Technology

AppIntelligence's founder and former chief executive officer, Steve Halper, has launched a new company.The company, DataVerify, is offering a new generation of automated data integrity tools that the company said is "powered with more robust exterior database sources, superior predictive analytics and a comprehensive array of new and advanced features." DataVerify lets lenders accurately predict fraud and mitigate loss with unprecedented accuracy while increasing workflow efficiency and reducing loan approval timeframes at the point of sale, according to the company. DataVerify can be found online at www.dataverify.com.

Online Documents Inc., Concord, Calif., and ComplianceEase, San Francisco, have announced a strategic alliance to integrate ComplianceEase's automated mortgage compliance system into Online's mortgage document systems.Clients using any of Online's document systems will be able to submit loans to ComplianceAnalyzer for a comprehensive mortgage compliance audit before delivering loan documents to the closing agent, the companies said. "Direct access across Online’s connection to ComplianceAnalyzer will be of immediate value to our lending partners, simplifying an industry which already deals with so many federal, state, and municipal anti-predatory and state licensing laws," said Joan Ingham, president of Online. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.onlinedocuments.com and http://www.complianceease.com.

Popular Inc., a Puerto Rican financial institution, has announced a merger agreement under which it will acquire 100% of the common stock and common stock equivalents of online mortgage lender E-Loan Inc., Pleasanton, Calif., for approximately $300 million in cash.The common stock and equivalents will be purchased for $4.25 per share. E-Loan will maintain its brand identity and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Popular Financial Holdings Inc., Popular's U.S. finance subsidiary, and Mark Lefanowicz, E-Loan's chief executive officer and president, will continue as president. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies but is still subject to E-Loan shareholder approval. Popular said the transaction will expand its penetration into the U.S. market, complement its nonprime and warehouse lending businesses, and "significantly enhance" its technology platform. E-Loan originated over $5 billion in mortgage, home equity, and auto loans last year, Popular said. The companies can be found online at http://www.popularinc.com and http://www.eloan.com.

PlatinumData Solutions, a provider of cascading automated valuation models based in Mission Viejo, Calif., has added report creation capabilities to its AVM platform that allow system administrators to track the geographic performance of specific AVMs and individual users' AVM orders.The PlatinumData platform allows lenders and investors to create customized AVM cascades that deliver valuation and activity analyses identifying property or borrower characteristics indicative of elevated risk factors. Administrators can now better understand and more strategically manage their organizations' valuation resources through the creation of "Hits Reports" and "Products Ordered by User" reports via the update, the company said. The Hits Report details usage of all AVMs that return data within the selected time period, and the Products Ordered by User report displays all the AVMs that each user has ordered within the specified period, allowing accountants to know, by user, how much AVMs are costing the organization, according to PlatinumData.

Advectis Inc., Alpharetta, Ga., has released BlitzDocs Collaboration Suite, an application that provides a collaborative network for mortgage brokers, correspondents, lenders, investors, and other third parties.The product line includes BlitzDocs Enterprise, BlitzDocs Deliver, and BlitzDocs Connector. BlitzDocs Enterprise provides lenders with electronic document collaboration, enabling all participants in the mortgage industry to capture, submit, organize, underwrite, audit, share, and archive loan documents electronically, the company said. BlitzDocs Deliver enables investors or correspondent buyers to provide their correspondent sellers with the ability to transmit closed loan documents electronically. Advectis can be found on the web at http://www.advectis.com.

The venture capitalists are back, and they are looking hard at the mortgage and real estate sectors."This is a great time to be an entrepreneur in real estate and mortgage," Mark Sherman, a partner in Battery Ventures, said at Real Estate Connect in San Francisco, a conference that seeks to marry the real estate and technology businesses. "We're very excited about the mortgage business especially," said Mr. Sherman, whose firm recently provided funding for Loan Page, an online lead generation firm for brokers and lenders. "The capital markets are very active." The venture capitalists cautioned investors not to be worried about a real estate market slowdown -- or worse. "Look through the downturn," he advised. "The real estate market has decades of legs to it, so look at the long term." He also predicted that "numerous changes" in technology platforms are ahead, and said current incumbents are open to start-ups and new programs. The next wave of new technology is being driven by consumers who are turning more and more to the Internet, he added. "There has been a huge shift in consumer behavior," he told the meeting. "Everyone is now using the Web to start and sometimes conclude high-dollar purchases."

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization has announced the approval of a new property dataset.Specifically, the Core Data Workgroup with MISMO has given the green light to the Property Reporting Specifications, version 2.32. The approval of the Property Standard is the first step toward establishing a standard for describing a real estate property from its inception at origination through the entire financial process, ending with county recorders, according to MISMO. The specifications are available on the Web at http://www.mismo.org/mismo/specs_232.cfm. MISMO can be found at http://www.mismo.org.

Mortgage Cadence, a Denver-based origination vendor, has released a new imaging module within its loan origination system.The product, available as an add-on module, enables Mortgage Cadence clients to capture, store, and manage data. Mortgage Cadence said it views the development of this imaging module as a necessary step toward electronic mortgages, while also responding to increased demand throughout the industry. The implementation of the module also allows Mortgage Cadences to extend its ACE business rules management engine. ACE Actions can be created to automatically insert records into document tracking, insert tasks to review documents, update loan status, and notify users of new documents when they arrive. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgagecadence.com.

Live Data Group Inc., the Boca Raton, Fla.-based operating company for Foreclosure.com, has acquired the www.preforeclosure.com URL and the development of a new Preforeclosure.com website.Scheduled to launch in the fall, the new Preforeclosure.com website will offer subscribers a database of residential preforeclosure listings, as well as access to a database of foreclosure, bankruptcy, for-sale-by-owner, and distressed properties, according to the company. "With the launch of the new site, we will empower Preforeclosure.com users with the same simple access to property listings that our subscribers have come to expect from us," said Brad Geisen, president and chief executive officer of Live Data. "Adding the URL to our family of websites will allow us to cater to a new set of real estate consumers who are specifically searching for an online resource that provides detailed information on properties in the preforeclosure stage."

Fidelity National Data Services, a division of Fidelity National Financial Inc. headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., has updated its Lead Locator to make it more searchable for users.Lead Locator is an online lead generation application designed to provide mortgage refinancing leads based on client specifications. The updated system now offers more searchable data elements, supporting a highly targeted approach to lead generation, according to Fidelity. Standard search criteria include: mortgage characteristics, market value, property and ownership characteristics, geographic area, available equity, and the loan-to-value ratio, which is a new feature. In addition to new LTV search capabilities, Lead Locator now enables originators to search by an implied interest rate as well. Fidelity can be found on the Web at http://www.fnf.com, and the updated Lead Locator can be found at http://www.sitexdata.com.