Technology

Proposed legislation to mandate that mortgage professionals sign off on borrower suitability as a solution to curbing predatory practices "won't work in the real world," the new president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, George Hanzimanolis, has told the NAMB annual conference in Seattle.Mr. Hanzimanolis commended politicians for trying to come up with a solution for the problem, but says requiring brokers to sign off on borrower suitability is just not the answer. "When the broker takes an application, they have a limited amount of information on the borrower," Mr. Hanzimanolis said. "There are too many unknowns for anyone to determine long-term suitability. How am I supposed to predict if the borrower will maintain employment, won't get a divorce, won't suffer a death in the family, won't become unexpectedly sick? This is sexy on the Hill, but it won't work in the real world." The NAMB can be found online at http://www.namb.org.

Reverse mortgage specialist Lender Lead Solutions, Melville, N.Y., has announced the launch of its Reverse Mentoring Program, offering on-site training and additional advisory services to help mortgage brokers develop reverse mortgage operations.According to the announcement at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' annual convention in Seattle, the curriculum will include "content to address the unique aspects of the senior marketplace and the reverse mortgage product, including in-depth review of all legal, compliance, and quality control procedures." The program will also include sales training focused on the special requirements of selling to seniors and the need for outside counseling, plus comprehensive instruction on loan flow, processing, settlement, underwriting, appraising, closing and funding, post-closing, and servicing functions using the company's STORM wholesale technology platform. Lender Lead Solutions can be found online at http://www.lenderleadsolutions.com.

Dublin, Calif.-based Ellie Mae has released Encompass 3.0, an upgrade of its Encompass Mortgage Management Solution that enables two-way communication with borrowers and vendors, handles more loan programs, and integrates with more third-party technology.In addition, Ellie Mae said the product is now fully integrated with Encompass WebCenter, a tool that provides users with a scalable and search-engine-friendly website and a secure online business center that originators can use to generate leads and to communicate and collaborate with borrowers and partners. Encompass 3.0 supports more third-party technology platforms, like the newest versions of several systems by Microsoft, ACT!, and Adobe, Ellie Mae said. Furthermore, the upgrade can handle a larger array of loan programs, including piggyback loans and more payment-option adjustable-rate mortgage products. Compliance auditing for high-cost and predatory loans is now completely automated within Encompass 3.0, Ellie Mae said. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.elliemae.com.

NYLX Inc., a mortgage technology provider based in Mt. Arlington, N.J., has released BrokerToolz, an all-in-one product-eligibility and pricing engine that allows mortgage brokers to price and make loan decisions instantly with the click of a mouse, according to the company.The Web-based BrokerToolz allows brokers to select and price loans on-demand around the clock, eliminating rate sheets. BrokerToolz qualifies loan scenarios against multilender guidelines and price adjusters to display fully adjusted rates, and it prices and ranks the results to maximize transaction profits, NYLX said. The product "offers lead management, eligibility, loan pricing and best execution via the Internet," NYLX president John Alexander said. "... The surprising part is, this multifeature functionality is available at a very affordable price." NYLX can be found online at http://www.nylx.com.

Homebuyers considering different mortgage products can now use an online mortgage calculator to compare the monthly payments and equity buildup of different loan products, thanks to the Federal Reserve Board."We have created a tool that will allow consumers to look ahead to see how much equity they will build and what their mortgage payments will be three, five, seven, or 10 years down the road with different mortgage products," Fed Governor Randall Kroszner said. The calculator can be used on 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, interest-only fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages, interest-only ARMs, and payment-option ARMs. "These comparisons should encourage more consumers to shop around and compare mortgage offers," the Fed governor said. The Mortgage Comparison Calculator is on the Fed's website at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/mortcalc/

MortgageHub, a Norcross, Ga.-based provider of technology for the mortgage industry, has released TCL Lite, a version of its TCL (The Construction Lender) construction lending software that is tailored for smaller lenders.TCL Lite uses the same basic functions as the original system, but streamlines it to provide only those functions that smaller lenders require, and allows users to upgrade to the full TCL system with minimal effort, MortgageHub said. "TCL Lite is extremely easy to implement and use but still provides all the controls required for budgeting, cash management, and management information," said Dave Demster, president of MortgageHub's Mortgage Products Division. "Smaller lenders get a cost-effective, yet powerful solution that fits their needs today, while also providing the expandability to accommodate their growth in the future." The company can be found online at http://www.mortgagehub.com.

A new United Kingdom mortgage website is seeking to set itself apart by offering a consumer/borrower focus it says the majority of its competitors lack."Unlike comparison-only and lead generating platforms, FancyAMortgage.co.uk offerings in-depth information on mortgage products with advantages, disadvantages, and product comparisons," the Web-based company said. In addition to mortgage product overviews, the site offers information on individual mortgage lenders and related information on fees, brokers, and services. The site can be found at http://www.fancyamortgage.co.uk.

Portland, Maine-based Quantrix has announced that it is providing a modeling interface for risk-analytics provider Andrew Davidson and Co.The partnership between Quantrix and ADCo will deploy the Quantrix Modeler as the interface for ADCo's new LoanDynamics Mortgage Credit Model to serve fixed-income investors in the mortgage-based securities industry. The model incorporates historical data from approximately eight million loans by 144 issuers over 15 years to analyze borrower behavior and predict mortgage loan dynamics. The Quantrix LoanDynamics Interface enables mortgage credit analysts to analyze loan data, define interest rate and housing price scenarios, and model any combination of loans and scenarios with Quantrix Modeler. According to the announcement, customers receive a turnkey solution that includes ADCo's LoanDynamics Model, Quantrix Modeler licenses, and the Quantrix LoanDynamics Interface. The companies can be found online at http://www.quantrix.com and http://www.ad-co.com.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based LSI, a division of Fidelity National Information Services Inc., has launched ClosingStream 1.1, a Web-based closing solution for mortgage refinance and home equity lending transactions.The ClosingStream 1.1 deployment includes enhanced borrower authentication, borrower security, document delivery, and improved document question-and-answer segments, LSI said. With ClosingStream, LSI controls the entire title and closing process, eliminating the need to coordinate with several third-party providers. At the scheduled closing time, the borrower securely logs on to the ClosingStream website and dials a toll-free number to connect with an LSI closing representative, the company said. Using ClosingStream's online meeting application, the representative thoroughly covers each loan document to ensure that the borrower understands all the details. LSI said recent post-pilot consumer surveys of regular Internet users reported a 97% satisfaction rating when using ClosingStream to close their mortgage transactions. FNIS can be found on the Web at http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com.

MISMO, the not-for-profit data standards subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has announced the implementation of eHereNow's /validate Web service to validate XML data undergoing MISMO XML Compliance (or MXCompliance) certification.MXCompliance enables implementers of MISMO's Internet-based XML standards to determine what steps are necessary to comply with the certification requirements, the organization said. "The business rules associated with MXCompliance certification are complex -- and are increasing in both scope and complexity as MISMO work groups refine certification requirements," said Dan Szparaga, acting executive vice president of MISMO. "To that end, eHereNow has dramatically increased the speed and accuracy of the MXCompliance certification process, thereby improving it." MISMO, the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, can be found online at http://www.mismo.org.