Technology

Loans4Less.com Inc., an online mortgage brokerage based in Redondo Beach, Calif., has announced that its stock has begun trading over the counter on the Pink Sheets. The ticker symbol is LFLS. Loans4Less said it is exploring joint ventures, licensing, equity financing, and acquisition arrangements with third-party finance companies and major banks. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.loan4less.com.

ValuAmerica, Pittsburgh, a developer of settlement services technology, has announced a new release of its ValuNet xsp software aimed at preventing directed appraisals and ensuring compliance with federal valuation requirements. The system will also help lenders comply with a recent agreement on appraisals between the New York attorney general and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the company said. "It's the industry's worst-kept secret: some lenders apparently would rather face a fine from their regulators than risk alienating their commission-based loan officers by preventing them from meddling in the appraisal selection and review process," said Robert Murphy, chairman and chief executive of ValuAmerica. ".... Now that Fannie and Freddie have developed their new code, lenders should be looking for new ways not only to end appraisal pressure but to document their compliance." ValuNet xsp is designed to prevent loan officers from selecting or contacting appraisers by automatically selecting appraisers based on their licensing, skill levels, location, price, workload, and past performance, ValuAmerica said. The company can be found online at http://www.valuamerica.com.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization has announced the release of the MXCompliance Title v2.3.2 Request and Response certification, the fifth MXCompliance certification available for integration in industry-related technology business practices. The certification "allows organizations working in the title insurance industry to affirm their support of, and compliance to, MISMO standards for the transactions that help mitigate losses and protect property owners' and lenders' financial interest in real property," said Harry Gardner, head of MISMO and vice president of industry technology at the Mortgage Bankers Association. MISMO, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the MBA, can be found online at http://www.mismo.org, and MXCompliance can be found at http://mxcompliance.mismo.org.

First American CoreLogic, a provider of property and ownership information, analytics, and services, has announced the release of a Web-based gateway to real estate information for title insurance companies. REiSource offers property profiles, new-homeowner and refinance lists, resale trends, mortgage leads, and custom reports. The Web portal "enables title companies to increase market penetration, streamline operational efficiencies, control costs, and maximize their return on investment," the company said. The "personalized, presentation-ready" property reports are based on CoreLogic's residential real estate database, which covers 97% of all real estate transactions in more than 3,000 counties in the United States, the company said. First American CoreLogic, a subsidiary of The First American Corp., can be found online at http://www.facorelogic.com, and the portal can be found at http://www.reisource.com.

Mortgage Builder Software Inc., a Southfield, Mich.-based vendor of loan origination systems, has integrated with First American Flood Data Services. The integration was designed to enable First American's flood certification process to flow seamlessly into Mortgage Builder's LOS, Mortgage Builder said. Users of Mortgage Builder software now have the ability to order a flood determination from within the system. The flood certificate is returned automatically with useful fields populated into the loan application. When requesting a flood certification in Mortgage Builder, a MISMO-compliant data file is transmitted to First American via Web services, Mortgage Builder said. The data returned includes the census tract identifier, metropolitan statistical area identifier, county code, and additional flood mapping fields indicating whether there is a flood insurance requirement. The vendors can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgagebuilder.com and http://www.firstam.com.

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace, and Reliance Network LLC, a developer of Web-based real estate applications, have announced a strategic partnership that will allow Reliance Network's clients to have real-time access to RealtyTrac's nationwide foreclosure database. Several clients of the Holland, Pa.-based Reliance Network will start receiving the data immediately, the companies said. "This new search application will pull real-time data directly from RealtyTrac's nationwide foreclosure database, providing users of Reliance Network-powered websites with a method to access distressed properties, including properties in pre-foreclosure, auction or bank-owned properties," said Rick Sharga, vice president of marketing at the Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac. "That in turn will help drive more traffic and leads to the agent websites." The companies can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com and http://www.reliancenetwork.com.

Wells Fargo Funding has added Fiserv to the list of vendors from which it will accept e-1003s and e-disclosures. The company recently announced that such e-docs would be accepted from DocuSign, Encomia, and eLynx. Electronic document delivery is increasing throughout the mortgage industry because it quickly engages the borrower in the lending process, assists lenders in meeting the three-day Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act requirements, and eliminates the fixed costs of courier delivery. A major purchaser of loans, Well Fargo Funding said it has established internal standards to ensure that electronically delivered and electronically signed initial disclosures are legally binding. In agreeing to purchase loans, the company said it has determined that the Fiserv eLending platform provides the right level of borrower security and document audit trails required to meet risk tolerances for secondary-market loan purchases. The vendor can be found on the Web at http://www.fiserv.com.

Zoot, Bozeman, Ariz., has created a set of tools to help consumer credit grantors comply with so-called red-flag regulations. Section 315 and Section 114(B) of the FACT Act mandate that financial institutions manage and reduce the risk of identity theft fraud for customers. Any organizations, including nonlenders such as brokers and auto dealers, that use consumer credit data are required to comply with red-flag regulations by Nov. 1, 2008. To satisfy red-flag requirements, programs must have reasonable policies and procedures for detecting, preventing, and mitigating identity theft; demonstrate the ability to identify relevant patterns of activity considered red flags, including address discrepancies; and undergo periodic updates to reflect changes in risks from identity theft. Zoot's tool automates the process of complying with these regulations. The vendor can be found on the Web at http://www.zootweb.com.

Strategic Recovery Group LLC, a national mortgage asset recovery company based in Plano, Texas, has launched a special servicing unit, Acqura Loan Services, to meet the growing needs of lenders, hedge funds, and investors in distressed debt. Acqura, which began hiring personnel and developing proprietary scoring and servicing technology in mid-2007, offers a full spectrum of servicing, loss mitigation, and collection services and creates a customized risk-management solution for each of its clients, the parent company said. "At this stage in the credit cycle, lenders, Wall Street, and MBS/ABS investors realize they are facing a triple threat: the prospect of recession, the credit/liquidity problems, and falling home prices," said David Vida, chief executive officer of both Acqura and its parent. "What investors and issuers are looking for now are focused, innovative partners who can commit to higher service levels and deliver experienced asset managers and the latest technology to achieve better outcomes for both borrowers and investors."

On the heels of approving the acceptance of DocuSign electronic signature technology, Wells Fargo has announced that it will now accept e-disclosures and e-1003s from eLynx and Encomia as well. Specifically, Wells Fargo Funding will accept Encomia's e-disclosures and e-1003 product offerings in a move the lender calls the first step toward full e-mortgage adoption. Encomia's e-disclosures are designed to allow borrowers to review and e-sign their upfront disclosures and loan applications. Similarly, Wells Fargo Funding has approved eLynx's uSign and SwiftSign electronic signature services for use by all its correspondent lenders. Correspondents will now be able to choose uSign and SwiftSign to incorporate e-sign capabilities into their lending operations. The vendors can be found on the Web at http://www.encomia.com and http://www.elynx.com.