Technology

Zenodata Corp., Louisville, Colo., has released Land Record System, a system the company is dubbing the fastest automated chain-of-title search technology in the industry.According to Zenodata, LRS decreases the amount of time to perform complete title searches by a factor of 5-10, completing most title searches -- and generating completed abstract sheets -- in 10 minutes or less. Users save an average of 20%-30% on the cost of title work, the company said. "The LRS produces full title abstracts and other land record reports faster and more accurately than any other system," says Mark Stevenson, Zenodata's chief executive officer. "Unlike traditional title plants and systems that simply provide a front end for existing data sources, this system goes beyond grantor/grantee and tract indices to extract and import all relevant information from the original source documents." Zenodata develops and markets technology that automates the searching and analysis of land record data for the real estate and lending industries. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.zenodata.com.

Trinity Inspection Services Inc., Addison, Texas, has announced the launch of same-day turnaround services for new-construction inspections and draws following a period of pre-launch beta-testing with lenders.The company said its Same Day Disbursement Draw services for residential new-construction lenders will cut processing time to hours instead of days, improve loan processing efficiency and volume, and help builders stay on schedule. The system is based on Trinity's proprietary order-tracking technology. Trinity's Fee Panel of more than 2,300 inspectors provides service coverage in all 50 states. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.trinityinspection.com.

BridgeSpan Inc., Frisco, Texas, and its subsidiary BridgeSpan Title Co., have announced that they are "soliciting proposals for the purchase of their respective assets and operations," in whole or in part, in the wake of their Jan. 26 filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions.BridgeSpan and BridgeSpan Title said they "intend to select, and proceed to seek court approval of the best offer or offers received," based on a review of written offers received by Feb. 20. Offers may be tendered to BridgeSpan chief financial officer Lynelle Dahn, the announcement said -- with all assets, including BridgeSpan Title stock, to be sold to the highest bidder upon approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Jose, Calif., and (in the case of BridgeSpan Title) the California Department of Insurance.

Continuing its full-court press for dominance in broker point-of-sale systems, Ellie Mae has reported hiring away top sales executive Robert Madsen from Calyx Software.According to Ellie Mae, Mr. Madsen added over 12,000 Calyx Point licensees during his tenure at Calyx. He will head new-customer acquisition efforts for Ellie Mae's Encompass platform, which specifically targets the recruiting of Point users. Mr. Madsen has more than 25 years of senior sales and training management experience, 12 of them at Calyx, according to the company. Encompass was introduced in October 2003 as an enterprise-level Web-based alternative to existing broker POS systems. Ellie Mae can be found online at http://www.elliemae.com.

Pacific Security Capital, a real estate investment bank headquartered in Portland, Ore., has signed a multiyear exclusive agreement with GlobeSt.com, a commercial real estate news and information portal on the Internet."The ability to align ourselves with the No. 1 provider of news and information on commercial real estate gives us an incredible advantage by extending our daily market reach," said Mike Myatt, president of Pacific Security Capital. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.pacificsecuritycapital.com and http://www.globest.com.

Laguna Hills, Calif.-based QuestSoft has released CRA Relief, a CRA data collection, compliance reporting, and submission partner to the company’s flagship HMDA product, HMDA Relief.CRA Relief is risk management software designed to ensure that lenders meet all federal Community Reinvestment Act regulations for performance ratings and process evaluations in a one-step submission. The product fully summarizes a financial institution's CRA data through quick and easy import options and drop-down menus, the company said. QuestSoft is a provider of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and CRA compliance systems and in-house geocoding services for brokers and lenders. It can found on the Web at http://www.questsoft.com.

TrueClose, a Pittsburgh-based technology provider for the mortgage industry, has launched what it says is the first paperless mortgage origination platform for the mortgage industry.The TrueClose paperless platform enables mortgage professionals to identify, introduce, accept, and process mortgage actions that leverage the convenience, speed, and cost efficiencies of the Web, the company said. Specifically designed to manage the entire mortgage process, TrueClose allows service providers such as title insurers, appraisal services, real estate professionals, and settlement agents to engage in an electronic document exchange. TrueClose can be found on the Web at www.trueclose.com.

Version 1.0 of a technical guide to the implementation of SMART documents has been released by the eMortgage Workgroup of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization.The SMART Document Implementation Guide provides more than 30 chapters of technical guidance on specifications for SMART (securable, manageable, archivable, retrievable, and transferable) documents, MISMO said. "This is the roadmap the industry has asked for," said Harry Gardner, senior director of industry technology at the Mortgage Bankers Association, which established MISMO in 2000. "This more detailed SMART Doc Implementation Guide will allow the industry to develop its own e-mortgage capabilities and pilot programs. The I-Guide will expand to keep up with the advancement of the standard." MISMO's eMortgage Workgroup was established in 2001 to develop electronic mortgage standards, specifications, and guidelines that correspond to federal law on electronic signatures and related matters. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.

BridgeSpan Inc., a title company and online closing specialist that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has announced that Larry Walker will resign as president and chief executive officer next month.The Frisco, Texas-based BridgeSpan said Mr. Walker had been recruited in late 2002 in the hope that his expertise would help the company attract "early adopters" for its straight-through processing of electronic mortgages. "However, mortgage lenders were awash in refinance volume and reluctant to take on the complex changes to their internal operations that e-mortgages required," the company said. BridgeSpan can be found online at http://www.bridgespan.com.

Document Systems Inc., Carson, Calif., has released a new home equity product line of its DocMagic software, which the company will make available to its users.The new software provides a system for producing and delivering customized closing loan documents and can be tailored by DSI lawyers to the specifications of customer and investor needs, the company said. In addition, the software package for variable-rate interest-only loans and home equity lines of credit includes basic templates for each jurisdiction in the United States, which can also be adjusted to fit the needs of all users. Document Systems can be found on the Web at http://www.docmagic.com.