TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1148776
8 | TH E M R EP O RT MTECH Partnering for Progress TWO TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES ARE INTEGRATING THEIR PLATFORMS TO PROVIDE A MORE HOLISTIC LENDING LIFE CYCLE. L enderClose has integrated Simpli- file, which functions as an electronic liaison between lenders and county recording offices with its software platform. Simplifile has deployed its e-recording plat- form in 50% of all U.S. recording jurisdictions and plans to help the remaining 50% realize e-recording benefits in 2019. Because the Iowa-based LenderClose platform provides API connections to every vendor it takes to manage a mortgage or HELOC loan, the combination of the two platforms further streamlines the lending staff experience. The integration is a continuation of LenderClose's strategy to provide lenders a single point of access to the housing indus- try's top vendors to holistically digitize the loan cycle. LenderClose also recently inte- grated with MeridianLink's LoansPQ loan origination platform. "We cannot afford to lose sight of the bor- rower experience," said Ben Rempe, COO of LenderClose. "That's why we have placed such a high priority on putting the right technology and integrations into the hands of lending staff. When they are empowered to exceed expectations, the borrower experience is automatically improved." Through LenderClose, lending staff access a suite of property data reports and ser- vices—from flood certification and valuation products to title reports and e-recording. The result is a vastly accelerated underwriting pro- cess, an increasingly essential capability for all lenders. With one vendor, one integration, and one invoice, lending teams realize multiple points of efficiency. The pairing of LenderClose and the Utah- based Simplifile allows lenders nationwide to upload county recordable documents, such as mortgages, trust deeds, releases, and more, to the LenderClose platform without having to toggle between providers and accounts. Every LenderClose user will have access to e-record- ing and will remain inside the LenderClose platform as they engage directly with county recorders. "Vendor collaboration is critical for the continued digital transformation of the lend- ing industry," said Paul Clifford, Simplifile Founder and President. "We're fortunate to have found an excellent match in the lead- ership of LenderClose. Bringing our two platforms together has been very smooth and iterative. We have a strong feedback loop in place, and look forward to taking our users' suggestions for making the experience of accessing both platforms from a single access point even better." "Our old process required us to mail mortgages to county offices nationwide, with a check in every package. It took us five to sev- en business days to record a mortgage or file a release," said Becky Beard, AVP of Mortgage Operations at Deere Employees Credit Union. "Now, we upload our documents to the LenderClose platform and the county e-records it the next business day, sometimes within hours or even minutes. Once recorded, we're able to retrieve a copy of the documents, complete with county stamps." "Legacy lenders can't wait a minute longer to digitize," said Omar Jordan, CEO of LenderClose. "It's surprising how many lend- ers continue to rely on postal services, or even hand-delivery of documents, when the indus- try has access to fast, secure technology. By integrating with as many technology vendors as possible, we make it even easier for lenders to evolve their processes to new, exciting ways of serving digital consumers—and to close more loans while they're at it." For the Benefit of Investors A NEW PARTNERSHIP AIMS TO BUILD A TRANSPARENT PASSIVE INCOME PLATFORM FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS. O penLTV, which offers fractional invest- ing in loans secured by the U.S. real estate has launched an investment platform, as well as a partnership with Paxos, a company focused on rebuilding the infra- structure of finance through blockchain. The company said that it is building a transparent passive income platform for investors seeking to benefit from exposure to U.S. real estate- backed debt and will begin accepting the Paxos stable coin. OpenLTV said that its platform enables in- vestors to earn a passive income collateralized by the U.S. real estate market, without actu- ally owning the property. Users will be able to invest using cryptocurrency and earn 8-12% return per year. OpenLTV will also issue its securities on the Ethereum blockchain in the form of a security token, enabling transpar- ency and secondary trading with ease, which is an innovation in the blockchain and real estate investment spaces. "The OpenLTV platform will simultane- ously allow us to tap into a global pool of investors and unused crypto-asset liquidity," says Kirill Bensonoff, CEO of OpenLTV. "We are thrilled to be partnering with the Paxos team to bring a long-standing and secure investment option in the real estate industry to the financial future." Through this partnership, Paxos will be L