Technology

Claiming the top spot as a provider of transaction-capable retail lending websites to the mortgage industry, Mortgagebot has announced that its Powersite platform now boasts over 300 users.That milestone was reached in July, the company said, when Mortgagebot signed 13 new clients. The company serves most of its users as an application service provider, charging a minimal set-up fee, with an additional fee per closed loan. Mortgagebot is a two-time winner of Mortgage Technology magazine’s annual awards, once for Website of the Year and once as co-winner (with Fiserv) of the Synergy Award.

FinancialCircuit, Campbell, Calif., has signed a deal with Linsco/Private Ledger, San Diego, that will see its 4,700 independent financial advisers using FinancialCircuit's technology and lending systems.LPL is the largest broker-dealer in the country, with some 4,700 representatives. In the past, the company referred out mortgage business, but now advisers can use MoneyFind to provide debt consolidation products and services to its clients. The loans are then originated online and funded through a FinancialCircuit mortgage broker subsidiary. In addition to MoneyFind, LPL representatives will also have access to FinancialCircuit's transaction processing center. The processing center assists advisers with the execution of the client-selected mortgage and liability restructuring plans generated by FinancialCircuit's technology systems. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.financialcircuit.com and http://www.joinlpl.com.

Homestore Inc., a provider of real estate media and technology systems, has announced a $63.6 million settlement agreement with the California State Teachers' Retirement System, the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the company.Under the agreement, which is subject to the approval of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Homestore will pay $13 million in cash, issue 20 million new shares of common stock to members of the class, and adopt certain changes in corporate governance. The $13 million and the stock, currently valued at $50.6 million, will result in a one-time litigation settlement charge of approximately $63.6 million in the second quarter, the company said. Jack Ehnes, chief executive officer of CalSTRS, commended "the straightforward way in which the new management team at Homestore and its board of directors" worked to resolve the case. The governance provisions include, among other things, requirements for independent directors and special committees, the appointment of a new shareholder-nominated director, and a ban on the use of stock options for director compensation. The company can be found online at http://ir.homestore.com.

Nationwide Advantage Mortgage Co., Columbus, Ohio, and Yahoo! en espanol, a Spanish-language Internet service based in Coral Gables, Fla., have launched a mini-website offering mortgage services to Hispanics.Called "The Best Mortgage" center, the site will offer Hispanic consumers information for both experienced and first-time homebuyers, the companies said. Users will be able to check NAMC's mortgage rates and submit a free loan application online or over the telephone, with decisions in as little as 10 minutes, they said. "Our research indicates that, historically, the Latino community has had too many barriers to homebuying and financing needs," said Robert Kallio, NAMC's associate vice president of marketing. "Our partnership with Yahoo! en espanol provides the informational resources and financial tools to lower the cost of buying and owning a home for the growing Latino market." The mini-site can be found online at http://www.lamejorhipoteca.com, and the companies can be found at http://www.nationwide.com and http://www.yahooenespanol.com.

Tony Merlo has been named executive vice president/chief operating officer of eAppraiseIT LLC, a provider of real estate valuation services based in Poway, Calif.Mr. Merlo, who has 25 years of experience in the banking, mortgage banking, and title insurance industries, was most recently senior vice president of production for eAppraiseIT, a joint venture of The First American Corp. and Land America Financial Group. He was previously assistant vice president in the strategic sales division of First American’s Real Estate Information Services Group, and has also been assistant VP and regional manager for the Atlantic region of First American Title. The company can be found online at http://www.eappraiseit.com.

Encomia, Houston, and Ingeo, Logan, Utah, have both joined the eMortgage Alliance, a consortium of companies and experts dedicated to delivering all-electronic mortgage systems.Encomia will provide technology to implement digital signatures, electronic closing, and so-called electronic vaulting -- which provides for the storage and retrieval of electronic notes and other supporting documents -- while Ingeo delivers the last link in the chain: electronic recording. The eMortgage Alliance was founded by DocuTech Corp., Idaho Falls, Idaho. The alliance unites the capabilities of DocuTech, Wave Systems, VirPack, SwiftView, Rekon Technologies, and The Performance Group to enable customers to produce e-mortgages. Members each specialize in and automate separate steps of the e-mortgage process, including the creation of SMART (securable, manageable, archivable, retrievable, transferable) documents and electronic signing, packaging, messaging, closing, recording, and vaulting.

Dorado Corp., San Mateo, Calif., has announced that its user base has exceeded the 40,000 mark, which it attributed to its flagship ChannelMaster and PriceMaster Internet applications for home lending.The company said both products have been widely adopted by loan officers, brokers, and correspondents in Dorado's customer base, which includes Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp., Citibank, Countrywide Home Loans, and Washington Mutual Mortgage. A provider of Demand Chain Management software for home lending banks, Dorado said its mortgage, home equity, and real estate products integrate business customers and consumers into lending processes. The company can be found online at http://www.dorado.com.

BridgeSpan Inc., a provider of real estate settlement and mortgage processing technology, has announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Mountain View, Calif., to Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.As a result, BridgeSpan said it would expand its Frisco facility, the second time this year it has announced a major expansion there. The company said the move would enable its technology, marketing, and finance departments to operate from a single center and would improve service as a result of sharing the same facility as the company's "client-facing" operations in Texas.

The mortgage boom is not abating, says Oklahoma City-based a la mode, citing more than 13.6 million real estate appraisal reports submitted to lenders via the company's Mercury Network over the past 12 months.Appraisal-related file requests and transactions -- such as location and flood map downloads, and appraisal report exchanges between appraisers and loan officer clients -- represent mortgage loans in process and are "the most reliable leading indicator of mortgage volume," the company said. "It continues to be a historically busy time for mortgage and appraisal professionals, and we can say with confidence, based on our server volume, that it shows no sign of slowing down in the immediate future," said Mike Unser, a la mode's product line manager. The Mercury Network is "the largest transaction platform in the mortgage industry," serving more than half of U.S. appraisers and nearly all the nation's loan officers and mortgage brokers, according to a la mode. The company can be found online at http://www.alamode.com.

Fairfield Financial Services, Macon, Ga., a subsidiary of Security Bank of Bibb County, has selected eLynx uSign technology for electronically signing mortgage disclosure and loan documents through the Internet.The Cincinnati-based eLynx Ltd. is a provider of electronic document delivery systems for mortgage lenders. "We selected eLynx uSign to reduce delivery costs and the amount of time spent sending documents back and forth to homebuyers," said Tino Sheridan, president of Fairfield Financial Services. The technology that powers eLynx uSign was developed by Silanis Technology. The mortgage banking firm said it plans to have eLynx uSign fully implemented by September. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.fairfield-financial.com and http://www.elynx.com.