a keynote speaker at the symposium. "Your business has to evolve. .... All of your systems need to work together before funding the loan," she said. "Integrate technology, but with a human process." For example, Ms. Brandt suggested taking five minutes to call a broker to let him know his loan application has been received.

Countrywide has chosen Calabasas, Calif.-based Sysdome Inc.'s Third Party Review product to help streamline its broker approval and maintenance process.Specifically, Sysdome's TPR tool verifies broker application information against Sysdome's databases and other public and nonpublic data sources and presents its findings in an exception-based report. As part of the agreement, Countrywide would receive continuous broker updates as well as semiannual renewals. Sysdome can be found on the Web at http://www.sysdome.com, and Countrywide can be found at http://www.countrywide.com.

Home Counselor Online, a Spanish-language technology tool aimed at promoting homeownership among Hispanics, has been launched by Fannie Mae.The free Web-based tool will help counseling agencies, nonprofit groups, and other entities guide potential homeowners through the mortgage process via user-friendly counseling support, Fannie Mae said. It also enables lenders to track the progress of potential borrowers. "Home Counselor Online is part of Fannie Mae's efforts to help housing partners modernize or transform housing counseling practices, in addition to moving the minority homeownership rate," said Fannie Mae. "With the launch of its English version in November 2001, more than 1,157 counseling agencies and lender offices have set up this technology tool, with over 103,221 clients served by them." Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.

Lending Tree Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has reported that General Motors Acceptance Corp. has dismissed a recently filed complaint alleging that LendingTree was attempting to trade on GMAC's reputation by using or appropriating GMAC's trademark as a domain name.LendingTree quoted GMAC counsel Charles H. Ellerbrock as stating, "Once we learned that LendingTree had not used 'GMAC' in an Internet domain name, we withdrew the complaint. LendingTree was very gracious about the whole thing." LendingTree, an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp., can be found online at http://www.lendingtree.com.

Stewart Mortgage Information, a Houston-based wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., has announced the formation of Stewart Default Solutions Inc. to offer default management and technology systems for the mortgage and consumer services industry.C. Alan Paylor, who recently joined SMI, will serve as chief operating officer of the new company. The company cited the most recent Mortgage Bankers Association delinquency survey as showing that 1.29% of one- to four-unit residential properties at the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 were in foreclosure, a 5-basis-point jump from the third-quarter rate of 1.24%. The company said it will change its default workflow processes and add new technology. SMI can be found online at http://smi.stewart.com.

ABN Amro Mortgage Group has rolled out an electronic mortgage broker tool to the market at large, and the company has more broker-oriented technology improvements in the works, AAMG executives told reporters at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers annual convention.Pricing Tool Only, which enables brokers to select their own settlement service providers and negotiate the associated settlement services costs, had been undergoing testing by AAMG before the marketwide rollout. In addition to expanding the availability of the tool, AAMG said it plans to make the management of settlement service providers easier for brokers. Company executives said this and other improvements to the company's automation are scheduled to be launched by the end of the year.

Oklahoma City-based a la mode inc. has debuted Mortgage XSites -- websites containing business tools to generate leads and cut paperwork, among other things -- at the annual convention of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.The sites are available for one annual fee, with "no nickel-and-dime add-ons or surprises," the company said. Among the features available on the sites are: DirectFax, which converts faxed tax returns and other paperwork to digital files; FlexApp 1003s, which the company says give small offices and single mortgage brokers the online application functionality of big lenders' sites; daily news feeds; and mortgage calculators. "MortgageXSites are the final piece of the online mortgage revolution," said Brad Eaton, the company's project manager for the sites. "Previously, only the biggest originators and niche lenders whose entire business model relied on the Internet channel had the interactive technology to allow borrowers to complete applications electronically." The company and the new websites can be found online at http://www.alamode.com and http://www.mortgagexsites.com.

ARC Systems, a mortgage automation provider based in Austin, Texas, has announced the release of Loan Finder Express, an underwriting tool designed for mid-tier lenders and brokers.ARC termed the product "a comprehensive, browser-based product eligibility engine [that] integrates credit to deliver a fully adjusted price." The system offers lenders "a fast, easy way to custom-match borrowers with loan programs ranging from conforming to nonprime -- even if their originators have limited experience with a product category," the company said. The release was announced at the annual convention of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers in Salt Lake City. The company can be found online at http://www.arcsystems.com.