Technology

Again and again collateral risk industry concerns deriving from differences between appraisals and broker price opinions, and related fraud, are being solved by hybrid valuation options that some say are making more headway in the market.

CoreLogic has introduced a new short sale fraud prevention and pricing product that gives lenders alerts on what it calls "risky" pending and closed short sales.

PHH Mortgage Corp. is looking to increase the amount of business it does in its correspondent channel and a partnership with a technology provider has allowed the company to extend its reach without adding a massive account executive sales force.

FNC Inc. has created a consulting division to help its new clients implement its appraisal management technology.

DRI Management Systems, a Newport, Calif.-based default management software provider, has launched a new web-based loan servicing application called Rincon.

eTEC Appraisal Management Solutions in Phoenix is forming a new partnership with Affiliated Lender Services, a Florida-based vendor and consulting firm for mortgage lenders.

The foreclosure crisis has enhanced the need for accurate asset valuations at the secondary market level and data transparency from loan origination to the servicing of securitized loans.

When it comes to traditional technologies in default servicing, the word "transparent" always ends up being paired with some unpleasant descriptives: "Difficult to understand," "Hard to find information" or "More excessive than what I am looking for" are the few words that usually follow the word transparent.

Let's suppose for a moment you needed to buy groceries for your family, but were short on money. Then, by sheer luck, a friendly man approaches you with an envelope. Inside, he says, there's enough money to buy all the milk, eggs and produce your family needs for a week. Now suppose the supermarket is several blocks away, on foot. Before you start off, do you look in the envelope to see how much money you have to work with?

Regulatory changes continue to largely drive automation for those on the production side, especially when it comes to documents, according to executives at DocMagic Inc., Carson, Calif., which does business as Document Systems Inc.