TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1494596
6 | M R EP O RT need for an additional product. In addition to the flexibility provided, UDC is available at a fraction of the cost of a traditional appraisal, and completed in half the time. "We have seen seismic shifts across the housing market in the past year, and the appraisal modernization policy work being done by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provides a welcomed change as alternative valuation approaches offer a crucial path forward for lenders and homeowners alike," said Kenon Chen, EVP of Strategy and Growth at Clear Capital. "We have been planning for an industry-wide shift in appraisal backed by policy changes, and we have the data, analytics and technology in place to support this shift and enable widespread adoption of modern appraisal tools industry wide." Powered by Clear Capital, the UDC property data collection solution provides interchangeability and less complexity in manage- ment of loans, as well as ease of adoption with the availability of order management integrations, website ordering, and API order- ing. UDC is supported by ClearInsight, an easy-to-use mobile app that enables real estate professionals to quickly generate a complete digital picture of a home. The solution also lever- ages CubiCasa, a global-reaching real estate software company, to produce digital floor plans that provide Digital Gross Living Area (GLA), aligned with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. "We wanted to provide an efficient and cost-effective method for data collection ordering and management that satisfies ap- praisal modernization policy changes, and delivers more confi- dence in closing times along with a faster, lower-cost experience for consumers," said Dan McAlister, Director of Product Management for Clear Capital. "Simplicity of implementation is at the heart of Universal Data Collection, and we focused on removing adoption and loan management hurdles that have been so common in the traditional appraisal process to create a product that will help facilitate the future of appraisals." Enhancing the Digital Experience BLUE SAGE RELEASES NEW POINT OF SALE SOLUTION B lue Sage Solutions LLC has released LION, its point of sale (POS), as a standalone offering for lend- ers to use with their chosen loan origination system (LOS). A component of the Blue Sage Digital Lending Platform, LION will enable banks, lenders, and credit unions to provide bor- rowers with a seamless digital experience, while accelerating loan production and reducing costs. LION is highly con- figurable and supports dynamic workflows for purchase, refi- nances, and home equity trans- actions and is accessible from any device, anywhere, anytime. With the LION POS solu- tion, borrowers can shop and compare mortgage rates and associated closing costs, submit a loan application, auto-generate compliant initial disclosures, and interact with the lender or loan officer once the loan is submit- ted. Lenders can assign unsolic- ited loan applications submitted through LION to their sales team for follow up based on their own parameters. The LION POS is bundled with Blue Sage's Loan Officer Portal, which optimizes the sales process for sales teams and supports other aspects of loan production, including customer relationship management tools, side-by-side product and pricing quotes, and disclosure genera- tion. Loan Officer Portal includes a robust notification system for borrowers, Realtors and Loan Officers through email and text and enables lenders to create bor- rower tasks and reminders based on rules-based conditions and needs lists. Loan Officer Portal is also available as a mobile app, allowing a lender's sales team to communicate with and help guide their customers through the loan process no matter where they are. "Today's lenders are hungry for digital technology to help offset the costs of running their business amid fewer lending opportuni- ties," said Joey McDuffee, VP of Sales and Marketing for Blue Sage. "However, many lenders remain tied to their current loan platform and are not able to easily leverage highly automated point-of-sale technology. Because LION is eas- ily integrated with other systems and has almost unlimited scal- ability, any lender can create the type of digital mortgage experi- ence borrowers deserve while keeping their production costs to a minimum." Consumer-Facing Down Payment Assistance HOMESCOUT PARTNERS WITH DOWN PAYMENT RESOURCE D own Payment Resource (DPR) has announced that it has partnered with HomeScout LLC to help mortgage lenders generate and convert more leads by meeting heightened consumer demand for information about affordable pathways to homeownership. HomeScout provides a suite of tools and services to help mortgage lenders increase production by generating and nurturing in-market homebuyer business at the early stages of the home buying journey. With affordability challenges causing many qualified borrowers to sideline themselves from home buying, HomeScout has partnered with DPR to rally homebuyer engagement with programs that re- duce the costs of homeownership. "Consumers' eagerness to engage with our tools continues to signal an immense, unmet ap- petite for homebuyer assistance," DPR Founder and CEO Rob Chrane said. "By making down payment assistance program infor- mation easily accessible through its consumer-facing portal and loan originator-branded landing pages, HomeScout is helping lend- ers see the opportunity home- buyer assistance programs offer to fill sales pipelines while helping qualified borrowers overcome MTECH "Today's lenders are hungry for digital technology to help offset the costs of running their business amid fewer lending opportunities." —Joey McDuffee, VP of Sales and Marketing, Blue Sage