Technology

Of the more than 150,000 paperless mortgages that have been originated since 2000, about 1,000 have gone into foreclosure, Fannie Mae is estimating.

The paperless and electronic signature technology that's been slow to catch on in the mortgage origination business is finding a place in the loss mitigation arena, according to speakers at a session of the Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Servicing Conference.

Mortgage vendor CoreLogic, Santa Ana, Calif., lost $35 million in the fourth quarter after booking a non-cash impairment charge and taking a loss on the sale of discontinued operations.

Origination services and technology at Lender Processing Services showed annual and quarterly revenue gains in the fourth quarter of 2010. But its corresponding business in the mortgage servicing and default arenas closed out the year with quarterly declines, according to recent regulatory filings.

Unemployment, property depreciation and general economic hardship are some of the attributes why RealtyTrac.com is predicting that there will be over 1.2 million homes repossessed by banks in 2011, which would be a 20% increase from repossession rates reported in 2010.

The January Lender Processing Services, Inc. Mortgage Monitor report once again shows that if there is a light at the end of the tunnel it is still quite far away as the number of properties that are 30 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure remains at a staggering 6.922 million.

The robo-signing fiasco only highlighted the fact that having the paperwork in order is equally critical for lenders, servicers, investors and borrowers.Mike Wileman, president and CEO of Orion Financial Group Inc., Southlake, Texas, is one of many industry veterans who see paperwork accuracy and transparency as a powerful factor that is affecting how the industry is and ultimately will conduct business in the future.

A pair of rulings from federal bankruptcy judges last week is adding a new wrinkle to the role of MERSCorp Inc. in state foreclosure proceedings.

Cleveland Selfreliance Federal Credit Union said it has converted to the XetusOne Loan Management System, using it as an online mortgage origination platform.

Mortgage servicing may be changing and self-adjusting into a new still-not completely undefined model, but the fact that it appears to be a work in progress is not discouraging bankers from eyeing what it has to offer.Without much fanfare the crisis has irreversibly turned in-house mortgage servicing and specialty servicing into hot markets.