Technology

TeraVendo, Bellevue, Wash., has announced that its LoanAce LOS software has reached the 1,000-user mark among mortgage originators, less than three months after LoanAce debuted Aug. 1.LoanAce, which leverages the Microsoft .NET development environment, is offered free to users. The revenue model is based on transactions with its loan fulfillment partners. TeraVendo said it has revamped its LoanAce support division by increasing information technology and customer-support staff. The system currently features one-click title ordering and integrated leads. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.teravendo.com.

Vienna, Va.-based VirPack has announced itself the first company to support seamless electronic loan delivery to EMC Mortgage Corp., Lewisville, Texas.With a single click, correspondent lenders can now use the VirPack Direct application to make single and multiple loan deliveries to EMC for underwriting, flow and bulk deliveries, and transmission of trailing documents, according to VirPack. First Guaranty Mortgage Corp., McLean, Va., the first mutual client to perform delivery, pronounced itself "thrilled" with the results. First Guaranty was quoted in the announcement as being "on track to save in excess of $1.5 million in the first year using VirPack." VirPack, which can be installed and in production in as little as four days, boasts savings in excess of $120 per loan for its users. It can be found online at http://www.virpack.com, and EMC can be found at http://www.emcmortgage.com.

Conshohocken, Pa.-based MortgageHub, a mortgage industry Web services platform provider, has hired David Demster as president of its Mortgage Products Division and Mike Whitson as senior partner in its Services Division.Mr. Demster is charged with overseeing and managing the company's mortgage technology products, including its Web-based wholesale, correspondent, and retail lending systems; its product, pricing, and decisioning engines; and its warehouse lending system. Before joining MortgageHub, Mr. Demster served as vice president of the Mortgage Business Unit of Fair Isaac Corp., where he directed all business operations. Mr. Whitson will focus on managing and developing the company's service offerings, with a focus on strategy consulting and contracting services for the mortgage industry. MortgageHub can be found on the Web at http://www.mortgagehub.com.

A nationwide class-action lawsuit has been filed against LendingTree LLC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Home Loan Center Inc., alleging that they have engaged in unfair business practices and false advertising.The suit, filed by the law firm of Teuton, Loewy & Parker LLP in Orange County Superior Court, notes that LendingTree's slogan is: "When banks compete, you win." With this slogan, LendingTree styles itself as an online lending exchange that connects borrowers to a network of lenders that allegedly "compete" for the borrowers' business, the suit says. However, the suit alleges that in thousands of cases there is no such competition and that LendingTree uses its website and false advertising to generate leads for its wholly owned direct-lending division. The lawsuit further alleges that LendingTree secretly diverts many LendingTree.com leads to its subsidiary, where unsuspecting borrowers are sold loans at inflated prices based on the materially false representation that "competition" has occurred among lenders. Rebecca Anderson, a spokeswoman for Lending Tree, said the suit arose out of the termination of a "disgruntled LendingTree employee who was let go after working with the company for nine months."

LeadPoint, an online leads exchange marketplace with offices in Los Angeles and London, has obtained $2 million in series C financing from the European Founders Fund, a venture investment company.LeadPoint said it will use the funding to drive growth in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. "We believe LeadPoint could be the next Ebay or Google in the B2B Internet space," said Oliver Samwer, principal of the European Founders Fund. "What is revolutionary about LeadPoint is that it brings an auction-style model to the lead generation business. Buyers can bid for the specific types of leads they are looking for and lead sellers can reach the broadest possible range of pre-screened buyers in one location, making the entire lead-gen value chain more efficient and profitable for all parties involved." Founded in 2004, LeadPoint is the world's largest online leads exchange marketplace, according to the company, and has traded over 900,000 leads in 2006. It be found online at http://www.leadpoint.com.

The U.S. Rural Housing Service is in the last stages of perfecting an automated underwriting system that should be available to all lenders in January 2007.The guaranteed underwriting system can provide approvals on RHS-guaranteed single-family loans in 30 seconds, according to RHS Administrator Russell Davis. After a lender submits the application data, GUS pulls a credit report and runs it through the scorecard. GUS also has unique features to make sure borrowers meet RHS income limits and the property is located in a rural area. GUS uses geographic information system mapping software to pinpoint the location of the property. Since Aug. 1, eight lenders have originated 133 RHS loans using GUS, and more lenders are being added to the pilot program. "GUS is a premier, high-quality system," Mr. Davis said. "It will be much easier for borrowers to shop, and we believe we have a very attractive product."

Greystone Residential Funding Inc., a mortgage banking company based in Middleton, Wis., has announced an alliance with PCLender.com, a Honolulu-based mortgage technology provider, aimed at assisting credit unions and community banks.Greystone said PCLender's loan origination system is "distinctive, well-defined, and easy to use" and its application service provider system offers financial institutions "a practical alternative" to buying and implementing technology systems themselves. "Through this alliance, we will be able to provide a streamlined front-to-back technology solution with seamless third-party vendor integration," said Dan Rotert, Greystone's president and chief executive officer. The companies can be found online at http://www.greystonerf.com and http://www.pclender.com.

Chase has selected Fidelity National Information Services Inc.'s Mortgage Servicing Package to replace and upgrade multiple legacy software platforms for servicing its $600 billion portfolio.Chase services its own loan portfolio and provides servicing for third-party loans. FNIS said Chase will replace and upgrade the systems over the next two years to streamline business processes and provide faster rollout and better support for new products. The updated system is expected to reduce costs, handle larger volumes, and improve disaster recovery capability. A leading mortgage lender, Chase originated $128 billion in mortgage loans and $54 billion in home equity lines and loans in 2005. It also purchases servicing rights to mortgage portfolios. Jacksonville, Fla.-based FNIS said its Mortgage Servicing Package automates all areas of mortgage servicing, including loan setup and maintenance, cashiering, escrow administration, investor accounting, and regulatory reporting. FNIS can be found online at http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com.

A new website designed to allow consumers to shop for mortgage loans anonymously and to chat live with more than 100 mortgage companies has been unveiled by LAL Enterprises Inc., Hermosa Beach, Calif.The website, LoanAgentsLive.com, is described as a chat-based "mortgage shopping mall" that enables a visitor to select a state, get a list of mortgage lenders, and view a link next to each company's display ad that shows whether a loan officer at the brokerage is available for a live chat. LAL Enterprises said preliminary results from a beta test indicate that consumers are four times more likely to initiate a chat with a mortgage consultant than to fill out an online application. To ensure the safety of visitors, all chats are conducted over a secure server, and LoanAgentsLive.com conducts background checks and personal interviews with all listed brokerage firms "to exclude those with a history of predatory lending," the company said. The website can be found online at http://www.loanagentslive.com.

Inland Real Estate Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Oak Brook, Ill., has been added to the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index.The company is also a constituent of the S&P REIT Composite Index. Inland can be found on the Web at http://www.inlandrealestate.com.