Technology

Clayton, a provider of automated compliance software, and AllRegs, a regulatory content provider for residential mortgage lenders, have announced a partnership that will facilitate access to AllRegs' legislative database by users of Clayton's High-Cost Analyzer.The High-Cost Analyzer is a Web-based application that uses standard loan data to calculate whether a loan exceeds thresholds for so-called high-cost or predatory loans under various federal, state, and local laws. During the analysis, the user can "drill down to both the summary and full text of the legislation, greatly reducing the time and effort involved to research legislation," the companies said. Clayton, based in Shelton, Conn., can be found online at http://www.clayton.com, and AllRegs, based in Eagan, Minn., can be found at http://www.allregs.com.

LoanCity, an online wholesale lender based in San Jose, Calif., has announced enhancements to its line of alternative-A mortgage products.The enhancements include an 80/20 purchase option, streamlined documentation requirements, flexible qualifying options, and competitive pricing, the company said. "We're committed to offering the edge that brokers need to be profitable," said Rick Soukoulis, founder and chief executive officer of LoanCity. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.loancity.com.

LendingTree Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has acquired HomeLoanCenter.com, an Internet direct mortgage lender based in Irvine, Calif.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close within 90 to 120 days. "This acquisition will help us increase our profit per customer, have greater input over the consumer experience, more efficiently cross-sell our offering, and gain market share," said LendingTree founder and chief executive officer Doug Lebda. HLC founder and CEO Anthony Hsieh called the deal "a win for consumers" and, along with company president Tomo Yebisu, he will remain with the company. LendingTree can be found on the Web at http://www.lendingtree.com.

In a decision rendered by U.S. District Judge Susan Illstion, Calyx Software, San Jose, Calif., has been given the OK to file a second amended complaint against Dublin, Calif.-based Ellie Mae alleging copyright infringement and unfair competition.According to Calyx, the amended complaint elaborates on its claim that Ellie Mae deliberately copied Calyx's Point product when creating screens for its Encompass program in an attempt to attract Calyx users. The amended complaint also accuses Ellie Mae of unfair advertising in marketing its Encompass offering. The court said that Calyx "had sufficiently pled that the screen displays in its software had acquired distinctiveness and that Calyx had sufficiently met the distinctiveness requirement for a trade dress cause of action." Calyx started the suit back in May when it alleged that Ellie Mae had perpetrated copyright infringement, false designation of origin, and violations of the California Unfair Competition laws. The case was filed in the Northern District of California. Ellie Mae could not be reached for comment by MortgageWire's deadline.

Clear Capital, Truckee, Calif., has released a new valuation tool that combines a property inspection with an automated valuation model score.The product allows for supportable human adjustments to an AVM value conclusion for a more refined and confident value outcome, the company said. The property inspection component is designed to answer six questions about a property in comparison with others in the neighborhood, including: the condition of the roof; the condition of the paint/siding; the condition of the landscaping; the quality of the view; the functional utility of the lot; and the lot location. The report also includes verification if the subject resides in a ZIP code that falls within an area declared a disaster area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, additional narrative information on the subject property, and two photos of the subject. Clear Capital can be found on the Web at http://www.clearcapital.com.

First Franklin Financial Corp., San Jose, Calif., has built and implemented the first major operating components of its integrated origination network, named ION.Designed to offer a scalable solution for growing technology needs, ION will allow First Franklin to centralize all mortgage data and standardize the way that its systems retrieve, manage, filter, and secure data across the company's integrated applications, the company said. ION is designed to give the user access to First Franklin's primary applications: the automated underwriting, loan origination, and customer relationship management systems. First Franklin can be found on the Web at http://www.ff.com.

MRG Document Technologies, Scottsdale, Ariz., has formed a strategic partnership with Imagine Solutions, Dallas, designed to further automate the post-closing process.The new partnership will allow intelligent bar coding and enhanced data sets provided by Imagine technology to be incorporated into MRG's loan documents. In the end, the goal is to use this functionality to automate the post-closing process for users, who also have the ability to customize the product for their own purposes. MRG can be found on the Web at http://www.mrgdocs.com.

Cenlar FSB, the nation's third-largest subservicer of mortgage loans, will use Fiserv's technology to support home equity lines of credit.Cenlar, of Ewing, N.J., has selected the MortgageServ loan servicing platform to manage HELOCs, Fiserv said. Last month, Cenlar said the addition of line-of-credit subservicing to its service offering was driven by increased demand for open-end products and growth opportunities for HELOC lending in a rising rate environment. Cenlar senior vice president George Schwartz said MortgageServ supports "the ability to preserve multiple brand identities." Fiserv, headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., can be found on the Web at http://www.fiserv.com.

Wilmington, Del.-based TransUnion Settlement Solutions, a subsidiary of global information solutions company TransUnion, has acquired AccuPost Corp., a Denver-based technology and outsource services provider of post-closing solutions.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition allows TransUnion to expand its post-closing services by leveraging AccuPost's platform to deliver mortgage assignment and release processing, document retrieval, portfolio due diligence, document imaging, and government insuring services, according to TransUnion. The acquisition is also said to address the current post-closing needs of subprime, direct, and wholesale lenders whose large broker networks create challenges for lenders and trustees trying to maintain a chain of title by combining the product offerings of both companies. TransUnion can be found on the Web at http://www.transunion.com.

Document Processing Systems Inc., Novi, Mich., is touting the implementation of what it terms the first fully paperless, electronic mortgage closing, using the patent-pending DPS eMortgage Studio system.The DPS eMortgage Studio was used by all parties -- the lender, the document the provider, the title company, the settlement agent, the notary, and the borrower -- to electronically create, execute, register, and store all documents for the settlement. "This process represents a giant leap forward in the way mortgage loans are settled," said DPS president Paul Rakowicz. The loan was originated by a DPS partner, 1st Advantage Mortgage LLC of Chicago. Immediately after the borrower, the notary, and the settlement agent electronically signed the documents, 1st Advantage registered the loan on the MERS eRegistry, making it immediately available on the secondary market. Because of the registration, the loan is the first truly uniform electronic note that can be bought and sold on the secondary mortgage market, DPS said. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.directdocs.com.