Tech Roundup: Lydian Targets FHA Biz, DepotPoint Partners with Ticor

Stewart sub launches e-recording platform: Landata Technologies, Inc. said last week that it had launched eClipse, a document management system that supports recordation of real estate, court, vital records and miscellaneous documents. The platform targets local courts, and includes a multi-user examination module used to review real estate and court eRecording packages at the courthouse, as well as a sophisticated redaction capability supporting interactive and batch processing. (http://www.landata.com) Lydian goes after FHA/VA business: Not too long ago, tech platforms were touting their ability to help lenders get into “non-prime” mortgages — these days, a similar rush to FHA lending is on. Lydian Data Services, a provider of outsourcing services for mortgage lenders, said last week that it had established Lydian Data Government Services, a new subsidiary to provide mortgage processing, closing, post-closing and quality control services for FHA and VA loans. “The FHA and VA markets are large and growing larger,” said Brian Fitzpatrick, executive vice president of Lydian Data Services. “We formed Lydian Data Government Services to help brokers, correspondents and lenders bridge the significant knowledge gap and enter this market very quickly.” Fitzpatrick said that many lenders simply don’t have the skilled workers necessary to operate within the rubric of FHA/VA lending standards, after the recent subprime boom. “There are surprisingly few qualified processors out there,” he explained, “and Direct Endorsement (DE) underwriters are positively scarce.” (http://www.lydiandatagovserv.com) DocuTech touts new customer: DocuTech Corp., a provider of compliance services and documentation technology for the mortgage industry, said last week that that San Francisco-based Parkside Lending had implemented DocuTech’s ConformX compliant document solution. The lender imports data from its in-house LOS, and Parkside CEO Matt Ostrander said that the use of DocuTech’s doc management platform will save the firm $40 per file. (http://www.docutechcorp.com) Fidelity sub touts Web-based closings: ServiceLink, the national mortgage services platform of Fidelity National Financial (FNF), is touting its iClose web-based closing product. The platform provides a secure method for borrowers to close their loans in an online virtual meeting room. The company said the ability to have third parties at different locations participate in the closing, have increased customer satisfaction. (http://www.servicelink.iclosefnf.com) Fidelity sub chooses DepotPoint: Ticor Title Company of California, a leading real estate title company and subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial (FNF) — not to be confused with Service Link, above — has selected DepotPoint, Inc.’s default and REO TrackPoint online workflow applications to streamline the tracking and management of thousands of properties in all stages of distress. Ticor is one of a multitude of companies moving to make a dent in foreclosure and asset management outsourcing — a field that numerous Fidelity-owned companies alone now apparently compete with each other in. It’s confusing, we know. (http://www.depotpoint.com) Loan-Score reaches Pinnacle: Loan-Score Decisioning Systems, an enterprise-class pricing and automated underwriting solutions provider, said last week that Pinnacle Capital Mortgage Corp., a newly-formed wholesale mortgage lender, has signed with the company to utilize its decisioning solution; Loan-Score’s direct integration with Del Mar DataTrac, which Pinnacle has installed as its back-end loan processing system, also was cited. Loan-Score’s solution will PCM to automate product eligibility, pricing and underwriting approvals at the point-of-sale for brokers and also within DataTrac for operations staff, the company said. There are clearly opportunities emerging for origination tech providers in the wholesale space, as “baggage free” — read: sans repurchase obligations — operations emerge to stake their claim to an industry that has been decimated by the industry downturn. FICs heads to New Mexico: Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. — that’s FICS to the rest of us — said last week that New Mexico-based Kirtland Federal Credit Union is successfully utilizing its residential loan origination and servicing suite of mortgage technology solutions. Kirtland FCU is one of the largest credit unions in New Mexico, and like many smaller lenders, found itself in need of a new platform as borrower demand for loan products from local lenders has surged during the industry downturn. “Having the front-end production system move the loans directly into the servicing system, is important to us because having everything on one database, which eliminates the need to develop custom interfaces as well as rekey loan data, allowing for a seamless loan process,” said Kris Jones, director of Real Estate Lending at Kirtland Federal Credit Union. (http://www.ficsloanware.com)