Technology

MERS has reported the registration of the first electronic promissory note on the MERS eRegistry.The MERS registration, by 1st Advantage Mortgage LLC on July 23, makes the eNote "the first truly uniform electronic note that can be bought and sold on the secondary mortgage market," MERS said. It ensures that only 1st Advantage is recognized as the owner, and offers investors confidence that they can gain the benefits of buying the eNote while maintaining "holder in due course" status. "This technological advancement will dramatically change the way we do business," said Paul Lueken, president of 1st Advantage. ".... Electronic closing packages will allow us to be more efficient in getting closing documents to the title companies, and the cost of copying and shipping loan documents will be eliminated." The eNote and the closing documents were electronically signed at a standard settlement conference in the offices of Chicago Title, and the electronic closing was accomplished using patent-pending technology developed by Document Processing Systems of Novi, Mich., MERS said.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded EDS Corp. a contract valued at up to $750 million to provide HUD with its information technology infrastructure.Under the contract, dubbed HITS for HUD Information Technology Systems, EDS will be responsible for furnishing personnel, hardware and software, telecommunications, facilities, and services necessary to deliver HUD's basic IT functions at more than 80 HUD offices around the country. The contract has a base period of four months followed by nine option years.

The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws has approved model legislation that would give county clerks and recorders the legal authority to prepare for electronic recording of real property records.The act, called the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, could create legislation that would authorize officials to begin accepting and storing records in electronic format. However, many state laws still require recorded real documents. This act would supersede those laws if it were made a law. Nonetheless, other legislation to establish the standard document format, the authority to record such forms, and the authority to fix fees for electronic recording and to collect those fees would have to be settled in order for electronic recording to become more widespread.

Residential jumbo lender No Red Tape, Sherman Oaks, Calif., has released technology to speed up the pre-approval submission process for jumbo loans.The new service, which NRT is offering at no charge to its national broker network, is designed to streamline and simplify the submission process by not requiring any original documentation upon submission and, instead, accepting faxed copies to garner an underwriting decision. NRT staff will take the broker through the process to reduce the chance that a loan will be declined based on incomplete data or insufficient loan packaging. The entire file can be faxed into Blitzdocs, No Red Tape's online imaging system created and distributed by Alpharetta, Ga.-based Advectis, to make it possible to convert the paper to an electronic file. NRT can be found on the Web at http://www.noredtape.com.

GMAC Mortgage Corp., Horsham, Pa., has upped its third-party servicing functionality by adding business intelligence software to its Web offering.This new function will make it possible for GMAC clients to receive loan-level reporting information, portfolio analysis, and performance management via the Internet. According to GMAC, the new data will help owners and investors keep close watch on their portfolios, thereby enabling them to make key management decisions that may be time-sensitive. GMAC can be found on the web at http://www.gmacmortgage.com.

Appintell Inc., St. Louis, has expanded its strategic partnership with Dublin, Calif.-based Ellie Mae.As part of the agreement, Appintell compliance offerings within Ellie Mae's ePASS Web transaction portal will be accessible to users that have Genesis 2000, Contour, Encompass, and other loan origination systems. These users will now have a direct interface with AppIntell's High Cost Loan Filter and PredProtect anti-predatory-lending compliance solutions through ePASS (Electronic Pricing and Submission System). To access HCL and PredProtect, users will use links in the ePASS additional vendor services section. The Appintell solutions provide full annual-percentage-rate and points/fees threshold calculations, plus additional jurisdiction-specific tests to determine compliance with applicable laws. Appintell can be found on the Web at http://www.appintell.com.

LoanPerformance, San Francisco, has released version 1.0 of its TrueStandings Securities risk mitigation product.The new release provides scalable, real-time, Web access to what the company touts as the largest repository of loan-level information on the U.S. mortgage securities market. TrueStandings Securities also features an enhanced interface to create customized analyses and reports. LoanPerformance can be found on the Web at http://www.loanperformance.com.

Fiserv, Brookfield, Wis., has reported net income of $95.0 million ($0.48 per share) for the second quarter, up from $78.4 million ($0.40 per share) a year earlier.Fiserv's processing and services revenues came in at $855.9 million for the quarter, a 33% increase over the $643.9 million for the second quarter of 2003. Fiserv can be found on the Web at http://www.fiserv.com.

Ellie Mae Inc., Dublin, Calif., will offer its ePASS users a direct connection to Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector automated underwriting system.Ellie Mae said the connection will provide customers two-way functionality between LP and the originator's desktop through ePASS, which stands for Electronic Pricing and Submission System. Mortgage originators can request and receive an LP assessment and roll that information directly into their loan origination system as part of the integration as well. Ellie Mae can be found on the Web at http://www.elliemae.com.

Innovations in mortgage servicing technology over the past 10 years have been very helpful in keeping families in their homes after a mortgage default, according to a study by Freddie Mac.The study by Freddie Mac deputy chief economist Amy Crews Cutts and Professor Richard Green of George Washington University found that repayment plans and loan modifications are very effective at keeping borrowers in their homes. "We found that repayment plans lower the probability of home loss by 80% among all borrowers and by 68% among low- to moderate-income borrowers," Ms. Cutts said. "In addition, for servicers, foreclosure alternatives cost less than acquiring the actual property, which may carry legal and home repair costs." Freddie Mac said innovations that have proven beneficial for borrowers and servicers alike include automated reporting, remitting, and tracking; automated voice response systems; and servicing tools based on credit scores. The technology has enabled servicing costs to fall "dramatically" in the past 10 years, from an average of $120 per loan in the early 1990s to $79 per loan in 2001, the government-sponsored enterprise said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.