Technology

Financial Crossing, Palo Alto, Calif., has launched a technology-enabled program that expands the professional capacity of financial advisors, mortgage originators and other industry professionals. The Independent Advisor Program allows these professionals to function as personal liability managers, providing mortgage and liability analysis, planning, monitoring, and execution in real time and on an ethical and objective basis through FC's Liability Manager software. The software incorporates patent-pending analytics, market data, and leverages real-time pricing and eligibility from NYLX for thousands of loan programs from multiple lenders; offers seamless mortgage fulfillment services through integration with Lydian Data Services; and has execution and origination of loans and plans in all 50 states through an integrated partnership with Citizens Community Bank of New Jersey, a commercial bank and correspondent. FC can be found on the Web at http://www.financialcrossing.com.

LenderLive Network Inc., a Denver-based provider of business process outsourcing and technology, has announced the purchase of the assets of Guardian Mortgage Documents. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. "This acquisition takes our long-standing relationship with Guardian management and its staff to the next level, allowing us to capitalize on the tremendous synergies that are already in place," said Rick Seehausen, president of LenderLive. Guardian, which had been the exclusive provider of document preparation services to LenderLive for 10 years, will retain its management, and its operations will continue from its Lakewood, Colo., location, LenderLive said. LenderLive can be found on the Web at http://www.lenderlive.com.

Interthinx, Agoura Hills, Calif., has launched specific FHA Requirement Solutions to help lenders ensure compliant Federal Housing Administration lending programs. Interthinx said its features and services -- such as income verification, identity validation, occupancy status, automated regulatory compliance checks, and third-party certifications -- provide data validation to meet many requirements to support the rapidly growing share of FHA business. For training purposes, a multitude of Interthinx Red Flags have been mapped to specific FHA requirements to help underwriters understand exactly what loan information needs further scrutiny. For example, the company noted, section 4155.1 of the FHA handbook states that the FHA will insure owner-occupied principal residences only -- at least one borrower must occupy the property. Interthinx provides a minimum of 11 Red Flag alerts around the issue of occupancy that, under various circumstances, will trigger and notify an underwriter of potential fraud or risk. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.interthinx.com.

Minneapolis-based ComplianceEase has released RegulatorConnect and RegulatorDirect, which the company says will enable state-regulated mortgage lenders and banking institutions to plug into an automated regulatory examination process. RegulatorConnect links institutions with state regulators through electronic data transfer, while RegulatorDirect enables lenders to electronically deliver compliance audit reports to regulators with a single click. At the heart of the new process is ComplianceAnalyzer, which was selected by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors to provide baseline as well as customized state agency-specific audits as the examination automation component of the Model Examination Guidelines initiative. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.complianceease.com.

Overstock.com Inc., Salt Lake City, has announced that its website now offers access to online real estate auctions. The company said it has joined forces with Williams & Williams, a real estate auction company based in Tulsa, Okla. "Our site provides Overstock.com customers with information from real estate auctioneers and brokers who have direct access to auction properties and local expertise," said Patrick Byrne, chairman and chief executive officer of Overstock.com. The companies can be found online at http://www.overstock.com and http://www.williamsauction.com.

First American Loan Production Solutions has begun offering electronic document packages that allow lenders to originate and close mortgages on U.S. purchases of investment properties and second homes in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. The company said the international e-doc packages include federal- and state-mandated disclosures and program-specific notes and security instruments compliant with local regulations that are unique to the respective countries. In addition, the packages include Internal Revenue Service forms for tax reporting purposes and country-specific closing documents. FALPS can be found online at http://www.loanproductionsolutions.com.

CSC, a provider of technology based in Falls Church, Va., has announced the introduction of Borrower Inquiry, a tool designed to enable homeowners facing foreclosure to track the status of their requests for help from their mortgage servicers. The company said this capability will also help expedite workout requests by substantially reducing inbound calls to servicers and freeing up resources. The inquiry tool, which can be used by any servicer, informs borrowers of progress in accordance with the Hope Now Servicer Guidelines released in June. The borrowers can use a secure website to access updates from mortgage servicers on the status of their workouts. CSC said Borrower Inquiry is the first of several planned default management tools the company is designing to facilitate workouts and improve loss mitigation process efficiency. CSC can be found online at http://www.csc.com.

Home values fell 1.7% in the second quarter, dropping to a level 9.9% below that of a year earlier and posting the largest year-over-year decline in the past 12 years, according to Zillow.com, an online real estate community based in Seattle. Zillow's quarterly national home value report found that median home values stood at a Zillow Home Value Index level of $206,919, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2004. The company also reported that 29.1% of homeowners who purchased their home since early 2003 have negative equity, owing more than the home is now worth. "The second quarter is the sixth consecutive quarter of home value declines, and we see little promise of turnaround in the short term, as the rates of decline have yet to slow and, in fact, actually accelerated in many markets," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics. Zillow can be found online at http://www.zillow.com.

Bangalore, India-based Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Ltd., has completed the acquisition of Gallagher Financial Systems Inc. The combined entity is now called Wipro Gallagher Solutions. No sale price was disclosed. Wipro offers application development and maintenance, infrastructure management, electronic enabling, business process outsourcing, and consulting services to the finance, retail, manufacturing, health care, transportation, telecom, and other markets. The combination of the two companies will enable integrated delivery of technology and services for loan origination. Initially, Wipro will be able to offer a mortgage loan origination system using Gallagher's NetOxygen technology and optimized business processes. Wipro Gallagher can be found on the Web at http://www.gogallagher.com.

First American eAppraiseIT, a provider of real estate valuation products and services, has announced the release of a hybrid valuation product designed to help the reverse mortgage industry assess and monitor the value and condition of portfolio properties. The company said ValueView addresses a "major concern" of reverse mortgage lenders: the possibility that properties with reverse mortgages will fall into disrepair. "Reverse mortgage customers frequently have properties requiring repairs, which can affect the lender's ability to sell the loan," the company said. First American eAppraiseIT described ValueView as a "low-cost, data-driven solution" to monitor market value and property condition after a loan has been made. It combines a "drive-by" inspection with a valuation determined by two comprehensive automated valuation models, the company said. Lenders receive a current photograph and a concise on-site inspection report that answers questions concerning the property condition, its overall marketability, and the state of the surrounding neighborhood.