Technology

The first Level II electronic mortgage document has been recorded in Minnesota, according to U.S. Recordings, St. Paul, Minn.The company said the Minnesota Real Estate Electronic Recording Task Force established the guidelines for various levels of document recordings. Level II electronic recording includes documents that are generated in paper form, signed and notarized with a wet signature, then scanned and sent in electronic form to the county along with indexing data. To date, six counties in the state are approved in an ERER Task Force pilot to receive Level II electronic documents: Clay, Dakota, Martin, Renville, Scott, and Wabasha counties. Dakota County Recorder Joel Beckman said the Level II submission of a mortgage by U.S. Recordings "was seamless and efficient, and we hope that electronic recording will continue to expand." Dakota County operates with Fidlar software to receive documents from U.S. Recordings.

MISMO, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has announced the release of three additional data standards -- involving document classification, environmental assessment, and work order requests -- for the commercial/multifamily mortgage industry.MISMO said each standard has a unique function: Document Classification Version 1.1 allows for a standardized methodology for identifying and including a document in an electronic transmission; Environmental Site Assessment Synopsis Version 1.1 is designed to enable the electronic transmission of a summary of the important data points in an environmental assessment on a commercial property; and Work Order Request and Response Version 1.1 is designed for use in basic project tasking situations. The first commercial data standard released by MISMO was Commercial Servicing Transfer Standard Version 1.0. MISMO said the standards will eventually "reduce costs, streamline processes, improve accuracy, increase data transparency, and boost investor confidence in mortgages as an asset class." MISMO, the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, can be found online at http://www.mismo.org.

Lender Technologies Corp., a subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has issued a Request for Information regarding the creation of a national database to help prevent fraud against lenders.LTC said it is requesting information to determine the availability of contractors that have the experience, expertise, and staffing to develop and operate such a database. "MBA believes that further innovation is required in order to adequately protect the industry, as well as consumers, taxpayers, and communities, from the costs of mortgage fraud, and that is why we are lending our support to efforts to develop a national fraud prevention database," said MBA chairman John M. Robbins. LTC said the primary focus of the project is to develop a database and a process to facilitate the sharing of data that would improve the ability of mortgage lenders to identify and stop fraud at the point of origination. LTC can be found online at http://www.lendertechnologies.com.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has published a proposed schedule for phasing in its automated loan servicing information system and the largest VA servicers, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Countrywide Home Loans, are slated to go first.Wells Fargo and Countrywide are due to go live on the new VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface system, known as VALERI, in November and other servicers will be phased-in over the first three quarters of 2008. Wells Fargo will go first because its servicing system is similar to the VALERI system that National Financial, Jacksonville, Fla., has developed and customized for the VA. Countrywide will go second because it has a proprietary servicing system. The proposed phase-in schedule is out for public comment until June 15. "VA's goal is to bring on board the largest number of loans as early as its system can handle them, while also taking into account the number of servicers, the extent of servicers' interfaces, the types of loan portfolios, and other unique testing factors that VA can anticipate at this stage," the Federal Register notice said.

U.S. Recordings, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based provider of mortgage recording systems, is touting a revamped website that it says offers expanded interactive features while providing a centralized source for technology-driven recording information.The secured site provides "a consolidated source" for all traditional and electronic recordings, the company said. "Our new website offers 24/7 access for clients to check the status of any file from start to finish," said Allen Illgen, national sales manager of U.S. Recordings. "It provides a seamless, real-time integration with their system. Our website and its On-Demand reporting and tracking provide efficiency and cost savings as a leading, centralized resource for recording needs throughout the entire recording process to the 3,700 jurisdictions across the country." The revamped website can be found online at http://www.usrecordings.com.

Honolulu-based PCLender.com has just released warehouse line and loan reconciliation tools that enable midsize mortgage lenders to reconcile the true profitability of loans more accurately from the InHouse Mortgage enterprise lending platform, according to Lionel Urban, founder and president of the company.Offered on a hosted basis, the warehouse line tools offer to incorporate every aspect of pricing, including fees collected directly from the borrower at closing, secondary-marketing data, interim servicing interest and fees collected, principal paydowns, and interest and fees paid to warehouse lines and impounds. The PCLender.com fully hosted InHouse Mortgage platform integrates the functionality of up to eight different systems, depending on the needs of the lender. The company can be found online at http://www.pclender.com.

MERS, the electronic registry for tracking ownership of mortgage loans and servicing rights, has registered its 50 millionth loan.The milestone comes nine years after MERS pioneered its "MERS as original mortgagee" process, enhancing the registry by eliminating the need for an initial assignment to MERS. R.K. Arnold, president and chief executive officer of MERS, said the MOM process has allowed lenders and servicers to streamline their operations and reduce costs. "Having 50 million loans registered since then is gratifying, especially when we realize that reducing lender costs to originate loans benefits borrowers, especially first-time homeowners," he said. MERS eliminates the need to prepare and record paper assignments when mortgage companies sell loans or servicing rights. MERS estimates that lenders save at least $25 for each loan that is registered on the system. Currently, some 3,000 participating lenders register an average of 25,000 loans on MERS each day, the company said. MERS can be found on the Web at http://www.mersinc.org.

First National Bank of Arizona has turned to Phoenix-based Accenture for post-closing business process outsourcing.The Accenture service combines personnel, process, and technology to fully automate this part of mortgage fulfillment. Financial terms of the two-year contract were not disclosed. Accenture said it will provide the bank with file-room services, including imaging to convert paper documents into electronic form, indexing to capture relevant information in digital form, workflow services to speed processing, and performance metrics spanning the process. It will also offer data and document review to confirm that loans have met underwriting, servicing, and secondary-market salability requirements. Accenture will deliver the service both onsite and through its Global Delivery Network, which includes more than 40 centers in 30 cities around the world. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.accenture.com.

ATM Corporation of America, a settlement provider based in Coraopolis, Pa., has announced that its Streamlined Settlement Package has established an industry benchmark by enabling the mortgage loan settlement process to occur within six days from application, "four days faster than its nearest competitor."Boasting complete automation of every step in the collateral valuation, title, and settlement process, SSP gives lenders greater control and improved quality via a centralized Web-based document management system that also facilitates the e-mortgage process, the company said. It also allows lenders to guarantee all settlement costs, including recording fees and mortgage tax, to the borrower at the point of sale. SSP includes VisionCTI, which enables the loan officer and borrower to pre-schedule the appraisal and closing date, time, and location at the point of sale to improve the borrower experience. ATM, located in a suburb of Pittsburgh, can be found online at http://www.atmprof.com.

Lydian Technology Group, a mortgage technology provider based in Jacksonville, Fla., has enhanced its Mortgage Connectivity Hub to enable investors to accept loans from sellers electronically regardless of how the sellers submit the loan data.The system, which targets mid- to large-size lenders, now makes it far easier for investors to embrace electronic loan delivery, the company said. Lydian president Brian Fitzpatrick said there are probably fewer than 10 big aggregators that can accept loans electronically. "Regardless of how much we want to talk about electronic loan delivery, very few investors can support electronic loan submissions these days from a data perspective," he said. Mortgage Connectivity Hub now enables investors to accept loans electronically without having to make a significant financial investment and to process bulk transactions more like flow transactions, Lydian said. "Now investors can take a bulk transaction and have it broken down into single transactions that can be processed one at a time and automatically sent on to downstream systems or processes -- all quickly, accurately, and minimizing the opportunity of error," Mr. Fitzpatrick said. The company can be found online at http://www.lydiantechnology.com.