TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/920666
TH E M R EP O RT | 5 MTECH partnerships with appraisal management company AXIS Ap- praisal Management Solutions and Mercury Network. Utilizing HouseCanary's robust data and analytics with the expertise of local appraisers, Agile Appraisal enables delivery of ap- praisals to users in a process that is fast, accurate, and affordable, all while facilitating full compliance. "With our comprehensive data and analytics platform, their appraisers can efficiently spend their time and attention on the key aspects of the valuation analysis, especially when utiliz- ing our integrated tools around comp selection and adjustments, which results in reduced revisions and time savings for all par- ties," said Alex Villacorta, Ph.D., HouseCanary's EVP of Analytics. "Our partnership will bring ef- ficiency and consistency to our mutual property valuation clients through this innovative bifurca- tion process." According to Kim Perotti, Co- President of AXIS, lenders and in- vestors need alternative valuation products based upon risk and need that still include an apprais- er's expert opinion of value. "Agile Appraisal provides a powerful solution in times when a full appraisal is too much and an AVM is not enough to assess risk in any given market," agreed Michael Simmons, Co-President of AXIS. "This product is perfect for portfolio review and HELOCs, and we are proud to be adding this offering to our wide array of products." As a part of the partnership, AXIS Appraisal Management will offer Agile Appraisal to premier appraisers, allowing continued service for their bank and credit union clients by completing a higher volume of appraisals than ever before while still upholding accuracy. President of Mercury Network, now part of CoreLogic, Jennifer Miller explained that alternative valuations are becoming more and more prevalent in today's market. "We are excited to have both companies on board and to offer this product to other Mercury Network customers," she said. OwnAmerica Originates Millions in SFR Transactions THE ONLINE MARKETPLACE FOR SINGLE-FAMILY RENTAL INVESTMENTS ORIGINATES $76 MILLION DEAL. O wnAmerica announced the conclusion of 21 transactions totaling 656 homes. The company reports a surge in supply and demand for mid-sized SFR portfolios. According to the company, 16 million SFR homes currently exist in the U.S., and the National Association of Realtors reports that over 1 million homes are purchased by investors every year. Investors in rental homes are increasingly attracted to fully occupied investment properties, as opposed to acquiring vacant homes and finding tenants. "Buyers of single-family rentals view occupied portfolios the same way any commercial investor would view a fully occupied office building, shopping center, or apartment complex," said Greg Rand, CEO of OwnAmerica, "Buying occupied is more efficient, less risky and immedi- ately profitable." Selling portfolios of SFR as occupied rentals is more profit- able for sellers as well. R.J. Palano, a private investor who used OwnAmerica.com to find buy- ers for 70 SFRs, said, "If I sold these properties the old way, by vacating them first, I would have lost 10 percent of the value due to downtime and repair costs. On top of that, it would have taken a year of my life and countless hours of my time. It was also important to me that my tenants didn't have to move." DocMagic Opens High-Tech Print Fulfillment Supercenter NEW FACILITY PROVIDES COMPLIANT SOLUTION TO 'OPT-OUT' REQUIREMENTS FOR MORTGAGE TRANSACTIONS THAT REVERT FROM DIGITAL TO PAPER PROCESSES. D ocMagic, Inc., the pro- vider of fully-compliant loan document prepa- ration, regulatory compliance and comprehensive eMortgage services, announced that it has opened a 12,000 square foot print fulfillment center minutes from its Torrance, California headquarters. DocMagic added the high tech "supercenter" to support lenders' growing need for secure, compliant paper documents as the mortgage industry transitions to a 100 percent digital mortgage process. "Ironically, DocMagic's increas - ing need to produce paper docu- ments results from the growing number of lenders using our technologies to transact paperless mortgages," said Dominic Iannitti, President and CEO of DocMagic, who explained that even lend - ers employing 100 percent digital processes need to produce paper documents due to paper "fallout." Paper fallout, which is normal and can be expected with any digital process, is usually caused when borrowers do not respond to email requests for eSigning within required timeframes or because they specifically ask their lenders to revert to paper docu - ments. When this happens, lend- ers' risk of compliance violations increases. The process of printing, prepar- ing and delivering paper docu- ments is traditionally an intensely manual and time-consuming pro- cess, which increases lenders' risk of missed disclosure deadlines, errors and compromised data. "Simply creating a print fulfill - ment center wouldn't have been an adequate solution because high risk is inherent in handling paper fallout," said Iannitti. "We needed a fulfillment center based on technology that eclipses any pro - cess—manual or automated—cur- rently being used to process paper documents. Fortunately, this is where DocMagic excels. We cre- ated a fulfillment supercenter that operates at the height of automa- tion in the mortgage equivalent of a sterile environment. We're very proud of what we've built." The new fulfillment center uses biometric authentication and video monitoring to provide assurance that only authorized individuals ac - cess the building and specific areas "According to the company, 16 million SFR homes currently exist in the U.S., and the National Association of Realtors reports that over 1 million homes are purchased by investors every year."