April 2018 Issue by HousingWire

HOUSINGWIRE MAGAZINE ❱ APRIL 2018

BIG DATA DELIVERS How mortgage companies are capitalizing on their greatest resource.

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VIRTUAL CURRENCIES How ICOs are disrupting traditional means of raising capital.

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HOUSINGWIRE MAGAZINE ❱ APRIL 2018

MOSTINNOVATIVETECHNOLOGY COMPANIES IN HOUSING

THE

HOUSINGWIRE APRIL 2018 EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jacob Gaffney MANAGING EDITOR Sarah Wheeler ONLINE EDITOR Caroline Basile SENIOR FINANCIAL REPORTER Ben Lane REPORTER Kelsey Ramírez CONTRIBUTORS Craig Anderson, Mark Melikian and Laurie Pyle

CONTENT SOLUTIONS AND CREATIVE CREATIVE ASSOCIATE Chantae Arrington CONTENT WRITER Alyssa Stringer

SALES AND MARKETING NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Jennifer Watson Laws jlaws@HousingWire.com MARKETING DIRECTOR C. Scott Smith DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST Caren Karris SALES DIRECTORS Christi Lingard clingard@HousingWire.com Tyson Bennett tbennett@HousingWire.com Mark Adams madams@HousingWire.com

PUTTING TECH TO WORK WHEN I STARTED AT HOUSINGWIRE in 2013, the tech issue (which used to be our March magazine) was pretty manageable. We launched the HW TECH100 in 2014 to recognize tech companies creating innovative solutions in the mortgage industry and it was a challenge to pick just 100 companies that first year, but doable. This year? So much harder. That’s because there are hundreds — hundreds — more tech companies and so many of them are doing incredible things. They are creating new ways for borrowers to find lenders, for lenders to find investors, and for every part of the process to be better, faster and easier. Find out which companies we are recognizing this year starting on page 36. Our second feature continues the tech theme, highlighting how mortgage companies are using big data. Just a few years ago, only a few big players in our industry could access the huge volume of data needed for better decisioning. Today, with APIs and other integration points, companies of all sizes can leverage big data to recognize new opportunities, be more competitive and grow business. See what the new table stakes are, starting on page 58. Speaking of opportunities, what intersection do mortgage companies have with crypto-currencies? Online Editor Caroline Basile set out to investigate the possible benefits — and pitfalls — of being on the leading edge of digital currency adoption in her feature on page 64. Tech disruption continues apace. We’ll give you a front-row seat.

Joe Priolo jpriolo@HousingWire.com AD OPERATIONS MANAGER Jessica Fly SALES AND CLIENT SUCCESS COORDINATOR Haley Knighton

Sarah Wheeler Managing Editor @swheelerHW

CORPORATE PRESIDENT AND CEO Clayton Collin CONTROLLER Michelle Monroe BOOKKEEPER Elaine Lakloufi Subscriptions are available for $149.00 for one year. A subscription includes the print magazine and online access to the digital magazine. Canada and foreign are only eligible to purchase the “Digital Only” subscription plan at $149 for one year. For subscription orders, call 1-800869-6882 or email HW@kmpsgroup.com. Postmaster: Send change of address to HW Media, P.O. Box 47627, Plymouth, MN 55447. Subscribers: Please send last magazine label along with change of address requests. The information contained within should not be construed as a recommendation for any course of action regarding legal, financial or accounting matters. All written materials are disseminated with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal advice or other professional services. HW Media does not guarantee the accuracy of information provided, and is not liable for any damages, losses or other detriment that may result from the use of these materials.

Tweets From The Streets “The US dollar became fiat currency when it stopped being backed by gold over 46 years ago and it has lost 97 percent of its value since the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913.” Got bitcoin? 5

by @SirBitt

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 7

APRIL ’18 58 BIG DATA The rise of APIs is enabling mortgage companies to capitalize on big data. By Sarah Wheeler

64 VIRTUAL CURRENCIES How initial coin offerings are disrupting the traditional means of raising capital. By Caroline Basile

2018 HW TECH100 The most innovative tech companies in mortgage finance.

70 SPOTLIGHT Mortgage Cadence outlines three key takeaways from Accenture’s borrower survey. Find out how to deliver what borrowers care about most. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 9

CONTENTS 14 THE LINEUP 14 PEOPLE MOVERS Former Keller Williams CEO Chris Heller named to lead mello Home by LD Holdings.

16 EVENT CALENDER

16 30 AUTOMATION

UWM continues to invest in new tech platforms and programs for its mortgage brokers.

Craig Anderson of Genworth covers what is and isn’t working for customer satisfaction.

34 BLOCKCHAIN Laurie Pyle of Factom reminds readers why Blockchain isn’t a Magic 8 Ball.

22 DISPATCH 2 TMS looks to disrupt mortgage servicing by focusing on the borrower.

24 DISPATCH 3 Auction.com’s “boots on the ground” philosophy is just as important as its technology.

26 DISPATCH 4 Optimal Blue significantly improves data transparency and availability.

Tweets From The Streets From now on I’m paying my mortgage in vanilla extract. 17 bottles should get me to summer.

Simon Moir of eOriginal explains why the eNote is so important in the digital mortgage process.

20 DISPATCH 1

32 RELYING ON TECH

18 HOT SEAT

VIEWPOINTS Mark Melikian of Summit Valuation Solutions explains how to balance automation use.

LendIt and the MBA focus on mortgage technology in San Francisco and Detroit.

by @writersblock

28 HOT OR NOT Amazon’s move into mortgage lending spooks smaller lenders. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 11

CONTENTS 72 BACK DEPARTMENTS 72 INSIDE BASEBALL It’s not easy being the secretary of HUD. Ben Carson, under fire, says brain surgery was easier.

76 KUDOS HousingWire launches an online career center, HousingJobs, exclusively for housing talent.

78 GSE REPORT Find out who’s catching the heat for GSEs needing Treasury money.

82 KNOWLEDGE CENTER Chronos Solutions describes a method to perfect the tax and lien release process.

84 KNOWLEDGE CENTER Ellie Mae provides borrowers with a true digital mortgage solution.

86 KNOWLEDGE CENTER DocuTech lists 10 ways dynamic document software can transform a loan experience.

88 KNOWLDEGE CENTER

Sutherland explains their digital solutions for a satisfying customer experience.

90 Q&A

We interview Brian Deas of MDK.

92 COMPANIES/ PEOPLE INDEX 93 AD INDEX 94 PARTING SHOT HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 13

Chris Heller mello Home

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LASTORIA

MEYERS WILCOX

KITTLE SHARGA

ICK Sharga rejoined Carrington Mortgage Holdings as an executive vice president after working with Ten-X for five years. At Ten-X Sharga served as executive vice president of the company’s Auction.com business before becoming the company’s chief marketing officer, helping position it for its successful 2017 sale to private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners. The Mortgage Bankers Association named Deborah Dubois president of MBA Opens Doors Foundation, which provides rental and mortgage payment assistance to families with critically ill children, allowing parents and guardians to remain with their children during treatment. Previously, Dubois served as the chief development officer for the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization.She also previously served as the deputy executive director for Justice at Stake and vice president for the National Legal Aid & Defender Association. Nationwide Title Clearing promoted

SMITH

DUBOIS NOMURA

LD Holdings Group, the parent company of loanDepot, hired former Keller Williams CEO Chris Heller to lead mello Home. Heller served as president of Keller Williams’ worldwide division and then as CEO of Keller Williams from 2010 to 2017.

Debbie Lastoria to the position of vice president of national sales. Lastoria previously served as the company’s vice president of business development and was honored as one of HousingWire Magazine’s Women of Influence in 2015. Lastoria joined NTC more than 10 years ago and the company credits her as a “major contributor” to its 600% revenue growth in that time frame. Blackstone announced that President and Chief Operating Officer Tony James will be handing over daily management of the firm to Jon Gray, global head of real estate. James will stay at the firm as executive vice chairman and will report to Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder, chairman and CEO. James will also continue to sit on the firm’s management committee and board of directors. Gray joined Blackstone in 1992 and began leading the firm’s real estate business in 2005, helping grow the business with more than $115 billion in investor capital. Capsilon added Ginger Wilcox as the senior vice president of marketing.

Wilcox is a startup veteran and part of the team that launched Sindeo. She was also named one of HousingWire's Women of Influence in 2015. David Kittle, a former chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, joined Radian Group as senior relationship manager for mortgage bankers. K itt le prev iously worked at ComplianceEase as senior vice president of government and industry relations and at First American Mortgage Solutions as senior vice president of federal solutions. Move, which operates Realtor.com for the National Association of Realtors, appointed Michelle Meyers to the newly created role of vice president of customer success. Meyers most recently served as the northern California general manager for Synergy Global Housing. Earlier in her career, Meyers served as COO of medical device company Biolyst. Mortgage Quality Management and Research added Mitchell Nomura as its new internal audit manager. Nomura has more than 30 years of experience overseeing compliance and risk management departments at bank and nonbank lenders and before joining MQMR served as chief credit officer at Bank of San Francisco. He has also held positions at RPM Mor tgage, Bank of Hawaii, Cit y National Bank and GMAC Residential Funding. Waterstone Mor tgage promoted Ericka Smith to vice president of marketing. Smith joined Waterstone Mortgage as its marketing manager more than two years ago and has played an integral part in the rollout of many of the company’s marketing initiatives, such as the launch of its CRM system.

EVENT CALENDAR

MBA NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN MORTGAGE BANKING CONFERENCE & EXPO APRIL 15-18, 2018 Host: Mortgage Bankers Association Location: Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center Cost: $1,050 to $3,375 On the agenda: The Mortgage Bankers Association hosts the industry’s premier tradeshow focused on today’s technology solutions. New this year, MBA will feature programming specifically aimed at commercial/multifamily real estate finance technology professionals. Speakers include Billy Beane, Oakland A’s general manager and the subject of “Moneyball;” Julian D. Hebron, SVP of marketing for LoanDepot; Lisa Dorsey, director at Fannie Mae; and Mikhail Cook, SVP of sales and business development for Black Knight’s Lending Solutions division.

DETROIT Home of Motown Records and with deep ties to the auto industry, Detroit is saturated with museums and art. Detroit Institute of Arts Museum is famed for the Detroit Industry Murals painted by Diego Rivera located off of Woodrow Ave. dia.org

LENDIT FINTECH USA 2018 APRIL 9-11, 2018 Host: LendIt Fintech Location: San Francisco, California Cost: $475 to $2,995 On the agenda: LendIt Fintech brings together 5,000 decision makers at this year’s three-day event. New for 2018 is access to BlockFin Summit, which brings together the most influential asset allocators, hedge funds and crypto companies to participate in 1:1 investor meetings, a demo stage for crypto funds and ICOs and 40+ hours of blockchain content. This year’s speakers include Michael Lewis, bestselling author of The Big Short and Liar’s Poker.

SAN FRANCISCO Enjoy a unique dinner at San Francisco’s No.1 restaurant, Don of the Bimini Twist. Created by a fishmonger, you can expect delicious Japanese-styled seafood from local fishermen and an exciting dining experience. 16 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

ON THE SHELF Brotopia: Breaking up the Boys Club of Silicon Valley EMILY CHANG PORTFOLIO

Bloomberg TV journalist Emily Chang explores the toxic environment women endure at Silicon Valley firms in this new book. Interviewing numerous women, including engineers, video game designers and executives, like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Chang details the systemic culture of sexual harassment, and how the efforts as women in the industry, like Mayer and Sandberg, have helped to change that.

Educated: A Memoir TARA WESTOVER RANDOM HOUSE

Tara Westover grew up in a survivalist family on a farm in rural Idaho, completely isolated from the larger world. Her parents did not provide even an informal education, but Westover taught herself enough math, science and grammar to take the ACT, leaving her family to attend college at Brigham Young University. She excelled at BYU, studied at Harvard and eventually earned a PhD from Cambridge University. Westover's memoir catalogs her difficult childhood but also provides insight into the decisions and perseverance that led to her current success.

HOTSEAT

SPONSORED CONTENT

Simon Moir

SVP and General Manager of Digital Mortgages eOriginal

hile there is plenty of talk about digital mortgages, much of the work that has been done so far is on frontend technology. We sat down with Simon Moir to talk about the importance of the eNote, which affects not only the borrower experience but also has implications for the secondary market. HOUSINGWIRE: What does the current digital mortgage landscape look like? SIMON MOIR: When the mortgage industry began its digital transformation, the first phase largely focused on front-end applications that both improved the borrower experience and accelerated the capture of accurate supporting data. However, a true digital mortgage is so much more, and we’re seeing major stakeholders moving to the second phase of digital mortgage, which focuses on eClosings and the creation of an electronic asset. Although originators are a major force for this second phase, other key players are ready to support the move. Both GSEs are actively buying eNotes. Fannie Mae recently invested in new technology infrastructure, and Ginnie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Banks are engaged in industry discussions. We are also seeing the adoption curve accelerate with warehouse lenders, custodians and aggregators.

Q&A

HW: Why is the eNote so important in the digital mortgage process? SM:The eNote is the most critical component as its validity and enforceability is essential for the downstream life of the loan on the secondary market. It solves many issues for the industry around reputational risk, regulatory and compliance risk, operational risk and financial risk. Originators can digitally create the promissory note and securely manage it as an authoritative copy with delivery to secondary market. For instance, by sending the note digitally from the originator to a warehouse 18 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

lender, the risk of a lost note is eliminated. Thanks to technology, the eNote is delivered and transferred instantly, with data that can be instantly validated. This advancement accelerates the time between origination and the replenishment of capital. HW: What needs to happen to encourage broader adoption throughout the industry? SM: To encourage broad adoption throughout the industry, title and settlement parties, aggregators, warehouse lenders, servicers, and investors (outside of the GSEs) need to be on board. I believe Quicken is a catalyst for this adoption. Originators need the stakeholders mentioned above to connect the dots. Essentially, it’s a multiplier effect —first two parties come on, then they bring two more, then four bring eight, etc. Once these players are in place, digital mortgage will scale exponentially. Fortunately, it is easy to move into the digital mortgage ecosystem with relatively low investment when compared to the benefits of digital. HW: eOriginal is the digital mortgage partner for large companies like Fannie Mae and Quicken Loans. But what about smaller companies? SM: First, we’re bringing eClosing capabilities to the masses by providing an open platform that includes integrations with leading loan origination and document preparation providers. We believe that originators should be able to select the best eClosing solution for their needs with an out-of-the-box integration that fits with their existing technology landscape. One area we’ve found the industry craving is a trusted source for the MISMO SMARTDoc eNote. We provide this capability to over a dozen technology companies and are proud to say that we are the first provider to support the latest 3.4 version released by MISMO. Our digital mortgage solution supports an array of eClosings. While a full eClosing involves signing all documents electronically, another option is a hybrid closing. In a hybrid close, only a portion of the documents are signed electronically. This approach can be used to achieve scale and enable a large portion of the benefits of a digital transformation.

UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE | SPONSORED CONTENT

Consistent tech innovations lead mortgage brokers to United Wholesale Mortgage UWM attracts brokers with its tech-focused development

onstant innovation. Forward-thinking development. Willingness to adapt. Simplifying business practices. All of those phrases are firmly implanted in the mind of United Wholesale Mortgage President and CEO Mat Ishbia and fittingly apparent in how UWM runs its day-to-day business. That tech-centric focus of Ishbia and the 2,200+ team members at the Troy, Michigan-based mortgage giant is what has distinguished UWM as the most widely used wholesale mortgage lender by mortgage brokers throughout America. In a fairly dated industry when it comes to tech, where the only consistent change is the variation of daily interest rates, UWM is a breath of fresh air in the mortgage industry with a seemingly endless stream of technology advancements and innovation. 20 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

More than any other wholesale lender, UWM has made it a point in recent years to regularly bring new technology platforms, programs and enhancements to market. All of it is geared around one thing: helping mortgage brokers stand out and compete against mega banks and retail lenders. UWM wants mortgage brokers to be the obvious choice in every circumstance for consumers nationwide. “The most important message we push out in national media is that mortgage brokers are the best option for borrowers to get a mortgage,” said Ishbia. “Everything we do is about making sure mortgage brokers have the best technology, the best tools and the easiest processes so they can deliver the best service to their clients.”

AUCTION.COM | SPONSORED CONTENT

need advice or assistance. Completing the cycle of full digitization, UWM’s doc-less system combined its eSign technology with systems that securely and automatically verify income, assets and tax returns. UWM’s approach to making the loan process as easy as possible through its technology stems from its valuation of relationships over transactions – a rarity among wholesale lenders throughout the country. While just about every other wholesale lender in the country offers both retail and wholesale services, UWM is solely committed to the wholesale channel. The business decision to be wholesale focused makes a drastically positive impact to a broker’s bottom line, because a wholesale lender who does not steal or try to retain a mortgage broker’s client is worth their weight in gold. “Brokers tell us all the time that they appreciate working with UWM because our technology and service is great and because they don’t have to worry about us running off with their loans,” Ishbia said. “A broker’s client list is their livelihood. Their ability to grow their business and do repeat business with past clients is how they feed their families, how they put their kids through school.” UWM ensures that mortgage brokers always have future business opportunities by staying in front of their respective clients:

UConnect After a borrower closes their loan, UWM monitors their future mortgage credit pulls for mortgage brokers. If the borrower is in the market for a purchase or refinance, UWM connects the borrower back to the original mortgage broker who closed the loan.

UTrack In recent months, UWM made headway in the mortgage industry by becoming the first lender to offer the first 100% virtual eClosing. While eClosings existed before UWM’s recent virtual eClosing launch, previous products were a “hybrid” version – meaning that an in-person notary was required to attend the closings with the borrowers and they digitally passed around a tablet or laptop computer and signed each document. UWM’s version has no such requirement. Borrowers have ultimate flexibility and can complete the entire closing process in the comfort of their own home or literally anywhere, by communicating with a remote notary via FaceTime or Skype. Virtual e-closings are truly the way of the future. Prior to virtual eClosing, another major UWM unveiling was its Blink technology, an all-digital, multi-functional loan portal that allows borrowers to start the loan application process, pull their credit, eSign documents, verify assets and track the status of their loans – from any mobile device or computer. In contrast to other consumer-facing mortgage apps in the industry, Blink offers borrowers the benefit of working with a mortgage broker throughout the entire process, should they

Just like tracking a package being shipped through the mail, UTrack allows mortgage brokers, borrowers and real estate agents to see in real-time where the loan is in the process, from underwriting through closing.

Unite UWM sends quarterly personalized home mortgage value emails to borrowers on the mortgage broker’s behalf, loaded with valuable information about their home, their loan and what’s happening in the market.

Client Loyalty Manager A customizable dashboard featuring all of the mortgage brokers past clients where they will get notified and prompted to send personalized emails to their borrowers. Considering UWM’s unwavering drive to be the tech trendsetter in the wholesale mortgage industry, it is easy to see why more mortgage brokers are choosing to work with the lender that has outperformed its competition for nearly three consecutive years. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 21

TMS | SPONSORED CONTENT

Your borrower portfolio is your greatest asset, why hand it over to a pack of wolves? The future of servicing technology is here

IRED of subservicers stuck in the stone age, TMS discovered the enormous need for disruption in the servicing industry and decided to turn the category on its head with the introduction of SIME – Servicing Intelligence Made Easy – the only subservicing solution that finally puts the lender and borrower first. As the rest of the home finance market focuses on innovating the origination process, launching end-to-end digital mortgages, TMS has reimagined where the borrower lives the longest — the servicing side. The relationship with the borrower extends well beyond the few weeks it takes to get to the closing table. Lenders boast that they can close a loan in less than a month but turn a blind eye to the 30 years that the borrower will be making payments on the loan. According to research TMS conducted, two-thirds of lenders reported that working with their subservicer feels like pulling teeth when they request portfolio reports, 87% equated handing their portfolio to a subservicer to handing their firstborn over to a pack of wolves. 100% reported need for improvement in subservicing. “We painstakingly worked with the three different subservicers, who were all extremely slow with antiquated technology and poor customer service,” said Ali Vafai, president of TMS. “We want a lifetime relationship with our borrowers and decided we wouldn’t put up with it anymore, so we built our own award-winning technology and servicing platform.”

THE NEW NORMAL IN SUBSERVICING Out of need for change, TMS introduced SIME – real-time and real-touch access to your customers and portfolio management. SIME sets a new technological standard in the industry that offers transparency, customizable reports and protecting a lender’s most powerful asset: the borrower. While other servicing platforms offer reporting queries, SIME is the only platform that provides a centralized location for all critical loan information, including escrow analysis, call logs, and call recordings that can be downloaded in seconds. SIME users can get in-depth borrower reports and as many custom reports as desired, access a real-time dashboard with trends and data, and even get ahead of a borrower who is in jeopardy of going delinquent or is prime for a refi.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR MOST POWERFUL ASSET Redefining the servicing process starts with the user experience – for both the lender and borrower. 22 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

Great customer care agents combined with real-time technology allows lenders to keep customer relationships on track. SIME customer care agents are lender/brand trained to deliver customized brand experiences as an extension of the lender with short call wait times and 80% one-call solutions. “Going with SIME was the best decision we ever made with our servicing portfolio. Now I know that my customers are well taken care of,” said Steven Stone, vice president at Oceanside Mortgage Company. “My customer call wait times are less than 60 seconds. And no more waiting 50-60 days for delinquency reports. I view customer reports in real time every day.” With the spring 2018 release of the TMS mobile app, the company will be the first digital servicer. Borrowers will be able to make payments from their phone, receive text notifications and access future enhanced product offerings such as buy/sell their home with cash back or tips and offers to maintain their home which will put the lender and the borrower in sync. “If a lender’s subservicer isn’t delivering an exceptional customer experience, the borrower won’t be a customer of theirs for long and will shut the door to cross-sell,” said Vafai. “The opportunity for a total home ownership relationship is huge.” The good news is that with SIME, the industry doesn’t have to settle anymore. SIME proves that not only is technology critical to staying ahead of industry regulations, it’s a crucial element in providing a state-of-the-art borrower experience.

AUCTION.COM | SPONSORED CONTENT

Time is of the essence in managing disposition and having the right infrastructure is key Dedicated teams for buyers and sellers are just as important as technology

henever a distressed home is ‘acquired’ by an institution through foreclosure, that institution is taking on significant financial risk, including loss associated with a home value that is below the loan amount, selling costs and associated holding costs (eviction, maintenance, rehabilitation repairs, property taxes, HOA insurance, etc.). Because of this, time is truly of the essence when it comes to managing disposition. In the best of circumstances, disposition is a challenging business process. When you add in the complexity of unforeseen events, like this year’s hurricanes in the Southeast and wildfires in the West, it only underscores the importance of having the right infrastructure in place to support maximum efficiency when it comes to the successful marketing and selling of foreclosed properties. Particularly in areas where municipalities have taken actions they feel will provide stability for their communities, such as put-

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ting moratoriums on the sale of foreclosure properties, there exist serious challenges for buyers and sellers alike. So what exactly are some the characteristics of an infrastructure that supports optimal levels of efficiency?

“BOOTS ON THE GROUND” MAKE THE DIFFERENCE The impact of technology on the disposition process is profound, but the reality is that there is simply no substitute for “boots on the ground.” Auction.com understands this clearly and has assembled a dedicated nationwide team of specially trained, local field experts that provide property and market intelligence at a hyper-local level. Whether an auction is being managed through our online marketplace or called on-site, our buyers and sellers require access to actionable information and that is best generated by field staff

AUCTION.COM | SPONSORED CONTENT

“

The impact of technology on the disposition process is profound, but the reality is that there is simply no substitute for 'boots on the ground.'"

the local field teams when necessary to ensure the property is ready to go to auction as quickly as possible once the moratorium expires.

DEDICATED CUSTOMER CARE TEAMS FOR BUYERS

that are geo-located within those very communities. Particularly after a severe weather event or natural disaster that may have triggered a moratorium, it is vital that both buyers and sellers be able to verify any change in the condition of the property as quickly as possible and having the resource of a local team already in place accelerates that process.

DEDICATED CLIENT MANAGEMENT TEAMS FOR SELLERS For sellers, the mission is to profitably sell the asset at the best price and as quickly as possible. This begins with a deep understanding of the property type, condition and characteristics that buyers are most interested in. Auction.com’s dedicated client management team guides sellers through the process of understanding exactly what potential buyers are looking for, how much they are willing to pay in the price realization process and how long properties typically stay on the market within a specific community. Armed with this knowledge, sellers are better equipped to manage their disposition portfolios as efficiently as possible. When and if an issue arises that causes a delay in auctioning a property (like a weather event or a moratorium), Auction.com’s team helps sellers navigate those circumstances and works with

The best buyer is an informed buyer. Whether experienced buyers who have been in the market for years or new investors, buyers find value in information, be it specific to the property, the neighborhood, or in some cases (like a “buy-and-rent” scenario), the tenants of the property themselves. Buyers tend to gain efficiencies by better understanding the auction process itself and Auction.com’s dedicated customer care team is in place to directly address buyers’ questions and concerns as they arise. If, for example, a buyer is involved in an auction that is put on hold due to a moratorium or other circumstances, that buyer wants to know that he or she will be kept up to date regarding the status of the property during the process and won’t lose out on an opportunity to bid and win once the property is again available. This level of communication is essential in building buyers’ confidence and ensuring the health of the marketplace itself.

GREATER EFFICIENCY EQUALS GREATER PROFITABILITY Auction.com has focused our attention on leveraging the latest technology paired with talented human capital to significantly compress disposition timelines and achieve desired execution results by providing our sellers with greater access to the industry’s largest audience of investors. In doing so, we have created a system that is capable of selling a property in a single day (versus months through traditional methods). By truly understanding the nuances of the market, the Auction. com platform creates efficiencies for buyers and sellers by enabling better communication between these parties and providing the technology to streamline the sales process.By converting vacant or foreclosed properties into owned properties more quickly, banks can more effectively mitigate operational and reputational risks. The focus on developing the right infrastructure has positioned Auction.com’s real estate disposition platform as a much more efficient method of loss mitigation for sellers, a better investment opportunity for buyers and a stabilization partner for the communities in which the bank is financing homes. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 25

OPTIMAL BLUE | SPONSORED CONTENT

Optimal Blue significantly improves data transparency and availability Drives originator success with powerful BI solution and expansions to API platform

econdary marketing automation and services provider Optimal Blue recently introduced an advanced data visualization tool and significant expansions to its highly-advanced application programming interface (API) platform. These innovations align with Optimal Blue’s commitment to develop best-in-class solutions that increase the competitiveness of their clients, enable sustainable operational efficiencies, and break down traditional integration barriers with the mortgage technology providers they rely upon. With Optimal Blue’s Enterprise Analytics, originators finally have an intuitive and convenient centralized reporting mechanism to quickly and efficiently gather information for better decision-making. Originators can measure and compare expectations against their results to accurately determine if performance is truly aligned with organizational goals. Secondary marketing managers can also benchmark their business channels to easily compare lock volume by product type, loan purpose, note rates, FICO score and more. “The Enterprise Analytics platform is a concise, integrated solution that breaks unnecessary dependency on database and reporting resources, putting the organization in the driver’s seat to nimbly adapt to driving market forces and optimize profitability and expansion,” explained Richard Martin, assistant vice president of HomeStreet Bank. “The framework offers dynamic, customizable and exportable dashboard solutions for every layer of management.” Trends in change requests and lock volume are apparent and can be easily tracked, so decision makers can clearly identify and understand the behavior behind company numbers. Originators can utilize this valuable information to determine if their profit margins are sufficient to cover operational costs or if mark-ups should be created, if additional training should be provided to the sales team, or if other actions need to be taken. “Enterprise Analytics provides the crucial business insight that our clients need to more rapidly solve problems, seize opportunities and drive success. We’ve also expanded our API product lineup, allowing clients to further integrate highly-advanced APIs into their unique business processes,” said Bob Brandt, vice president of marketing and alliances at Optimal Blue. “This elevated data transparency and availability are fundamental components in our strategic product initiative.” The recent expansion of Optimal Blue’s API platform is yet another innovation pioneered to set the technology standard for the mortgage industry. This expanded suite of API offerings provides originators with

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full listing search results, best execution search results, pipeline and lock management. Users can easily create, update and retrieve loans, and seamlessly retrieve, filter and sort pipelines. Additionally, the API features a built-in capability to register loans, request locks and automatically accept locks. Clients have experienced enormous success by creatively leveraging these APIs to automate dynamic marketing campaigns, advertise corporate rates, perform accurate and fast borrower-specific searches and more. The expanded API suite has also encouraged customers to leverage mobile apps and online portals, allowing them to take control of the entire user experience. “Through our API integration, Mace Innovations has the power of Optimal Blue with added flexibility,” explained Chris Mace, president and founder. “We now have a comprehensive compliment of data and a modern, intuitive technology platform to transfer additional data points and custom fields – all of which helps eradicate the obstacles that have historically hindered innovation within our industry.” As the fintech landscape continues to change, Optimal Blue resolves to stay in the forefront as an industry leader. By providing comprehensive insight into real-time, loan-level metrics and exposing new channels to coherently source accurate data throughout the loan lifecycle, Optimal Blue proves that there is no limit to what can be achieved through innovation.

Hot SIZZLE? Not FIZZLE? 1 1 WHY THE

WHY THE

NEW HOMES



One key contributor to the housing shortage is the lack of available construction workers, but there’s some good news on that front. Home Depot announced in March that it will donate $50 million to train 20,000 construction workers over the next 10 years. The company will look to train veterans, current Army soldiers who will soon retire, high school students and disadvantaged youth.



MOM AND POP LENDERS



NON-QM LOANS Currently, the non-QM market accounts for only 3% of the loans originated, but Tom Millon, CEO of Capital Markets Cooperative, is optimistic that 2018 will be the year it grows dramatically. Here’s his proof: Impac Mortgage Holdings reported year-over-year non-QM origination volume more than tripled; Angel Oak Capital announced plans to spend almost $300 million in non-QM product this year, and S&P Global Ratings is predicting the non-QM market could triple in size this year.

GOING DIGITAL J.D. Power’s 2017 Origination Study found that for the first time, refinance and purchase customers cited online/website as the most frequent method of submitting a mortgage application. A total of 43% of mortgage customers reported applying digitally in 2017, up from 28% in 2016. J.D. Power explained that while the mortgage industry is lagging significantly behind other fields in technology, this year could begin to change the trend.

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When Amazon moves into an industry, small companies usually take a hit. In March the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was looking for a big-bank partner, possibly to offer hybrid checking accounts. Then HousingWire found out that Amazon was looking to hire a person to lead their newly formed mortgage lending division, specifically targeting some nonbank lenders. Any new big entrant into the mortgage space causes anxiety for smaller players, but the unique regulatory challenges of mortgage lending is still a high barrier. Time will tell.

HIGH DTI LOANS In 2017 the GSEs announced they were increasing their debt-to-income ratio to 50%. The DTI is the No. 1 reason mortgage applicants get rejected, but now mortgage insurance companies have started to respond to the increased risk they see in these loans. In March a slew of companies announced changes: MGIC, Genworth, Essent, Radian and National MI will all now require credit scores of at least 700 on loans with DTIs exceeding 45%. Radian is also restricting mortgages with DTIs above 45% and loan-to-values of more than 95%.

MORALE AT HUD It’s been a tough couple of months for HUD Secretary Ben Carson and seemingly, for employees at the government agency. An email from HUD’s director of records and information management said HUD employees had been operating in “fear” since HUD’s chief administrative officer, Helen Foster, spoke out against the secretary’s plan to spend money on expensive furniture for the well-worn building. Foster filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel accusing HUD management of taking retaliatory action. See page 72 for more.

VIEWPOINTS

By Mark Melikian

The pitfalls of depending on automation in post-close valuations What happens when multiple valuations don’t match?

If you follow professional sports, you’ve probably noticed the enormous impact technology has had in recent years. The NBA has backboards that light up when the shot clock expires and referees have whistles that automatically stop the game clock when blown. At Wimbledon, tennis nets now have sensors that vibrate when a speeding ball touches them. Even baseball, a sport obsessed with maintaining tradition, is finally joining the rest of the sporting world in accepting instant replay technology. For the most part, these innovations are designed to provide answers in situations 30 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

that are black or white. In real estate valuations, we’re seeing automation used for

very similar purposes — especially true in the area of post-close valuations, where valuation speed and cost efficiency are important. While technologies such as automated valuation models (AVMs) can help create an opinion of value, however, they can miss the mark. WHY AUTOMATION IS CRITICAL All of the information appraisers and valuation companies now have access to would be difficult to analyze without the help of automation. There are quite

Mark Melikian is the chief valuation officer for Summit Valuation Solutions, a William Fall Group company. Mark has more than 30 years of experience in the valuations industry.

literally thousands of factors that can impact the value of a property. Meanwhile, the sheer amount of data available on properties, as well as new sources of that data, continues to grow. With a few keystrokes and in just seconds, anyone can retrieve property data and images from multiple sources. Automated valuation models can also leverage local sales data just as quickly. Simply enter an address and a search algorithm returns a list of recent sales that have been deemed comparable to the subject property. AVMs are also able to analyze large volumes of unfiltered property sales data, which is useful for valuing property portfolios. Most of these tools were not available a generation ago — certainly not to the extent they are today — and their impact on the analysis of the housing market has been remarkable. While not directly involved with the actual valuation, automation is also increasing the speed at which valuations are produced. This is particularly useful to servicers and investors trying to value multiple properties under tight deadlines. In this sense, automation is being used to order valuations, assign reports, schedule inspections, input notes and photos and other work involved with getting the valuation done in time and delivering it in the format preferred by the client. WHERE AUTOMATION MISSES THE MARK While automation has become critical in doing business and producing sound valuations, automation is really just a starting point. The reality is that technology alone has many drawbacks when it comes to producing a valuation that lenders can trust. There are a lot of tools that are out there that can pull together sales comps based on square footage, the number of beds and baths and other factors, and produce an estimate of value. Sometimes that number will be in the ballpark, especially if the property is located in a newer and homogeneous neighborhood with plenty of recent sales. If the property is an older

home, or there aren’t many sales, or if it has features that affect its marketability, the returned value may be nowhere near the ballpark. And this is frequently the case. The fact is, no computer algorithm can tell the true condition of any property. It also has no idea how motivated the seller was, or how many offers were received, or what type of views someone gets from the family room, or what other houses on the street look like. These can all have a major impact on a home’s marketability. Another common challenge is that the data gathered about the property could simply be wrong. Some property data are input incorrectly, whether in the Multiple Listing Service or in county records. These shortcomings, too, as well as the tastes of local buyers, can impact a property’s appeal and therefore its market value. This is why technology needs to be combined with a set of eyes that can look at each report and determine whether the numbers make sense. And yet, having a human involved in the valuation process is no panacea, either. Many valuation companies employ local real estate agents to give opinions of value. These agents will usually drive up to the property, assess its general condition and property’s curbside appeal, take photos and send in a report. In many cases, the company that hired the agent will simply forward the report to the client, no questions asked. A client could just as well have used Google maps and any number of online “What is my home worth?” tools. Accurate, trustworthy valuations require taking a deeper look. That’s why it’s important to have a valuation expert independently review every valuation report and determine whether it makes sense. The most trustworthy valuation providers have a team of highly trained reviewers on staff who diligently analyze every comparable on a valuation report and ask: “Will a potential buyer consider this property similar to the subject property?” They will also pay close attention to the comments the agent made in the

report. If they are confusing or do not appear to support the conclusion of value, the review should call it out and send the report back to the agent for clarification. HOW TO BRIDGE THE AUTOMATION GAP Sometimes, a report can be reviewed by a qualified appraiser and it still doesn’t make sense to the client that ordered it. The only choice is to ask someone to explain it—but too often, no one is available to do so. In fact, one of the most common complaints our first-time clients tell us about previous valuation companies is that they never had anyone to talk to—and when they tried, they only got stuck in an automated phone tree. Because valuations involve so many shifting factors, the answers are not always cut and dried, especially in the current market. Frequently, a company will have obtained multiple valuations from different providers on the same porperty that simply do not match up. When that happens, they want to have someone to talk to, not an automated attendant. Valuation providers need to be willing to have conversations with clients — and not simply send responses in writing, either. They need to make their reviewers available to discuss their findings and issues by phone. Automation is great for streamlining the valuation process and creating efficiency, but it cannot be the only thing you rely on. Getting the opinion of a real estate expert is helpful too. But no matter how powerful these tools are, a valuation expert’s hands-on review is a critical component in achieving the best possible results. The bottom line is that there are many different methods to produce a property value. It’s not like sports, where technology assists in answering a yes-or-no question. Automation is great for deciding whether someone hit a home run or foul ball, or whether a hockey puck or a soccer ball was a goal or not. They’re not as useful for determining property valuations — at least, they cannot be the only thing one relies on. For those, we’re going to need a valuation expert’s participation. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 31

VIEWPOINTS

By Craig Anderson

The consequences of over-relying on tech to drive customer satisfaction Trust and loyalty are still built by personalized customer service

Technology’s integration into our professional lives has in many cases rendered personalized interactions obsolete. But the severity of that shift still heavily depends on the industry in question and, despite what some believe, there will always be a place in the mortgage business for a human touch. While technology might make our jobs easier, perhaps in the form of a virtual home showing rather than a drive to a neighborhood, or an e-signature rather than the strike of a pen, personalized cus32 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

tomer service remains one of the top-most coveted components of a positive business experience. Companies are looking for alternative ways to optimize cutting-edge technolo-

gy in an effort to enhance their customers’ overall experience without sacrificing profit. However, simply implementing this technology may not be enough to stay competitive in today’s environment. We need

Craig Anderson is the director of client integrations for Genworth Mortgage Insurance, a leading provider of mortgage insurance and technology solutions.

to ensure that the way we are integrating technology will not only unlock value, but retain high customer service satisfaction levels. Top-performing businesses are leveraging innovation to improve client interactions, providing a more efficient and seamless customer experience in an attempt to generate improved customer loyalty. Unfortunately, relying on this new digital mortgage technology may not be enough to actually foster allegiance. According to J.D. Power’s 2017 Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Survey, the use of digital technologies by customers increased to 43% in 2017 versus 28% in 2016, yet it’s come at the expense of overall customer satisfaction, which was down 18%. In our great haste to be on the forefront of unique applications, perhaps we should consider whether we are placing too much emphasis on innovation and an underwhelming level of emphasis on personal customer interaction. Technology on its own will not build customer loyalty, trust and satisfaction, and those who believe the contrary do so at their own peril. For the past few years the mortgage industry has been inundated with the notion that Millennials are tech savvy and only want to interact via mobile device, however, some experts believe otherwise. I recently had the pleasure of listening to Jason Dorsey, co-founder for the Center for Generational Kinetics, deliver an excellent keynote speech explaining why this simply is not true. Millennials are not just tech savvy, they are tech dependent. Yes, you will find many of them attached to their mobile device, but their trust, loyalty and satisfaction is built the good old-fashioned way — human interaction. This interaction is not just face to face with the person, but can be via a personalized video, voice message or even text. We need to start utilizing technology to complement our brand-building efforts — keeping our customers informed while also, and more importantly, building that human touch. I can illustrate this concept with a quick story. While visiting with colleagues in my

home office in Raleigh, North Carolina, recently, my parked truck was hit by another vehicle causing $13,000 in damages. Not surprisingly, this type of extensive damage was estimated to take about six weeks to repair. The auto body repair shop knew I lived out of town and provided me with regular updates on the progress of the repairs. They provided this communication through video recordings. I received a personalized video every week from them explaining what they were doing, videoing the progress and even introducing me to the team members who were working on my truck.

ed. Explain in detail what is going on and what the consumer can expect. • Social media – Don’t forget that social media is the first place many new borrowers are going to search. Consumers are investigating what kind of company they prefer to work with. A company with a well-documented, active presence in the local community imparts a feeling of familiarity and comfort. New borrowers will associate these positive feelings with that brand and have a higher level of comfort doing business with them. If a company’s online presence is cold and unwelcoming, chances are higher that they will take their business elsewhere.

“

A company with a well-documented, active presence in the local community imparts a feeling of familiarity and comfort."

This effectively communicated to me exactly where my truck was in the process and built confidence in their service. With a visual and more personalized method of communication, they made me feel more comfortable and less removed from the process, and this really influenced my feeling of being provided five-star service. I had never met these folks face to face, but we developed a strong relationship thanks to the human touch they delivered via an adept use of technology. We can use this concept to our advantage in the mortgage industry. The J.D. Power survey showed more people are utilizing the digital mortgage experience, but satisfaction is suffering. Here are some ideas we can use to increase satisfaction: • Human touch – Personalized introduction videos sent to each borrower. Keep it short, one to two minutes in length. Welcome them by name, explain the process to them and let them see your face. Maintain regular video communication throughout the major milestones of the loan to keep the customer feeling connect-

• Email / text messages – Keep it short and sweet. No one is going to read a lengthy email about what the process is going to entail. Most people today view their email on a mobile device and only read the subject line. Share pertinent details in a succinct way that imparts the message even if the email isn’t opened. Technology is a wonderful tool to enhance a company’s business plan but it is simply a tool. It’s time we stop relying solely on technology to carry our customer service experience. There is a reason Quicken Loans/Rocket Mortgage is still No. 1 in J.D. Power’s client satisfaction survey. They have built a strong technology platform but also created a solid brand around social media, TV advertising, sponsorships and personalized touches. We need to bring back the personal touch that has historically been a staple in our industry. We have relied on technology to save a few bucks but there are indications that the unintended consequences may require that we revise our strategy. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 33

VIEWPOINTS

By Laurie Pyle

Blockchain can’t be your Magic 8 Ball But sharing unalterable data provides a better foundation for your decisions

Just as we all interpret art differently, we can all interpret data differently. You and I could be looking at the same painting and have completely opposite views of what its message is. Thankfully, our opinions don’t hold much weight as to what the accepted themes are over time because artwork’s economic value is validated by the true professionals. The professionals qualify the art, and when it is sold or transfers ownership, the next professional relies on the decisions from the previous owner, building upon the artwork’s provenance. Their interpretation of its value is validated over and over, each time it is reviewed. Blockchain makes the same true with data. 34 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

Laurie Pyle, recognized in 2013 as one of HousingWire’s Women of Influence, is executive vice president at Factom.

In fact, blockchain is the best solution for data. It has supporting architecture in order to confirm that the data is always current and the recipient never has to worry about it changing without their knowledge. Blockchain builds on the art world’s concept of provenance, making data more valuable because of its continued validation by multiple qualified sources over time. COPY, PASTE, DISTRIBUTE Contrary to public belief, when we share data or documents, we duplicate and distribute. We often say for example: “I will share my resume with you.” But instead, I send you a copy of my resume. And when I send it to you, I don’t send the original resume. I send a copy of my resume. At any given moment, you may have multiples of the same document sitting on your computer. One on your desktop, one in your sent folder, one buried in a file, and one on your friend’s computer. Let’s hope none of them are supposed to be the original source for any decision-making processes. That is why provenance is important, since there will never be anything other than one true original. Just like art, a print of the Mona Lisa is nowhere near as valuable as Leonardo da Vinci’s original painting. With blockchain as well, the original data is what we need to base our decisions on. You may think that the mortgage industry versioning problem is just about document management and better version control, but this isn’t necessarily the case. It is really about the data within those documents and how those documents “prove” the data to be correct. We have all been in a situation where we can understand how problematic it is when you have two, three, or four parties all working off their own individual dataset that are all supposed to be the same but often are not. Though the data may be similar, it is not exact, leading to nuanced decisions because we were looking at things slightly differently. Every time we collaborate on a process

“

One of the most exciting value propositions of blockchain is the idea that we would all work off of the same set of data, ensuring versioning accuracy."

or rely upon a third party to provide data to our process, we create a possibility for the game of telephone, with your data. The data can become convoluted because mistakes occur relatively easily when passing documents or information back and forth. One of the most exciting value propositions of blockchain is the idea that we would all work off of the same set of data, ensuring versioning accuracy. It won’t, though, put the decision makers out of a job. BYPASSING PAPER, NOT DECISIONS While it may sound like the future, it is happening now. We are bypassing paper. We are no longer sourcing data from paper back-ups, but instead from their original sources. One such example is the payroll provider ADP. When they issue a “paycheck” there is no longer a physical check or even a PDF of a check. An employee’s “paycheck” is deposited directly into their account. It should probably be renamed something more like an earnings deposit. Appraisers are using software on their tablets to instantly input data about homes as they appraise them. Any decisions that are made about the home are either through a decision engine or by the appraiser’s experience themselves. The data does not create its own judgements. Bypassing the physical forms and importing information directly into a platform or database means there is no vetting process between the person entering the information and the information used then by multiple other sources. And more importantly, there is no paper or PDF to “support” this data. While this sounds like it may be dangerous, this responsibility is assumed on a daily basis by professionals of all industries as they perform day-to-day tasks.

Today’s process looks something like this: 1. Source system sends data to recipient. 2. Recipient receives data and doesn’t trust data only and requests document as “support.” 3. Source system uses data from step 1 to create a pretty PDF and sends to recipient. 4. Recipient receives PDF and places it into their file repository. 5. Recipient is now happy. Hmmm. See the flaw in the process? The interesting part is that the PDF doesn’t support the original data. In fact, it is the other way around. But what the PDF does provide is a way to ensure that the original data wasn’t ever changed in the recipient’s system. Now here is where blockchain comes into play. When using data that has been validated by a blockchain, you free the data to be even more powerful. Blockchain technology will allow companies to securely share data that is unalterable, and that everybody in the ecosystem can have access to. Even more important is that access can be controlled to these data sets for permissioned users only or set for specific time frames. What the Blockchain can’t do is make a decision or preserve a milestone without someone making the decision to do that. The value of the data on the blockchain can only be determined and validated by an outside party, not the blockchain itself. Blockchain makes data powerful, but it cannot make decisions for you. There will always be a need for judgements and validation of data. The future of the decision makers is not in jeopardy. Blockchain will allow decision makers to be more discerning and secure the final decisions on a blockchain for all parties to see. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 35

36 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

THE

MOST INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES IN HOUSING

It’s finally here! HousingWire editors poured over hundreds of applicants, and scored each entry to arrive at a consensus on the final list of 100 firms, based on the information provided in the entry and additional research. And here are the winners; the top tech firms in the mortgage finance space. We proudly give you the 2018 HW TECH100. This program recognizes the leading technology and software companies – from companies with a single offering to companies that may house ten or more different software platforms. Specifically, this year’s Tech100 features a much more expansive landscape than ever before. Applicants include heavy hitters and innovative disruptors. Even new tech players in the blockchain space are joining the party now. Other exciting developments can be seen on the identity-protection and fraud-prevention sides. But make no mistake, the name of the game in tech, these days, is lending, lending, lending.

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 37

Table of Contents Access Business Technologies Advanced Data Corporation Agent Inbox Alterra Home Loans Approved Arch MI

Capsilon Corporation Carrington Cenlar FSB CertifID Clarifire Clarocity

Docutech Ellie Mae Envoy Mortgage eOriginal Inc. Ephesoft Epiq

Homevibe HouseCanary Ignite Integration Solutions Informative Research Insellerate Land Gorilla

OpenProperty Optimal Blue PeerStreet PerfectLO.com PromonTech Quandis Inc.

Sutherland TMS Total Expert ValueLink Software ValuTrac Software Inc. Vendorly

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ARMCO Asurity Technologies ATTOM Data Solutions Auction.com BankLabs Bestborn Business Solutions

Better Mortgage Black Knight Inc. Blend Blue Sage Built Technologies Calyx Software

Class Appraisal Clear Capital ClosingCorp Cloudvirga ComplianceTech

Contactually CoreLogic Covered Credit Data Solutions Divvy Homes DocMagic

Equator Exceleras EXOS Technologies Factom Fannie Mae FICS

Finastra Finicity First American Mortgage Solutions Floify Freddie Mac Genworth MI

LBA Ware LCS LendingHome LoanCare loanDepot LoanLogics Inc.

Matic Maxwell MortgageHippo Morty NestApple NextDeal Notarize

Realeflow Red Bell Real Estate Services Remine ReverseVision Roofstock RynohLive (Segin Systems)

Secured Legal Services Group SimpleNexus Simplifile StreamLoan Street Resource Group

Ventanex Veros Real Estate Solutions Westcor Specialty Whiteboard Mortgage Software Xome

Access Business Technologies

Alterra Home Loans

Lending, Servicing myabt.com Access Business Technologies is a cloud service provider focused exclusively on the mortgage vertical. ABT focuses on mortgage departments of traditional financial organizations like banks, credit unions, CUSOs and others, like state housing authorities and nonprofits, in addition to mortgage banks and brokers. The company’s product, MortgageWorkSpace, is a cloud-based domain service that enables branch leaders direct access to their teams and manage security across all devices, including PCs and mobile devices. MWS integrates easily with loan origination systems, CRMs, SaaS apps and on-premises networks for easy access to data. It also boasts rich features like single sign-on, multi-factor authentication and user application logs.

Lending, Servicing goalterra.com Alterra’s mobile app, Pronto, creates transparency during the home purchase process between buyers, real estate agents and lenders. It allows all parties to instantly view the status of a loan from a desktop computer, tablet or mobile device. Pronto’s chat function creates real-time collaboration among all invited parties in a secure manner. The company’s built-in upload function allows home buyers to seamlessly connect to outside accounts and upload all their documents through any device. Documents can also be uploaded through cloud sources, such as Dropbox and OneDrive.

Approved Advanced Data Corporation Lending, Real Estate advanceddata.com Fraud prevention verification provider Advanced Data launched its newest proprietary fintech solution, eVoE, to alleviate pain points in verifying employment, such as unreadable data on forms, slow turn-around times and high costs. The company’s research showed that eVoE returned 15% of verifications within one hour, 30% within 12 hours and 50% within 24 hrs. The company, which just became a report supplier for Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty, also recently integrated its 4506-T verifications with IncomeGenius, providing lenders a solution for verifying self-employed borrowers.

Lending, Real Estate getapproved.io Approved’s core technology is a digital mortgage platform that assists lenders in moving their operations online in minutes. The company’s technology revolves around different core areas. The first, a borrower point of sale, provides a consumer dashboard where borrowers can manage their tasks and milestones. Also, its back office automation provides secure document management and collaborative workflows. The company’s platform drives for a paperless experience by automatically collecting bank statements, paystubs, 1040s and W2s for borrowers straight from the source.

Arch MI Agent Inbox Real Estate agentinbox.com Agent Inbox launched MLS-wide messaging platforms, bridging communication between all agents and transaction participants. Powered by local data and integrated into the MLS, the Agent Inbox platform starts at first contact, is accessible on every device, can be integrated into any third-party system and centralizes each deal through closing. The product facilitates all agent-toagent transaction conversations within an MLS via messaging, showings and file sharing. The agent and brokerage directory gives market participants access to everyone in their market. The company provides MLS and associations with a full suite of tools to manage communication with and support their members, much like a data-driven MLS help desk.

Servicing mi.archcapgroup.com Arch MI’s RateStar is the company’s risk-based pricing solution, which measures loan-level risk. Mortgage lenders that use RateStar can compete more effectively in the marketplace and offer eligible buyers more affordable mortgages. RateStar returns a rate quote after a few seconds, and only the lender’s NMLS number is needed to get started. The RateStar promise guarantees final quotes for 90 days so long as essential loan and borrower data does not change, which protects lender pipelines. RateStar is integrated with most industry loan origination systems, including Byte Software’s BytePro, Mortgage Cadence, Lender Price and OpenClose.

LEGEND Lending

Servicing

Investments

Real Estate

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 39

ARMCO

Auction.com

Lending, Servicing, Investments armco.us ARMCO’s technology, ACES Audit Technology, is a web-based mortgage quality-control platform used by lenders, servicers, QC providers and other organizations to assure loan quality across the entire mortgage cycle, from pre-funding through post-closing, servicing and due diligence. The company also offers ACESXPRESS, a streamlined version of the company’s original ACES. Both ACES and ACESXPRESS leverage intelligent questionnaires, preset and user-defined audit questions that drive the technology’s rules-based platform. ACES IQ employs answer-based logic, which allows users to automate a loan-level audit review for virtually any loan type in any loan scenario, regardless of how unique or typical the circumstances.

Real Estate auction.com Auction.com is the largest real estate marketplace for distressed assets. It utilizes internet and mobile technology to help sellers rid their balance sheets of assets, save on operational and financial costs and contribute to neighborhood stabilization. The company offers an extensive volume of real estate property listings of any marketplace and its tech solutions aggregate intelligence and provide in-depth insights to buyers and sellers. Likewise, Auction. com also maximizes the number of investors able to view a property; leveraging digital ad networks, strategic local marketing and more to garner the attention of its 3.4 million registered users.

BankLabs Asurity Technologies Lending, Servicing, Investments asurity.com Asurity Technologies provides end-to-end solutions from 100% compliant smart loan documents, risk analysis and reporting, data infrastructure, expertise from engineering to regulation and a committed customer and technical support team. The company’s technology platform, MRGDocs, built the new technology roadmap combining decades of compliance and legal guidance, dynamic document technology and the industry expertise to navigate complex government regulations. Its dynamic doc prep platform provides smart loan documents dynamically generated to be compliant with local, state, and federal regulations.

Lending, Servicing, Real Estate banklabs.com BankLabs’ Construct is a cloud-based service that automates the construction loan management process for community banks. It is accessible from phones, tablets or computers, and eliminates the need for paper files and spreadsheets, increases bank productivity, mitigates the risk of overfunding projects and improves the experience for the builder, borrower and inspector. Using Construct, a builder is able to view available funds via computer or mobile device and submit a draw request. Notifications are then sent via text or email to the inspector, borrower and bank personnel.

Bestborn Business Solutions ATTOM Data Solutions Real Estate attomdata.com ATTOM developed and brought to market two key technologies that provide clients with more flexible and scalable options for data delivery and data management: a cloud-based property data API and property data-as-a-service (DaaS). ATTOM’s cloud-based API delivery is a key technology the data provider developed in the last year. It enables clients to create a customized “playlist” from the more than 1,000 property data elements available and allows them to stream it on demand. The company’s DaaS platform alleviates the burden that comes with working with large data sets and allows clients to focus on use cases and understanding how the results of their analysis affect their business.

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Lending loan-vision.com Bestborn Business Solutions is a Microsoft Certified Partner focused on delivering automated products. Loan Vision, the company’s mortgage accounting platform, is designed to meet the needs of a rapidly growing mortgage bank that outgrew their legacy off-the-shelf accounting solution. Loan Vision’s reporting suite contains tools for executive and branch-based reporting. This allows mortgage lenders to analyze at a more granular level — how each cost center (Region, Branch, LO, Product etc.) are performing, etc. — while also shifting the focus onto branch managers themselves as they now have access to the data in an easily consumable format in real time.

Better Mortgage

Blue Sage

Lending better.com Better’s platform moves the mortgage process completely online. Its customers are able to upload and eSign documents, have instant access to affordable lending discounts, and receive recommendations on the right mortgage products for them. The platform also creates time and cost efficiencies, resulting in low rates and closing in as little as 14 days, 10 days faster than the industry average. By charging no lender fees, the company saved its borrowers an average of $3,471 in transaction costs last year, in addition to the savings achieved through better rates. It expanded into five additional states in 2017, the most recent being the Texas market.

Lending bluesageusa.com Blue Sage offers a browser-based digital lending platform that allows a lender to deliver a completely digital mortgage experience for borrowers, as well as delivering end-to-end functionality for the lending and fulfillment process. Blue Sage also enables lenders of various types to increase capture rates, lower costs, and ensure compliance by creating a modern and customizable digital consumer experience. Its digital lending platform also includes an originator portal and mobile app that gives loan officers key point-of-sale and CRM functionality. Last year, Blue Sage released a new version of its digital lending platform that includes modules for retail and wholesale business channels, in addition to its previously existing correspondent lending capabilities.

Black Knight Lending, Servicing, Investments, Real Estate blackknightinc.com Black Knight’s Enterprise Business Intelligence platform is comprised of two Black Knight solutions: LoanSphere Data Hub and LoanSphere Motivity. LoanSphere Data Hub is a centralized framework that gathers, aggregates and links Black Knight application with public records data. LoanSphere Motivity is an enterprise business intelligence solution that makes data easier to access, understand and act upon to drive and align organizational behavior. The Motivity EBI solution offers pre-configured mortgage-centric insights to provide visualizations, key performance indicators, scorecards, dashboards and guided ad-hoc reporting capabilities specifically tailored to the mortgage process or targeted to address mortgage-related issues such as HMDA insight.

Built Technologies

Blend

Calyx Software

Lending blend.com Working with some of the country’s top financial institutions both banks and nonbanks - Blend is helping to create a digital mortgage ecosystem that enables safe, transparent and efficient lending. Through its partnerships with lenders, Blend’s platform has helped shave an average of eight to 10 days off the entire mortgage process. Launched in July 2017, Blend Mobile is the first native mobile application that allows LOs to manage their businesses, including borrower requests and applications, anytime and anywhere, bringing borrowers closer to their loan officers.

Lending calyxsoftware.com Calyx Software provides mortgage software solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and brokers. The company offers several unique software solutions, including: Point, the company’s flagship loan origination system; PointCentral, the company’s enhanced server-based version of Point; and Path, a cloud-based, end-to-end, integrated LOS for retail, correspondent and wholesale lending. The company’s subsidiary LoanScorecard offers automated underwriting and loan pricing solutions including: Portfolio Underwriter, an automated underwriting system for non-agency lending; Pricer1, a product & pricing engine for portfolio lenders and originators; and Portfolio Producer, a sales distribution system designed for wholesalers and investors. Last year, Calyx announced a partnership with Quicken Loans

Lending getbuilt.com Built Technologies’ software streamlines the collateral monitoring and draw process, making it easier to service construction loans. Built’s software replaces the spreadsheets, emails, phone calls, and paper files that were previously used to manage construction loans. Built’s software automates manual tasks, provides transparency and connects all key stakeholders, including lenders, borrowers, builders and draw inspectors. Since January 2016, the company has tripled its client base and doubled in size. Last year, Built completed its Series A round of funding, which saw the company raise $21 million. The investment brought Built’s total capital raised to $25 million.

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Mortgage Services, a division of Quicken Loans, to power its Quicken Loans Origination System.

Capsilon Corporation Lending, Servicing capsilon.com In 2017, Capsilon introduced Point of Sale Portals, which enable the creation and delivery of loan packages that streamline the mortgage process from application all the way to closing. By integrating Capsilon’s Point of Sale Portal and digital mortgage platform, lenders eliminate the need for manual document indexing, naming and sorting. The company’s software uses automated document recognition and data extraction to automate document submission, quality control, loan setup and loan estimate disclosure. Currently, three of the top 10 U.S. lenders use Capsilon software in their lending process.

Carrington Lending carringtonconnects.com Carrington’s LoaniQ is a fast, accurate and easy way to match consumers with loan funding options. The loan calculator instantly matches borrowers with loan options based on the borrower’s goals with no personally identifiable information required. LoaniQ’s unique and fine-tuned algorithm presents borrowers with real loans after answering a few simple questions. Once a user selects the right loan for them, they can instantly pre-qualify, complete their digital loan application, submit the required documents and connect with all relevant parties through integrations with pricing and loan processing systems. Since the product’s launch in 2016, Carrington’s LoaniQ has funded more than $200 million in lending volume.

Cenlar FSB Servicing cenlar.com Cenlar launched a new loan portal, called CenNet, in October 2017. The portal is already in use by approximately 200 of the company’s clients that represent banks, mortgage banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. More than 1 million borrowers were registered to use CenNet as of January 2018. By using CenNet, borrowers have anytime, anywhere access to mortgage information and account management tools delivered through a simple, intuitive mobile-optimized web design. Borrowers using CenNet can manage their accounts, make payments and update their information, as well as access more than 200 FAQs to pro42 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

vide detailed information about the mortgage process. Borrowers can also use integrated live chat functionality to get answers and information privately, without ever needing to make a phone call.

CertifID Lending, Servicing, Investments, Real Estate certifid.com CertifID is a wire fraud prevention platform designed to safely authenticate the identities of the parties of a transaction and allow them to share banking information securely. The platform, which launched in October 2017, uses proprietary digital device analysis and knowledge-based authentication sequencing, providing a guarantee up to $500,000. CertifID’s technology verifies the identity of an individual, such as a participating escrow officer, buyer, or seller, along with their relevant bank account credentials, enabling those involved in a real estate transaction to transfer funds securely. CertifID saw an immediate interest in the technology. The company grew 700% in its first four months and is in varying stages of rollout with some of the industry’s top eight title underwriters.

Clarifire Servicing eclarifire.com Clarifire’s SaaS offering is a configurable workflow automation software that connects fragmented processes. The application enables servicers to create operational efficiencies and controls that bring significant proven results. Clarifire, a privately held woman-owned company, designed SaaS to enable businesses to take control of their business processes in one online, collaborative platform. The application uses intelligent business rules to automatically distribute work, critical information, and documents to users for action. Clarifire provides workflow expertise coupled with the end-to-end capabilities, including increased lean efficiencies and reduction in costs, and secure and unified collaboration with all parties.

Clarocity Lending, Servicing, Investments clarocity.com Clarocity provides real estate valuation solutions and platform technologies. The company serves the GSEs, as well as lenders and mortgage-backed securities investors with data-driven valuation products. Clarocity utilizes a design-driven approach that is focused on usability and efficiency. The company’s automated order management platform can be configured for vendor com-

munications and workflow, which leads to reduced staffing requirements. In 2017, the company launched Clarocity Valuation Services, a valuation services company. The company was formed by merging Valuation Vision and Valued Veterans AMC. Clarocity Valuation Services offers a suite of valuation products and services, including a new proprietary appraisal solution called MarketValue Pro, which is an alternative appraisal product that can reduce the cost of an appraisal by up to 40%.

Class Appraisal Lending, Servicing, Investments, Real Estate classappraisal.com Class Appraisal, an appraisal management company, utilizes technology to improve the appraisal process. The company offers an interactive county-by-county pricing tool called the Dynamic Calculator. The technology combines current and historical market data to create reasonable and customary fees. Combining this data with a web portal allows lenders to provide accurate pricing information for their loan estimates and closing documents. The company also offers Lead Time Calculator, a web-based platform that uses historical data to provide estimated turn times at the county level. In 2017, the company launched its Fast Track application, which allows clients to check on the status of their appraisal order at any time.

Clear Capital Lending, Servicing, Real Estate, Investments clearcapital.com Clear Capital’s newest offering, ClearCollateral, provides an analytics-driven workflow, configurable provider allocation and powerful valuation review tools built on SaaS technology. ClearCollateral’s order management tools allow users to rebalance provider order allocations at any time. Users are able to connect with valuation providers, select products to order and even configure orders based on allocation policies. ClearCollateral’s users can automate quality control policies for appraisals and BPOs, build review processes based on GSE risk scores and automatically order new valuations based on value variance risk tolerance.

ClosingCorp Lending closing.com ClosingCorp, founded in 2006, provides residential real estate closing cost data and technology for the mortgage and real estate services industries. ClosingCorp provides fully managed,

vendor-verified rates and fees from its ClosingCorp Network of more than 20,000 unique real estate service providers representing title, settlement, appraisal, inspections and engineering all over the country. In 2017, ClosingCorp launched SmartEngine, an advanced rate management solution that enables title organizations to collect and manage specific rate and fee data. With this solution, title companies can centralize data processing and connect their rate and fee data to any third-party system, including title production systems, and websites, as well as ClosingCorp’s SmartFees, the company’s flagship product, which integrates loan file information, transfer tax and recording data, service provider fees and lender business.

Cloudvirga Lending cloudvirga.com Cloudvirga builds intelligent mortgage point-of-sale platforms, focused on cutting costs, shortening time to close and increasing transparency. The company’s workflow results in high self-service numbers, which means more satisfied borrowers, dramatically expedited loan processing and significant cost savings per loan. A case study by a Top 10 lender showed that Cloudvirga’s POS platform reduces mortgage origination costs by $1,500 per loan. The platform empowers 42% of its users to complete a fully self-service application via a mobile device. In just two years, Cloudvirga has grown to serve nine of the top 40 nonbank lenders in the U.S., representing more than $100 billion annual loan volume.

ComplianceTech Lending compliancetech.com Since its founding more than 25 years ago, ComplianceTech has provided fair lending compliance services and compliance tools to lending institutions, government agencies and research institutions. The company’s web-based software tools, LendingPatterns and Fair Lending Magic, help lenders stay compliant with the myriad of regulations they must abide by. LendingPatterns is a web-based HMDA data mining tool that provides multiple years of loan transaction data. Fair Lending Magic automates compliance and fair lending risk analysis for all types of loans. The company boasts several significant federal government departments and other sizable federal entities among its user base. The company’s software is also often used by fair housing advocates to provide fair lending and Community Reinvestment Act analysis.

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Contactually Lending, Real Estate contactually.com The best way to sum up the culture at Contactually is to say it’s where the Beltway meets Silicon Valley. While based in D.C., the culture of Contactually is focused on software that clients will enjoy using. Contactually’s intelligent CRM helps agents and brokers grow their businesses through an easy-to-use platform that enables personal engagement at scale. According to the company, this results in more leads, referrals and increased business. One feature, Programs, reminds agents and brokers when to email their contacts and provides market-proven content for the right message, ensuring that no one falls through the cracks.

CoreLogic Lending, Servicing, Investments, Real Estate corelogic.com CoreLogic offers in-depth insights and a broad range of cloudbased technology applications and platforms that streamline user workflow processes while providing the flexibility and convenience of secure, on-demand and immediate access to a variety of applications. The company also provides comprehensive property ownership and transaction history. CoreLogic analyzes more than 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years. CoreLogic also powers one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date tax information databases that covers most residential parcels in the United States. The company’s expansive insights, which span property, mortgages, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related information, help clients to identify and leverage growth opportunities, improve business performance and manage risk.

Covered Lending, Servicing itscovered.com/mortgage-pro Covered Insurance Solutions is a modern independent insurance agency streamlining the purchase of home and auto insurance by integrating into the lending process. Covered helps lenders close loans faster, eliminate paperwork and improve loan efficiency, while providing homebuyers with multiple policy options from reputable insurance carriers. Covered delivers a trustworthy, award-winning platform that delights the modern borrower. By combining the latest technology with a human touch, Covered provides a digital ‘human-like’ experience where borrowers can shop and buy with confidence in minutes. Entirely built and based in the United States, Covered delivers amazing service and support in whichever way a borrower prefers: text, call, email, or online 44 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

chat. Covered’s platform pairs efficiency and automation with best-in-class design. The Covered platform has won three awards, including: Best UI/UX; Best in Mobile and Best in Web Design.

Credit Data Solutions Lending, Servicing, Investments, Real Estate creditdatasolutions.com Credit Data Solutions is a full-service credit-reporting agency, partnered with the big three credit reporting agencies and all the major trade groups in the mortgage finance space. The company’s newest offering, Credit Data PreQual, needs only the consumer’s name and address to pull a single-bureau credit report and FICO. Credit Data PreQual is designed to target the Millennial generation, which does a majority of their research and work online instead of face-to-face. The company’s 4506-T Express service enables lenders to help prevent mortgage fraud by securing tax transcript verification.

Divvy Homes Real Estate divvyhomes.com Divvy is a rent-to-buy firm. Available in markets with appreciating home values, potential borrowers select a home on the market and Divvy will then buy it, and lease it back to them, while allowing them to build equity credits with every payment. Divvy raised over $7million to pursue its goal of offering an additional option between renting and owning. Founded by self-proclaimed “real estate enthusiasts and technologists,” Divvy is still a young company, operating for now just in Seattle, Atlanta and Cleveland. Customers who are unable to qualify for a mortgage today are offered a three-year program to move from lease to buy.

DocMagic Lending docmagic.com DocMagic develops software, mobile apps, processes and webbased systems for the production and delivery of compliant loan document packages. The company is a leading provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign, eDelivery and comprehensive eMortgage services for the mortgage industry. At the end of 2017, DocMagic reached more than 300 million mortgage eSignings. The software developer’s technology solution suite includes Total eClose, which allows lenders to complete a totally paperless eClosing; SmartCLOSE, a collaborative closing portal; eSign & eDelivery platform, which securely sends loan documents for signing electronically; and integration

product offerings including DocMagic Direct, DocMagic Online and Borrower Mobile.

ages customized by state and loan products, as well as allow each borrower to electronically sign their documents.

Docutech

eOriginal, Inc.

Lending docutech.com Introduced in September 2017, Docutech’s Solex is a complete platform dedicated to the eClosing of mortgages. Docutech offers so many services to agents, lenders and borrowers that launching a singular platform enables each mortgage transaction to become as digital as possible. Solex is integrated with ConformX, Docutech’s dynamic document engine. Now, lenders can automatically generate digital, data-driven documents that meet specific loan criteria and adhere to rules-based intelligence, including MISMO SMART Doc Version 1.02 for eNote, the standard for GSE delivery. Once dynamic documents are generated, Solex then provides the process for electronic delivery, eSignature and the complete eClosing.

Lending eoriginal.com In 2017, Fannie Mae, the largest home financier in the U.S., selected eOriginal for the launch of its next-generation electronic vault, which involved moving billions of dollars of assets onto its hosted platform in order to enable the secure management of eNotes throughout their lifecycle. Additionally, Quicken Loans, the country’s largest online mortgage lender, partnered to digitally create an electronic promissory note and to store it as an authoritative copy with delivery to both custodians and the secondary market. eOriginal guarantees trusted transactions of digital financial assets for all parties from the borrower to the secondary market.

Ellie Mae Lending elliemae.com Ellie Mae’s cloud-based Encompass platform enables lenders to provide the high-tech service with a human touch that homebuyers expect with efficiency, quality and compliance. Ellie Mae’s technology solutions help lenders originate more loans, lower origination costs and reduce closing times while automating everything that can be automated to offer a path to a true digital mortgage. The company is connected with hundreds of partners that help serve lenders on its Encompass lending platform. As of the third quarter of 2017, the company’s Encompass technology had more than 230,000 SaaS users. Ellie Mae’s network sees millions of transactions each month and the company touches 30% of all residential mortgages in the U.S.

Ephesoft Lending ephesoft.com With some loans exceeding 1,000 pages and hundreds of document types, manual classification of these documents is time-consuming and labor intensive. Ephesoft identifies, classifies and organizes loans faster and more accurately than any human. In fact, customers report the ability to process at over 20 times the speed of manual human classification. No barcode separator sheets are needed for document identification, unlike other systems. Ephesoft’s mortgage data extraction can identify, extract and validate hundreds of key fields within a package in a fraction of the time and cost of manual data entry.

Epiq Envoy Mortgage Lending envoymortgage.com Envoy offers the industry a robust technology foundation that is integrated with more than 150+ branches nationwide. Based in Houston, the lender prides itself on embracing diversity — they’ve partnered with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, for example. The Envoy LOS is tailor-made for all phases of origination. From taking the initial application to funding the loan, every transaction happens in a streamlined paperless system. Envoy is able to produce rapid disclosure pack46 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

Servicing epiqglobal.com/en-us/ Epiq is a lead administration provider to $600B Lehman and $42B Energy Future Chapter 11s. Epiq has handled five of the largest data breach settlement administration in the U.S. and 76 of the Fortune 100 companies are clients of Epiq. Besides offering admin for Chapter 11s, the company also offers AACER, an automated court document process tool. Epiq clients use AACER’s portfolio management tools to easily and efficiently identify debtors, monitor dockets and events, search across and within bankruptcy cases, and automate custom workflow queues. Epiq holds 80+ offices globally with 12 data centers and 5,200+ employees.

Equator Servicing equator.com Default solutions provider Equator, an Altisource business unit, develops scalable technology that enables net execution efficiency, reduction of operational and capital requirements, increased transparency and implementation of client compliance rules. Equator provides SaaS solutions to the largest servicers and real estate asset managers, including four of the top five largest servicers and a leading GSE. In October 2017, Equator announced enhancements to PRO REO, a SaaS solution that helps servicers to increase efficiency and vendor oversight during the REO servicing process and provides servicers with tools for making strategic and cost-efficient default servicing decisions.

signing agent assignment occur simultaneously. The signing agent instantly receives appointment details and the consumer receives agent profile information.

Factom Lending, Servicing, Real Estate factom.com Factom’s Harmony is a collaborative blockchain platform that works with existing document management solutions to create an unalterable record for loan documents. Its API integrates directly with existing software, allowing companies to share, audit and exchange sensitive documents using blockchain technology without needing a specialized blockchain developer. This technology, because it is immutable and creates a permanent record, reduces the liability for lost documents and cuts audit time, preventing costly disputes.

Exceleras Servicing, Investments exceleras.com Exceleras is a provider of web-based automated tools used by mortgage servicers and asset management providers to manage and value real estate. The company offers an advanced default property disposition tool, DispoSolutions, and an all-inclusive, flexible valuation platform, ValueSolutions. DispoSolutions allows servicers and asset managers to design their own workflow and processes to fit their specific needs, whether they manage small or large portfolios. Additionally, the solution is partnered with online real estate auction site Bid4Assets.com to provide streamlined auctions. ValueSolutions fosters better communication between parties and provides accurate information as well as unique benefits such as automated vendor payments in a fully automated, highly customizable platform.

EXOS Technologies Servicing exostechnology.com The EXOS digital platform was built by ServiceLink specifically to digitize title, appraisal and closing processes. EXOS is offered in three core products – EXOS Title, EXOS Appraisal and EXOS Close. EXOS Title complements the point-of-sale digital mortgage experience by identifying clear-to-close title instantly. EXOS Appraisal enables appraisers to set schedules and choose only the jobs they want through a mobile or desktop application. Consumers can also view appraiser profiles and contact information prior to the appointment, streamlining communication and offering peace of mind. EXOS Close features a calendar that shows availability for qualified signing agents. The lender selects a date, time and location, and with one click, the appointment confirmation and

Fannie Mae Lending, Servicing, Real Estate, Investments fanniemae.com Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter validation service leverages digital data from vetted third-party vendors to validate borrowers’ income, assets, and employment. The report cuts the time from loan application to final approval from 50 days to as little as 25. While the numbers vary, the company reports seeing a 10% average reduction in the time from application to close when assets are validated through DU as well as 13% average reduction in application to close time for loans with employment and/or income validated.

Financial Industry Computer Systems (FICS) Lending, Servicing fics.com Financial Industry Computer Systems provides in-house mortgage loan origination, residential mortgage loan servicing, and commercial mortgage loan servicing software. FICS’ advanced mortgage technology enables lenders to maintain added control over customers’ loan data and gives them the option of managing both LOS and servicing technology through a single vendor. FICS’ full suite of technology products includes powerful web applications that give residential and commercial mortgage borrowers and investors online access to loan information. To automate processes and increase efficiency for customers, FICS offers an API that enables users to schedule and automate each program, report, and interface in Mortgage Servicer, such as end-of-day, investor close out, and monthly statements. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 47

Finastra

Floify

Lending finastra.com Finastra’s MortgagebotMobile is a completely mobile, cloudbased loan application solution for regulated lenders. MortgagebotMobile is highly configurable, allowing lenders to customize and implement it to their unique specifications. Customers can modify applicant questions, showcase their own brand through an intuitive and responsive user interface, and choose whether to implement the platform on tablet, smartphone or both. Finastra, formed in 2017 by the combination of D+H and Misys has more than 10,000 employees and 9,000 customers globally $2.1 billion in revenues.

Lending, Real Estate floify.com Floify’s platform was designed to use the most secure methods of document collection, verification and cloud-based technology. With the company’s unlimited storage capabilities, mortgage professionals are able to scale business while remaining confident about security, privacy, and loan file integrity. Floify offers an integrated and embeddable 1003, which translates borrower data directly to a loan file. Floify keeps borrowers and loan stakeholders in the loop during the mortgage process and immediately notifies the parties of changes in loan status via automated updates, alerts, and SMS notifications. Floify also offers an app store, which houses its integrations with companies including Equifax, DocuSign, AccountChek, and Dropbox.

Finicity Lending finicity.com Financial data aggregator and insights provider Finicity is rapidly moving the industry towards an all-digital verification process. The company’s suite of credit decisioning products includes asset and income verification and an online report management platform, Finicity Reports. Lenders can access and manage reports through Finicity Reports, a simple and intuitive online portal. Additionally, services are protected under Finicity’s Consumer Reporting Agency framework, which adheres to all FCRA requirements and is subject to compliance guidelines. Finicity is currently the only data aggregator approved by Fannie Mae for its Day 1 Certainty program to provide asset verification.

First American Mortgage Solutions Lending, Servicing, Real Estate firstam.com/mortgagesolutions First American Mortgage Solutions specializes in problem solving for lenders and servicers in the new TRID era of lending. The company has evolved to deliver solutions for the entire loan lifecycle. The company’s range of solutions include technology and data optimization at every touch point of the mortgage loan spectrum. Also, the company offers the industry’s first full-featured, webbased appraisal reporting, review and delivery platform. In 2017, the company completed several integrations, including being named an approved vendor for Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty.

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Freddie Mac Investments freddiemac.com In 2017, Freddie Mac introduced its new automated collateral evaluation solution, an enhancement within the company’s Loan Advisor Suite’s Loan Product Advisor, its automated underwriting system. Through ACE, Freddie Mac leverages big data and advanced analytics and enables lenders to originate a loan without a traditional appraisal and with immediate certainty. ACE can speed up, simplify and lower the cost of the loan origination process for both lenders and their borrowers by eliminating the appraisal fee.

Genworth MI Lending genworthmi.com Genworth Mortgage Insurance’s new website, which launched in the fall of 2017, combines advanced cloud-based technology with insights from the company’s customers. The new site’s technical features include a visual pipeline tracking system, reduced data entry for quick application submissions and online mortgage insurance activation. Users can now search for MI apps, rates, product information and personal assistance from Genworth representatives. And a new mobile user interface lets users check MI app status, rates and other features from any device. Following the site’s launch, Genworth measured customer’s satisfaction of the new site, earning 4.7/5 on ease of use and 4.8/5 on performance speed and efficiency.

Homevibe

Informative Research

Real Estate homevibe.net Homevibe helps homeowners and buyers understand the condition of a house and how best to improve or maintain its condition. Developed by technology and home inspection experts in Seattle, Homevibe’s pre-purchase reports provides home buyers access to an assessment of all the major systems, including the side sewer line, on the homes they’re considering for purchase. The company developed Upkeep Score, a metric that summarizes the condition of a house into one number that can be tracked over time and across various dimensions. The metric enables home buyers to compare homes to others in the neighborhood or to others that were built in the same year.

Lending, Servicing informativeresearch.com Informative Research’s newest solution, Txt2Qual, generates more leads for lenders by automatically providing an applicant’s prequalification status and contact information within 60 seconds. Txt2Qual gives lenders a full credit profile and FICO scores using a soft credit pull, reducing out-of-pocket spend and impact on the applicant’s credit score. Txt2Qual allows lenders to customize the credit and underwriting criteria to target qualified leads and mortgage-ready borrowers. Txt2Qual enables lenders to automatically match applicants to the best loan option and prioritize which applicants to call first with the solution’s user-friendly interface.

HouseCanary

Insellerate

Real Estate housecanary.com HouseCanary’s predictive data analytics engine processes thousands of data elements spanning 40 years of historical data and one billion residential real estate transactions – and covers 381 metros, nearly 20,000 ZIP codes and 4 million total blocks. HouseCanary indexes, standardizes, and analyzes the data to forecast home-price valuations and market trends for 3 million residential blocks, 18,000 zip codes, and 381 U.S. metropolitan areas. In March 2017, the company announced a collaboration with Google to power the residential real estate datasets for Google Cloud Platform Commercial Datasets.

Lending, Servicing, Real Estate, Investments insellerate.com Insellerate is an end-to-end solution for lenders to house all touchpoints of the mortgage sales process. The solution combines telephone reporting and functionality, lead data, LOS integration, as well as marketing automation and insights to provide a clear picture of the borrower journey. Insellerate offers comprehensive visibility to enable lenders to make informed decisions when automating their sales process. In 2017, the company’s user growth increased by 400% and using Insellerate customers also report a 15% lift in production.

Ignite Integration Solutions Lending, Servicing, Real Estate, Investments igniteintegrationsolutions.com Ignite, a custom software provider, offers solutions to mortgage lenders that enable them to control costs, streamline workflow and drive increased productivity and efficiency. The company offers a data and document export tool created to run on an auto-task scheduler for extracts to be available for a third-party vendor to receive on a timely basis. Ignite also offers an audit application, which condenses individual audit searches from approximately 45 minutes into less than 45 seconds, and three versions of a data import tool that provides incredible and well researched capabilities for an originator, each designed with their own benefits for specific needs.

Land Gorilla Lending landgorilla.com Land Gorilla pioneered a proactive way of efficiently managing construction loans by creating the first cloud-based system for construction loan management. The Construction Loan Manager by Land Gorilla empowers lenders to participate as they reduce construction non-completion, monitor contractor performance, view potential portfolio risks, and improve the borrower and builder experience. The company offers a pipeline-style management system, with white label web portals that provide a branded experience for borrowers and contractors. The Construction Loan Manager also offers investor and warehouse bank access, customized LOS integration and accounting, flood compliance features, line item budget tracking and disbursement tracking.

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LBA Ware

LoanCare

Lending lbaware.com Software developer LBA Ware’s applications automate traditionally manual business processes, creating an integrated software environment for lenders that maximizes their productivity and operational efficiency. LBA Ware’s flagship solution, CompenSafe, gives lenders the flexibility to implement incentive compensation plans for recruiting and retaining top talent while eliminating the complexity of managing multiple compensation plans manually on spreadsheets. In 2017, CompenSafe reached a lifetime calculation of nearly $1.5 billion in compensation. Also in 2017, the company’s year-over-year growth included an 80% increase in CompenSafe clients, a 71% increase in the number of application units and volume tracked for pipeline reporting, a 67% increase in the number of loans processed for compensation, and a 152% increase in total compensation processed.

Servicing loancareservicing.com With the use of digital agents and bots in key areas of the business, LoanCare, the nation’s third largest subservicer, is building the first digital servicer in the mortgage industry. LoanCare’s proprietary Eureka Cloud Data Platform is a servicing data access platform that delivers hundreds of data extracts and report deliverables every day for clients. Eureka quality control bots use robotic process automation technologies to perform CMAP and other data quality validation controls, to alert LoanCare to quality issues, to be resolved and resubmitted; if there are no issues, the bots will deliver the data deliverables to the correct secure file transfer folder for output. In 2017, LoanCare experienced robust growth with revenues up 42% over 2016 and serviced more than 1.1 million loans, totaling over $232 billion.

London Computer Systems

loanDepot

Real Estate rentmanager.com London Computer Systems develops business tools for property managers of any size. Its flagship offering, Rent Manager, is an advanced, self-contained software solution. The tool combines a powerful property management database with integrated accounting, contact management, work order and marketing solutions and a versatile API for online customers. LCS’ customers also have access to complete network design, implementation, and managed IT support services, as well as custom website development through the company’s IT Services and Web Design Services divisions.

Lending, Servicing loandepot.com loanDepot recently launched its proprietary technology platform, mello, to streamline the loan process to a blended digital/ local relationship covering all aspects of consumer lending and homeownership. With mello, consumers can run any mortgage or non-mortgage loan from application through funding from any device on their own or with local loan consultants who can advise the process. Moan consultants licensed in all 50 states can seamlessly respond and advise in real time to the millions of consumers the company sources digitally with the platform. Since launch, loanDepot has added mello Home, which connects consumers to real estate agents and home improvement contractors.

LendingHome

LoanLogics

Lending, Servicing, Investments lendinghome.com In 2017, LendingHome updated its proprietary technology platform to improve the application and document-collection process. Now, 80% of loan applications are processed without the customer needing to speak to a LendingHome employee. LendingHome now features new technology, built in-house, that allows LendingHome to stay instantly TRID compliant and transparent with customers, who are notified of date and fee changes within minutes. For its top-tier, bridge-loan customers, LendingHome’s platform also now features a new streamlined process that significantly reduces the time spent on the application process and funds the loans more quickly.

Lending loanlogics.com LoanLogics’ core product is the LoanHD loan quality platform, a significant driver of the company’s revenue growth and one of the most widely used technology platforms in the mortgage industry. LoanHD’s capabilities enable real-time, highly automated mortgage quality control and provide significant productivity lift as compared to manual internal audits, other technologies or third-party audit services. Specific audit capabilities enable lenders to review TRID and HMDA compliance and a large library of business rules—in combination with “user defined” rules—allows companies to customize loan quality audits and due diligence based on best practices and specific business needs.

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Matic

Morty

Lending, Servicing, Real Estate matic.com Matic is a digital homeowner’s insurance marketplace that helps lenders and servicers integrate HOI into the mortgage process. The company brings the HOI point of sale inside the mortgage transaction to improve the borrower experience and help lenders close more loans in less time and at a lower cost. Matic leverages first-of-their-kind integrations to pull borrower and property data straight from the mortgage loan origination system, point-of-sale platform or real estate portal. Matic then normalizes the data, figures out how much coverage the homeowner needs and makes more than a dozen top carriers bid on the policy.

Lending, Real Estate himorty.com Morty is an online mortgage broker that empowers homebuyers to make smarter home financing decisions. With a modern tech stack and a marketplace of lenders, we offer customers the most options, great rates, and a transparent process. The company, which publicly launched in 2017, offers a loan origination system and a pricing engine – both custom built from the ground up, in-house. During 2017, the company has successfully handled integrations with seven of the top 10 lenders across 14 states and more than 2,000 customers.

Maxwell Lending himaxwell.com Maxwell’s cloud software is simple and intuitive made with a fully mobile-responsive, modern design to impress borrowers and enable originators to effortlessly manage loans on the go or in the office. The company’s secure borrower portal centralizes all interactions and provides a customizable, intelligent loan application powered by proprietary algorithms that dynamically adjusts questions, needs and tasks. The portal features FileFetch technology integrates with thousands of financial institutions providing actual PDFs from the source for paystubs, bank and investment account statements, mortgage statements and more.

MortgageHippo Lending mortgagehippo.com MortgageHippo works with lenders to devise and implement digital mortgage strategies based on its consumer-centric platform. The mortgage platform guides consumers through every step of the mortgage process and facilitates the transaction between a borrower, the loan officer and other important parties, such as the real estate agent. MortgageHippo’s platform is built to deliver consumers a modern borrower experience. The platform is optimized to maximize conversions through multiple origination channels, from consumer direct to retail and has white label capabilities. The platform is optimized for both mobile and desktop users and boasts bank-level security.

NestApple Real Estate nestapple.com New York-based real estate technology and brokerage firm NestApple is offering home buyers the opportunity to earn a 2% rebate check of the sale price. The company is a licensed brokerage with an efficient platform which assists clients in placing a bid all the way through closing the deal. It company represents buyers and tenants, charging 1% instead of the regular 3% while providing the same level of service.

NextDeal Real Estate nextdeal.us NextDeal is an automated pre-closing title or mortgage forms provider for buyers, sellers and borrowers. The company has created a smart interface and platform, preDOCS, for the consumer to answer questions securely, especially when uploading sensitive banking and personal information. The system populates the title agency’s forms with the data entered and then allows the homeowner to electronically sign. Upon completion, preDOCS platform securely delivers the finished documents directly to the file.

Notarize Lending, Servicing, Real Estate, Investments notarize.com Last year, Notarize launched three digital products to improve and actualize the digital mortgage closing process. Notarize for Mortgage digitizes the entire closing process to make it efficient and secure to buyers, sellers, lenders, title companies and realtors. Notarize for Title Agents enables agents to serve buyers and sellers online and moves the entire closing workflow online, for the HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 51

first time. The company also launched the Notarize Mortgage API, which eliminates all manual processes to create an online closing. Lenders are able to integrate directly with their LOS or other systems to create fully digital – and automated ¬– online closings.

OpenProperty

PeerStreet lenders can access detailed property valuation reports, which allow them to analyze property data and adjust property details to generate highly accurate valuations that reflect current or future market conditions. The third platform is PeerStreet’s proprietary underwriting engine which intakes loan details and documents, then automatically checks for errors and omissions.

Real Estate openproperty.com OpenProperty reverses how ratings are traditionally collected. Apartment renters sign up and OpenProperty then extracts lease data from the property management system to generate ratings. Data is uniquely objective, focused, and accurate. Data from one lease is also applied into two ratings. Property managers can show to prospective renters in a credible way and foster trust through transparency with their existing renters and renters can get acknowledged in a practical way – building rental history for use, much like a reference letter. OpenProperty was designed and built from the ground up with bank-grade security to protect landlord and tenant data.

PerfectLO.com

Optimal Blue

PromonTech

Lending, Servicing, Investments optimalblue.com Optimal Blue is an operator of the industry’s Digital Mortgage Marketplace, which connects originators, investors and providers with a unified technology and value-added services platform. The platform enables originators to automate their entire secondary marketing operation, from content through commitment, with enterprise automation that is specifically designed for the diverse business models of mortgage banks, mortgage brokers, retail banks and credit unions. The company’s Investor Network Management solution provides market-leading investors with network access and an array of business intelligence tools to identify high quality producers and leverage unique data for greater prospect insight.

Lending mortgagepath.com/promontech PromonTech’s Borrower Wallet is a white label, omni-platform point-of-sale that is designed to help mortgage bankers provide the same customer experience and digital mortgage solutions being offered by mega lenders. The Borrower Wallet is available via web or mobile device, on either a self-serve or assisted basis with loan officer assistance. It captures leads and fosters borrower and lender collaboration to drive enterprise efficiency and improve loan pull-through. Additionally, its built-in collaboration tools deliver high-quality data and documents needed to feed and accelerate the downstream underwriting process.

PeerStreet Lending, Investments peerstreet.com PeerStreet offers three core technology platforms. For investors, PeerStreet’s technology allows them to invest in real estate debt on an intuitive, easy-to-use platform. Investors can choose individual properties and view detailed investment metrics. For lenders, PeerStreet connects them to the global capital markets through its platform, and also offers a comprehensive suite of tools and technology to help them compete more effectively. 52 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

Lending, Servicing, Investments, Real Estate perfectlo.com PerfectLO’s online questionnaire was developed by former mortgage professionals, underwriters and a software team to create a logical and systematic approach to a mortgage interview and application. As borrowers answer questions on PerfectLO’s interactive questionnaire, a document checklist is created. PerfectLO’s questionnaire is available in different languages, enabling the borrower to complete the interview in their preferred language while the answers are returned to the LO in English. PerfectLO offers a mobile friendly, cloud-based and white-labeled software solution that can integrate easily with loan origination systems.

Quandis, Inc. Servicing quandis.com Quandis is a default management mortgage technology solutions provider. Quandis’ solutions include foreclosure automation, short sale portals, a valuations systems and hub, bankruptcy status searches, military search services, skip tracing systems, collection solutions, as well custom application development. The company delivers the majority of its applications on a SaaS basis and others as smart-client solutions that reside onsite at the client’s location. Quandis’ solutions integrate with servicers’

back-office mortgage servicing systems, valuation solutions, attorneys’ case management applications and other third-party systems. The company’s newest offering, Quandis Court Connect, launched in 2017, is a sophisticated data service that automates the monitoring of state courts for desired case activity and immediately notifies users when any activity occurs.

ship with First American, and intelligence on over 310 million U.S. adults comprised of 3 billion data points which they use to model consumer behavior around people’s propensity to buy or sell. Remine’s focus is to help agents target their efforts, save time and money and win more business.

Realeflow

ReverseVision

Real Estate realeflow.com Realeflow enables real estate investors to build successful businesses, automating every step of the real estate investing lifecycle – lead generation, analysis, acquisition, rehab management, resale, and holding. Realeflow’s suite is built around a powerful CRM that manages and organizes every deal from beginning to end. The company’s suite features 24 integrated modules and enhances success in each deal phase by optimizing, automating, simplifying, managing and connecting the people, processes, and transactions involved in real estate investing. Realeflow has serviced more than 94,000 real estate investors nationwide, who have closed more than $10 billion in real estate transactions.

Lending, Servicing, Investments reversevision.com RV Exchange, ReverseVision’s flagship loan origination system, serves as a centralized exchange connecting all industry users — brokers, lenders, investors, service providers, sub-servicers and more — to one platform. Users share documents and information for each part of the loan process within the same loan file, reducing errors and redundancies throughout the lifecycle of a HECM loan. RVX provides the ability for lenders to issue their own closing documents, pay mortgage insurance premiums, schedule and conduct closings and deliver the same HECM package to investor partners without the use of third-party systems. RVX also connects users to industry-approved vendor services and provides real-time updates throughout the loan cycle.

Red Bell Real Estate Services Lending, Servicing, Real Estate, Investments clayton.com/solutions-and-services/ redbell-real-estate-services/ Red Bell’s Pyramid Platform is a secure web-based portal that uses task driven management to manage REOs, rentals, loss mitigation and short sales. The platform allows workflows, real-time reports, key performance indicators, forms and many other items to be customized quickly and adjusted by client and pool. Benefits of the platform include live reporting, a data warehouse, the ability to trigger tasks by unit and complete integration with RedBell Real Estate pricing and valuation products. Red Bell’s active REO assets for 2017 increased 137% from the previous year and REO closings in 2017 increased 79% over 2016’s totals.

Remine Real Estate remine.com Remine is a new category in real estate technology – a platform that combines property and consumer data to create actionable intelligence for real estate professionals. Remine delivers new content around property and people and gives agents a visually rich experience of data. Real estate professionals have complete public record data and MLS coverage through Remine’s partner-

Roofstock Real Estate roofstock.com In October, Roofstock announced the industry’s first-ever single-family rental ratings index for U.S. neighborhoods, powered by a proprietary algorithm that assesses neighborhood-specific risk. The Roofstock Neighborhood Rating normalizes neighborhood data across markets, enabling buyers to easily compare rental properties on an even footing and make informed decisions. By analyzing data across 72,000 U.S. census tracts—each composed of approximately 1,500 homes—the Roofstock Neighborhood Rating algorithm provides a uniform view of neighborhoods nationwide based on dozens of factors. Roofstock is one of the fastest-growing fintech startups in the U.S. In addition to surpassing $1 billion in transactions, the company more than doubled the number of new market launches in 2017 year over year and grew its workforce by more than 200%.

RynohLive (Segin Systems) Real Estate rynoh.com RynohLive is a web-based, bridge application for escrow account management practices. The company offers continuous end-to-end HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 53

account auditing, daily reconciliation, transaction monitoring, anti-fraud algorithms and built-in automated reporting. It is comprised of five modules: RynohPay, which provides automated Positive Pay; RynohRecon, which automatically retrieves paid items data from the client’s financial institution and reconciles them with their escrow accounting software; RynohTrax, which automatically tracks and validates all funds flowing into and out of an account; RynohReport, which combines the functionality of the above three modules to provide daily and monthly management reports; and RynohSecure, which is the monitoring module for the underwriter.

Solex eClosing solution with Simplifile’s services. As a result, Simplifile helps deliver the superior functionality of a digitally streamlined eSign, eNotarization and e-recording to settlement agents, lenders and borrowers. In addition to e-recording, Simplifile has also developed collaboration and post closing tools to facilitate a more seamless solution experience of eClosing and beyond for agents, lenders and borrowers. Using Simplifile Collaboration, lenders and settlement agents can securely share, receive, track, validate, and communicate on documents and fees to reduce the risk of errors on closing documents, ensure a seamless closing process and create an audit trail for compliance.

Secured Legal Services Group

StreamLoan

Servicing securedlegal.com Secured Legal is committed to replacing the current hierarchical model of law firm-servicer relationships with peer-to-peer interactivity using a web-based client portal. Secured Legal’s client portal allows for real-time collaboration where attorneys and servicers use the same platform, rather than redundant systems. Transparency, efficiency, adaptability and accountability are key aspects of this technology with potential to transform servicer/ attorney landscape. The technology allows Secured Legal to target the small to mid-size servicers who need regional coverage but do not typically have the volume to command the attention of the large firms.

Lending, Servicing, Real Estate streamloan.io StreamLoan is a mobile-first, cloud-based technology platform. The company brings together all parties of the mortgage process including the real estate agent, borrower and loan officer and their team in a cloud-based collaborative environment. The platform allows real estate agents to source leads for the lender in real time and allows the borrower to go through the entire mortgage process in minutes. StreamLoan is directly connected to over 15,000 financial institutions and is LOS agnostic, meaning that it can easily integrate with any LOS platforms. StreamLoan user growth over the previous 12 months was more than 600% growth for lending users, more than 1,000% growth in borrower users and more than 250% growth in real estate agents on the platform.

SimpleNexus Lending, Real Estate simplenexus.com The company offers a private-label solution that connects lenders with its borrowers and Realtors to a single, branded solution to easily exchange data and documents throughout the entire loan lifecycle. Borrowers are able to search for homes, apply for a mortgage, run calculations, upload documents and see real-time status of their loan progress. With SimpleNexus, a loan officer is now a mobile originator. Through the smartphone app, LOs are able to view new loan applications the second they come in, pull and view credit reports, run live pricing scenarios via Optimal Blue, see a live CRM feed and send approval letters. All of this from the palm of their hand, as the app connects real-time with their LOS.

Simplifile Lending, Real Estate simplifile.com Simplifile has partnered with Docutech to combine Docutech’s 54 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

Street Resource Group Lending streetresource.com Street Resource Group is the only technology and consulting company dedicated solely to the needs of mortgage warehouse lenders. Fifty of the approximately 80 warehouse lenders in the mortgage industry use the company’s technology and services. Street Resource Group’s flagship technology product, the Warehouse Loan System, completely automates the entire mortgage warehousing process and improves efficiency and profits for both warehouse lenders and independent mortgage bankers. WLS enables lenders to complete a warehouse transaction that used to take two days in less than 10 minutes. For both originators and warehouse lenders, WLS provides an electronic process for requesting and securing warehouse loan funds, thus allowing both parties to reduce per-transaction processing costs.

Sutherland

ValueLink Software

Lending, Servicing, Real Estate, Investments sutherlandglobal.com Sutherland’s offerings span the entire mortgage lifecycle including origination, underwriting, pre-funding quality control and compliance review, closing and funding, post-funding QC compliance and loan servicing. Sutherland also delivers solutions including data analytics, robotics processing automation, design thinking, and mobile apps to handle origination and loan modification processes. Powered by Cisco Spark, Sutherland’s mobile app streamlines and expedites the loan modification and loss mitigation process with improved communications and document collection. Customers can upload required documents and submit information via their mobile devices, while offering real-time visibility to the loan servicers as documents are received in the system.

Lending, Servicing, Real Estate valuelinksoftware.com ValueLink’s appraisal management software provides appraisal management companies, lenders, and appraisers with the ability to manage and track all their appraisal orders from a single location, while also maintaining regulatory compliance. The cloud-based system is integrated with major loan origination systems and order management platforms used by lenders, and can be accessed from any location on multiple devices. In 2017, the company launched Connect, a complete order management platform for appraisers and appraisal companies that allows appraisers to receive orders from multiple lenders and AMCs and manage those orders from a single location. The company also offers CrossCheck, a proprietary appraisal review technology that analyzes appraisal reports for almost 1,000 rules, and alerts reviewers on any potential UAD and non-UAD errors on the report.

TMS Servicing themoneysource.com TMS, which was known as The Money Source for its first 20 years in business, recently expanded into subservicing with the launch of its subservicing solution, Servicing Intelligence Made Easy (SIME). The platform provides lenders with information like recorded customer calls, delinquency reports, and loan details in real-time. SIME is currently supporting more than 120,000 loans and borrowers, servicing operations for TMS, and its subservicing clients, by providing access to system of record and other real time data, with more than 200 reports, dashboards and analytics. In its first six months, SIME decreased delinquencies by 27% and increased loan modifications in one lender’s $20 billion portfolio.

ValuTrac Software Lending, Servicing valutracsoftware.com ValuTrac Software has been providing appraisal and valuation management SaaS technologies to appraisal management companies, banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders since 2009. ValuTrac offers its flagship product ValuTrac Pro for residential appraisal management, as well as ValuTrac Pro Plus for residential and commercial appraisal management, along with several other appraisal solutions. In late 2017, ValuTrac launched two new products: ValuTracOne Appraiser Portal and Mobile App, and Snapshot Automated Appraisal Review v2.0. ValuTracOne allows appraisers to connect all of their clients in one location with a single sign-on, while Snapshot Automated Appraisal Review v2.0 is a low-cost, streamlined appraisal review tool designed for lenders that want faster automated appraisal reviews.

Total Expert Lending, Real Estate totalexpert.com Total Expert provides a centralized marketing system of record and CRM software solution that gives lenders control over branding, messaging, disclosures, cost splits and distribution of any marketing material utilized through the system. The system integrates seamlessly with loan origination systems, pricing engines, and point of sale solutions, allowing lenders to maximize effectiveness.The company’s CRM also allows lenders to connect with their co-marketing partners to create and distribute automated, co-branded marketing materials that can pull data from multi-listing services MLS data and deliver it into multiple media formats. Total Expert grew its customer base significantly in the last year, and is now being used by seven of the nation’s top 15 lenders.

Vendorly Servicing vendorly.com Vendorly, which launched in the spring of 2016, provides financial institutions with tech-based vendor management processes. The company offers an external-facing, SaaS-based oversight platform that is designed to help financial institutions manage their vendors and meet regulators’ dynamic vendor oversight guidelines. The company’s platform helps manage vendor risk by streamlining vendor due diligence, document maintenance, and ongoing monitoring across all vendor types involved in mortgage origination and servicing processes. Vendorly offers managed HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 55

vendor oversight services, including due diligence, document management, annual assessments, information security assessments, financial condition reviews and on-site audits. In addition to the software platform and operational support, Vendorly also offers integrations with third-parties to give its clients access to an array of due diligence resources.

Ventanex Servicing ventanex.com Ventanex LIFT, the company’s proprietary transaction technology platform, streamlines and integrates the management of online bill payments and messaging for mortgage servicers. LIFT is a 100% cloud-based solution that integrates with all major loan servicing platforms. LIFT brings data from internal and third-party systems together to give servicers consolidated control from a single dashboard. Servicers using LIFT can manage and track the entire lifecycle of a payment or message, with data security, built-in regulatory compliance, and reporting capabilities. The platform uses AI-based business rules that make decisions in real-time to determine how to process and apply a payment, which allows more borrowers to pay through self-service channels.

Veros Lending, Servicing, Investments veros.com Veros is the technology provider for the Federal Housing Administration’s Electronic Appraisal Delivery portal, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Uniform Collateral Data Portal. As a result, Veros helps process 70% of all mortgages and 90% of valuations on related mortgage-backed securities issuance, and has handled more than 51 million appraisals to date. In 2017, Veros introduced a host of new valuation solutions, including VeroDATAFI and VeroPRECISION. Veros created VeroDATAFI to address the UCD mandate and provide lenders with a data management solution that streamlines and automates the secure delivery of UCD files directly to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. VeroPRECISION is a property-specific valuation rules engine that uses Veros’ analytics, AI and machine learning to instantly determine if an AVM is the right valuation tool for the subject property.

Westcor Specialty Lending, Real Estate closepin.com Westcor Specialty is the technology arm of Westcor Land Title Insurance Company. Westcor Specialty works to identify ways 56 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

Westor can bring innovation to marketplace participants outside of its traditional title insurance products and services. Westcor Specialty creates new products and services, focusing on new and emerging segments of the marketplace. One member of Westcor Specialty’s portfolio of companies is Closepin, which provides a cloud-based, automated closing agent compliance validation platform for a lender’s closing agent network. Closepin reduces risk for lenders, creates market exposure for closing agents, and provides a searchable closing agent database for consumers, real estate agents, and loan officers. The platform offers a compliance certificate to the lender, rate and fee comparisons to consumers, as well as enhanced lender visibility for title agents.

Whiteboard Mortgage Software Lending whiteboardmortgage.com Whiteboard Mortgage CRM is designed for mortgage professionals and aims to be the most user-friendly and intuitive CRM on the market. Whiteboard Mortgage CRM is powered by The Mortgage Playbook, which includes pre-built, automated marketing plans and materials. Created by top producing industry leaders and professionals, The Mortgage Playbook helps mortgage professionals grow their business with campaigns for the entire loan process and more. Whiteboard Mortgage CRM comes preloaded with workflow triggers, campaigns, and content that help clients keep in touch with leads through the pre-qualification and application stages, funding, and post-sale follow up. The program offers daily dashboards, real-time reports, and hundreds of ready-made campaigns and templates.

Xome Real Estate Xome.com Xome aims to be a true “one-stop shop” for the real estate process, taking buyers and sellers from search and discovery, to managing offers, to closing escrow. Xome also offers technology that enables sellers to maximize exposure by self-listing their home directly to the MLS without the cost of an agent. Xome enables buyers and sellers to better understand the value of a home and conditions of the local market, thanks to Xome’s AI and data science team, which has built a lender-grade valuation model that is publicly available on the company’s consumer-facing website. Xome also offers a 100% digital closing experience for buyers and users can also leverage the Xome Auctions app for a mobile optimized endto-end experience. Xome recently launched real estate discovery and mortgage lead generation sites for two of the country’s largest mortgage servicers and two of the top five mortgage originators.

BIG DATA

DELIVERS HOW MORTGAGE COMPANIES ARE CAPITALIZING ON THEIR GREATEST RESOURCE BY SARAH WHEELER

58 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

NTIL VERY RECENTLY, the mortgage business revolved around

paper. In that universe, a borrower’s personal information and all the details of their loan were written down on a product made from a tree and stored in a filing cabinet. The only way to access that information

was for a human being to physically find the file and read it. Analysis was possible, but limited to the ability of people to create, update and share spreadsheets. Looking at that process now is like trying to remember how you navigated before GPS, or explaining to your kids how you wrote a research paper without the internet (“There was this thing called a card catalog…”). Not only was the loan process inefficient and slow, seeing and acting on any larger patterns was nearly impossible. The evolution from that paper-based process to this era of big data is astounding. Consider that according to IBM, 90% of the world’s data has been created in the last two years. The Internet of Things — your thermostat, refrigerator, even your kid’s Barbie doll — is increasing that data exponentially, leading IBM to estimate that by 2020 17 MB of data will be created every second for every person on the planet. Every person, every second. Wow. For mortgage companies, that data represents a treasure trove more valuable than the gold bars stacked in the vault at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, but only if they can figure out how to harness it for their specific business. Fortunately, scores of fintech companies are ready to help.

ORIGIN STORY The term Big Data was first used in a report by NASA scientists in 1997 to describe a volume of information that was difficult to process within the confines of a computer’s hard disk space. In fact, what constitutes big data changes in concert with our ability to generate and then

store the growing avalanche of information. Companies are constantly chasing new storage options, from hard disks to flash to cloud to hybrid — and whatever is coming next. For mortgage companies, accessing data from their own businesses was a necessary first step in their adaptation to big data, requiring significant investment to switch from a paper model to digital processes. But the real game changer comes from marrying their internal data with the information available from a myriad of other sources, including transactional data, machine data and social data. This is where mortgage companies rely on third parties to process this often-unstructured data into something useful. Not many lenders, servicers or investors would have the resources to employ data scientists to manage a data lake and extract meaningful insights. “It comes down to access, cost and solution availability,” said Julian Grey, mortgage market leader of the data and analytics division of Black Knight. “Ten years ago, a small lender or servicer simply did not have the resources to access comprehensive and linked data sets in order to develop data-driven strategies. At the same time, information and technology vendors had not yet developed many solutions to bridge this access gap.” Today, the market has an abundance of those solutions and mortgage companies are using them to transform every part of the loan process.

“WITH THE ADVANCE OF APIS AND WHITE-LABEL WEB PRODUCTS, MORTGAGE COMPANIES CAN NOW OFFER CONSUMERS DIRECT ACCESS TO BIG DATA.” — MARTIN MORZYNSKI, CMO, HOUSE CANARY HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 59

APIs EXPLODE One of the essential catalysts for leveraging data has been the rise of public application programming interfaces — APIs. There are web-based APIs, operating system APIs, database system APIs and hardware APIs. These modern APIs, which can be quickly developed and integrated, enable software systems to talk to each other (see sidebar). “The proliferation of new technologies has had a big impact on how big data is used,” said Martin Morzynski, chief marketing officer at HouseCanary. “With the advance of APIs and white-labeled web-based products, mortgage companies can now offer consumers direct access to big data via a website plugin or a report that’s generated and branded for the mortgage company but powered by a data and analytics specialist.” The number of APIs has exploded in the last few years, and for good reason. They connect the databases of mortgage companies and third-party vendors, allowing all parties to develop and utilize apps — whether for their customers to use or for their own internal purposes. APIs are the antidote to the data compartmentalization so rampant in the industry. Optimal Blue began an API-first initiative in 2017 and by any measure it has been a huge success, integrating 40 mortgage tech providers into its system and onboarding 100 clients who subscribed to its API platform in the first year. The company’s API strategy was a direct result of talks with clients and vendors, which revealed a critical roadblock to streamlining the mortgage process. “On the positive side, there were a whole bunch of innovative game-changing tech platforms being developed,” said Bob Brandt, vice president of marketing and alliances at Optimal Blue. “On the negative side, we were seeing providers requiring lenders to hand-enter rates into their products.” This manual process undermined the ability of the technology and produced data that didn’t reflect real-time changes. Optimal Blue’s first API integrations were for product and pricing data, but the company has expanded those offerings to include scenario pricing and locking. Users can not only create, 60 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

THE

MODERN

API Confused about APIs? That might be because their role has changed so much. What was once primarily a connection for mobile phone apps has grown to be much more. Here’s a summary explanation from MuleSoft:

update, and retrieve loans, but they can also retrieve, filter, and sort pipelines. “What’s held the industry back is integration. Our API-first strategy is all about breaking down those walls and making the digital process work,” Brandt said. APIs are fueling a race to make things better throughout the traditional loan lifecycle, starting with the very beginning of the loan process.

CUSTOMER ACQUISITION Competition for potential homebuyers is fierce, and customer acquisition and retention is a top priority for lenders. Data, combined with predictive analytics, can help real estate agents and lenders identify and target the right prospects before others do. DataTree by First American leverages its massive database of property information to allow lenders to pull very targeted leads lists for direct marketing campaigns, as well as generate a loan or lost lead analysis so lenders can determine who they lost business to. In addition, DataTree

Over the years, what an “API” is has often described any sort of generic connectivity interface to an application. More recently, however, the modern API has taken on some characteristics that make them extraordinarily valuable and useful:

mobile developers), they are documented, and they are versioned in a way that users can have certain expectations of its maintenance and lifecycle.

 Because they are much more standardized, they have a much stronger discipline for security and governance,  Modern APIs adhere to standards as well as monitored and managed for (typically HTTP and REST), that are de- performance and scale. veloper-friendly, easily accessible and  As any other piece of productized understood broadly. software, the modern API has its own  They are treated more like products software development lifecycle (SDLC) than code. They are designed for con- of designing, testing, building, managsumption for specific audiences (e.g., ing, and versioning. provides lenders with detail on their market penetration. “Lenders need to track their market penetration for analysis and compliance reasons,” said Brian Fluhr, vice president of marketing at First American Database Solutions. “We have worked with several lending customers to develop a graphical representation of their customers so they can visually represent their customers down to the subdivision level.” Real estate agents still advertise on billboards and deliver postcards via mass mailings to entire neighborhoods, but these tactics belie the true sophistication that many agents and lenders are using to connect with potential homebuyers at the beginning of their search. “Providing a level of detail that consumers crave but are unable to access is going to be huge for any data company that wants to make it in the future,” Morzynski said. “For example, it’s not enough to merely show which homes are for sale and offer price range and bedroom/bathroom filters for search — that’s something every

consumer is going to expect as a basic function of real estate search. “The real future differentiator will be giving buyers the power to filter a home search by school quality, crime levels, cash-on-cash investment return, and other factors that will make or break that home purchase for that buyer in that neighborhood right now,” Morzynski said. Providing a convenient way to access that information is also crucial to attract customers. “We think that the ability to begin the home-buying process from a smartphone is going to be the most disruptive way that data is going to transform lending in 2018 — and it will have the greatest potential within real estate,” Morzynski said. “As mobile technology advances and more companies are able to showcase their data abilities on smartphones and tablets, consumers will be given the freedom to dive deep into data from the devices in their hands, allowing them to shop for and buy homes literally anywhere.” But smartphone access is just the first step. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 61

“WITH THE EMERGENCE OF INDUSTRY DISRUPTORS, LEVERAGING DATA TO AUTOPOPULATE POINT OF SALE AND LOAN ORIGINATION SYSTEMS HAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED CYCLE TIMES.” — BRIAN FLUHR, VP MARKETING, FIRST AMERICAN DATA SOLUTIONS 62 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

Consumers expect what happens on their smartphone to be as painless as their other online interactions — an expectation that is often frustrated. The J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study showed that overall satisfaction with primary mortgage originators was down 8 points in 2017. “This is driven in part by reports of longer times from initial application to closing. On average, the purchasing process took 36 days this year, an increase of almost a week from 2016,” the survey reported. Importantly, although 43% of mortgage customers in the J.D. Power study said they applied for a mortgage online in 2017, satisfaction among that group declined by 18 points year over year and trailed satisfaction with in-person applications by 10 points. Mortgage companies can use data to change that metric by mining available information about the borrower and populating much of the necessary fields on the loan application automatically. “Historically, it was common for lenders to request all kinds of required information from the borrower, then have to wait as the borrower tried to find the information,” Fluhr said. “Lenders have found that information such as ownership, property value, homeowner association information (contact information, lien status and dues amount), tax status information and much more can be retrieved instantly, early in the loan decision process. This greatly reduces the burden on the customer and shortens the time required to make a lending decision,” Fluhr said. “Enhancing the customer experience was a big focus for all of our lender clients last year and continuing into this year. With the emergence of industry disruptors, leveraging data to auto-populate point of sale and loan origination systems has drastically reduced cycle times.”

VALUATIONS The valuation process has been a target of disruption for years, as those in the mortgage space — led by the GSEs — rely more and more on data to more quickly value properties and measure

loan risk compared to the traditional appraisal process. Freddie Mac started using Automated Collateral Evaluations in 2017 for certain loans to cut costs and speed up the transaction process for borrowers. HouseCanary launched a similar product in September 2017 and it’s now being leveraged by dozens of appraisal management companies and hundreds of appraisers all over the country. “After building and selling our real estate data and products since 2014, we’ve learned that there’s a lot data can tell you about a home — and a lot that it can’t tell you,” said Alex Villacorta, executive vice president of analytics at HouseCanary. “Our data and algorithms work with an incredibly small margin of error for the bulk of housing stock in the United States, but homes are more like snowflakes than assembly-line SUVs. “When it comes to outliers, like the highest-priced or lowest-price home on a block, then human oversight to fine-tune the details is critical to achieving an accurate home value. To address this insight, we developed the Agile Appraisal product, which feeds data analyzed and ready to a human appraiser, to allow them to focus on what they do best, which is valuing a home — not taking measurements and collecting information,” Villacorta said. That approach to valuation illustrates one of the key takeaways for data providers and data consumers alike: technology is best used to enhance human expertise, not supplant it.

TITLE For a long time, the process of accessing title information was stubbornly resistant to automation, with billions of recorded documents being housed in county offices all over the country. Today, however, APIs can make this part of the mortgage process seamless. Within DataTree, FlexSearch allows users to use a Google-like search to identify needed documents by locating any word, phrase, number or any combination of these to locate a document, such as a release of lien, a misrecorded deed or mortgage within the 6 billion recorded document images in DataTree’s data set.

“Specifically, Data as a Service solutions (like DataTree.com) that enable instant research of property and homeownership information provide the decision-making insight lenders need without searching multiple county web sites and submitting multiple requests to borrowers. Additionally, XML, API and Bulk Data requests enable lenders to fuel and monitor the application process.”

MAKING IT CLEAR As Big Data gets bigger, isolating and analyzing the parts that inform a specific business get harder, especially if it’s a small business. Companies that can distill data to inform specific decision-making that’s common within particular verticals of the industry are valuable indeed. “In the past, even if a small organization did have the financial bandwidth to curate and/ or purchase data assets, understanding how to apply and operationalize the myriad of use cases hidden within that data required dedicated personnel and highly specialized expertise,” Grey said. “The creation of analytics such as retention, prepayment and default scores, home price indices, listing, origination and performance indices mean small companies can apply these solutions in very specific ways to develop unique strategies, tailored to their unique needs, in a cost-efficient manner. “And when these information solutions are then integrated into BI solutions, LOS, and servicing platforms – the information itself is no longer hidden from view,” Grey said. The Black Knight Rapid Analytics Platform provides access to a multitude of data assets, combined with machine learning and predictive analytics libraries. The company is not only making its indices available via this platform, but also includes a number of traditional and machine learning analytics, including prepayment and default models, refinances scores, loan loss analytics and valuation analytics. “We actually originally developed this solution for our own use, since there was a material gap in the industry,” Grey said. “We’re creating an

external version because we know that, when it comes to data, one size does not fit all. This will let our clients rapidly deploy new analytics, create data queries and leverage the power of machine learning and massive computational power.” Finding new uses for the data flowing through their platforms is a hallmark of API-enabled businesses. Optimal Blue, as part of its primary business providing secondary marketing automation, connects originators, investors and providers in one platform, ingesting an enormous amount of data in the process. Through this data, the company saw an opportunity to develop a social media compliance solution for lenders. The decision required Optimal Blue, which acquired Comergence in 2017, to learn how to take feeds from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and build a data lake with the assets. During that implementation, the company realized it was more than just a software provider — it was also a data company. “We have one foot in the marketplace, facilitating transactions, and another in data,” Optimal Blue CEO Scott Happ said. “Our goal is to figure out how to package that information and make it a valuable resource for the mortgage industry.” Last year Optimal Blue deployed a business intelligence platform with a sophisticated visualization tool that makes data understandable. With its many lender integrations, the company has a unique window on the lending market and now provides investors with real-time insights on originators. “Historically, one of the challenges with data and analytics is that you end up with lots of data files that the client then needs to hire people to slice and dice. Our visualization tool makes this information understandable and meaningful to the client,” Happ said. With seemingly unlimited data to work with, mortgage companies are innovating at a furious pace. The end result is a better process for all involved. “The best consumer lending experience is quick, easy and without hassles — that is where the smart use of data can help both consumers and lenders,” Fluhr said.

“WHAT’S HELD THE INDUSTRY BACK IS INTEGRATION. OUR API-FIRST STRATEGY IS ALL ABOUT BREAKING DOWN THOSE WALLS AND MAKING THE DIGITAL PROCESS WORK.” — BOB BRANDT, VP MARKETING, OPTIMAL BLUE HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 63

A look at the booming and turbulent world of initial coin offerings

By Caroline Basile

nitial coin offerings are the latest red-hot investment trend, seeking to disrupt the traditional means of raising venture capital for startup businesses and firms. The market itself has witnessed an incredible expansion in the last year. For example, at the time I wrote this in early March, cryptocurrency market capitalizations topped off at $466 billion across more than 1,500 different coins. A year ago, that number was just $21 billion, according to Coin Market Cap, a website that monitors cryptocurrency and ICO markets. As the cryptocurrency market explodes and new coins, accompanied by white papers to seduce future investors, flood the market, is the Securities and Exchange Commission looking to cool down its rapid-paced growth?

RISKY BUSINESS So, how does it work exactly? An ICO usually involves selling a new currency, or token, as a way for a company to raise money. If that cryptocurrency succeeds and its value appreciates, the investor makes a profit, just like stocks on Wall Street. However, an ICO is not like a traditional stock investment. Buying in an ICO does not get you a share of the company, only a piece of coin in exchange for giving a startup some cash. The return on the investment is a coin with an increased value. Choosing to invest your money in an ICO can be a risky move. The unregulated market doesn’t have to answer

to the same regulations and requirements as traditional investments, like venture capital or stocks, do. However, it does react like other markets do, just more violently. Any number of news stories, market corrections, or regulatory changes in the cryptocurrency landscape can cause the market to react and the value of multiple coins to surge quickly or fall dramatically. Attorney Mark Rasmussen, a partner with the law firm Jones Day, likens some ICOs to the Wild West, saying the current landscape makes for difficult terrain for investors. “There were a lot of gains in bitcoin to be had last year and I think there’s a lot of fear of missing out on other cryptocurrencies,” Rasmussen said. “Some are rushing into the cryptocurrency market and contributing their hard-earned money into products that they don’t fully understand.” What makes it so difficult? Rasmussen explained the concepts behind these coins – blockchain and the cryptography it is created with – are new and need to be understood more thoroughly before leaping into an investment. “Blockchain technology and the cryptography behind it are new concepts to people and they don’t

BUZZWORDS

Cryptocurrency Also known as tokens, cryptocurrencies are representations of digital assets.

Blockchain A blockchain is a shared ledger where transactions are permanently recorded by appending blocks. The blockchain serves as a historical record of all transactions that ever occurred, from the genesis block to the latest block, hence the name blockchain.

Distributed Ledger Distributed ledgers are ledgers in which data is stored across a network of decentralized nodes. A distributed ledger does not have to have its own currency and may be permissioned and private.

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Distributed Network A type of network where processing power and data are spread over the nodes rather than having a centralized data center. Ethereum Ethereum is a blockchain-based decentralized platform for apps that run smart contracts, and is aimed at solving issues associated with censorship, fraud and third-party interference.

fully appreciate the impact of it,” he said. “They see the chance at making money and so they’re rushing into things before they fully appreciate it.” “There are a lot of good actors out there that are developing blockchain applications and issuing a token in ways that the SEC probably would not have any problems with,” Rasmussen explained. “But there are some bad actors out there, too, taking advantage of the frenzy and are not following the securities laws. Even more significantly, they’re making outright false statements in their offerings and promising things that can’t possibly be true and that’s where the real danger is.” To combat rising threats in cybersecurity, the SEC announced in September the creation of its Cyber Unit taskforce, which focuses on targeting cyber-related misconduct. The Cyber Unit is designed to focus the Enforcement Division’s cyber-related expertise on targeting cyber-related misconduct, such as cyber-related threats to trading platforms and other critical market infrastructure, market manipulation schemes involving false information spread through electronic and social media, hacking, dark web misconduct, intrusions into retail brokerage accounts and violations involving distributed ledger technology and initial coin offerings.

CRYPTO CRACKDOWN While not regulated, the digital currency market has certainly not gone unnoticed by regulators, including the SEC. In December, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton warned investors of the dangers of putting their money into cryptocurrencies, saying trading and public offerings in the emerging asset class may be in violation of federal securities law, according to an article in Reuters. Clayton’s statement came just hours after the SEC

“Reminder: cryptocurrencies are still a new and hyper-volatile asset class and could drop to nearzero at any time.” — Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum stepped in to stop an ICO for restaurant review app Munchee. In the enforcement action, the SEC halted the multimillion-dollar ICO for securities violations, but it wasn’t on allegations of fraud. The company simply didn’t register its offering under the securities laws. In its cease-and-desist order, the SEC argued that Munchee’s MUN tokens constitute securities because the tokens were “investment contracts.” According to the order, the tokens were ultimately deemed a security regardless of their “utility” when the sale took place. “Even if MUN tokens had a practical use at the time of the offering, it would not preclude the token from being a security. Determining whether a transaction involves a security does not turn on labelling — such as characterizing an ICO as involving a ‘utility token’ — but instead requires an assessment of ‘the economic realities underlying a transaction,’” the SEC wrote in the order. The SEC said that “about 40 investors” bought tokens through the sale, but it is unclear how much was raised by the group of investors. The agency also noted that it contacted Munchee on the second day of its sale and that it “did not deliver any tokens to purchasers.” The SEC picked up the pace after that, most recently serving subpoenas to 80 different ICOs, including one for an ICO from TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. In an interview with CNBC, Arrington said, “We received a subpoena. Every [crypto]fund I’ve talked to has received

Fork Forks create an alternate version of the blockchain, leaving two blockchains to run simultaneously on different parts of the network.

Public Address A public address is the cryptographic hash of a public key. They act as email addresses that can be published anywhere, unlike private keys.

Smart Contracts Smart contracts encode business rules in a programmable language onto the blockchain and are enforced by the participants of the network.

Mining Mining is the act of validating blockchain transactions. The necessity of validation warrants an incentive for the miners, usually in the form of coins.

Private Key A private key is a string of data that allows you to access the tokens in a specific wallet. They act as passwords that are kept hidden from anyone but the owner of the address.

Wallet A file that houses private keys. It usually contains a software client which allows access to view and create transactions on a specific blockchain that the wallet is designed for. All definitions from Block Geeks

HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 67

one,” but he didn’t seem to be bothered by it, adding: “That’s fine. They just have to figure out what they want. They need to set up rules so we can all follow them, and the market is begging them for that.” A December 2017 report from professional services firm Ernst and Young showed that more than $400 million raised through ICOs has been lost or stolen – more than 10% of total funds raised. EY reported that, at the time, the total amount of funds raised through ICOs was approaching $4 billion, twice the volume of venture capital investments in blockchain projects. But since late 2017, the ICO volume has been slowing down, and fewer projects are reaching fundraising goals. The professional services firm looked at more than 372 ICOs and found that in addition to the stolen funds increasing the project risk, the personal data of investors was also at risk of being exposed. EY explained in its report that phishing was the most widely used hacking technique for ICOs, with hackers stealing up to $1.5 million in ICO proceeds per month. The professional services firm research also noted that the volume of ICOs has been slowing since late 2017, with less than 25% of ICOs reaching their target in November 2017, compared to 90% achieving their target goal in June.

“There were a lot of gains in bitcoin to be had last year and I think there’s a lot of fear of missing out on other cryptocurrencies.” — Attorney Mark Rasmussen, a partner with Jones Day 68 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

ERRING ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION Investing in cryptocurrency or tokens can be a speculative endeavor and those considering putting any amount of money in it should be, as with any other investment, prepared to lose it all. “Take your time to understand new cryptocurrencies,” Rasmussen said. “Don’t get swept up in the hype of cryptocurrencies and don’t let your fear of missing out cause you to put money into an ICO that you can’t afford to lose.” Notably, Vitalik Buterin, the founder of the popular cryptocurrency and blockchain technology Ethereum, urged those looking to invest their savings to seek out traditional methods instead of putting their hard-earned money into volatile cryptocurrency. In mid-February this year, Buterin tweeted out a warning: “Reminder: cryptocurrencies are still a new and hyper-volatile asset class, and could drop to near-zero at any time. Don’t put in more money than you can afford to lose. If you’re trying to figure out where to store your life savings, traditional assets are still your safest bet.” If you’re seeking to invest in a company and a digital currency it is raising funds with, Rasmussen cautioned potential investors to take a close look at the white paper or other offering document that a company may have released leading up to the launch of an ICO. “Some are very professional and do a good job explaining the purpose of the token being offered and the ecosystem in which it can be used. Some do not. Some are riddled with errors and typos,” he pointed out. “Many of the companies launching ICOs are startups and they don’t have an operating history and they don’t have financial information that they can report, let alone audited financial statements,” Rasmussen continued. “They’re not providing really robust risk disclosures, which if you compare that to any securities offering that’s been registered with the SEC, there’s a long document that contains risks that the investor should be aware of.” Some ICOs have a version of that but again, many do not. So, how can potential investors proceed cautiously in a hyper-volatile environment? “Every potential investor in the ICO market should really study the white papers carefully, and look for hallmarks of fraud,” he said. “If people are promising specific amounts of returns that’s usually a sign that something is wrong there. If people are promising that they are compliant with all securities laws. That merits further investigation because to date there has been no ICO that’s been registered with the SEC and offerings done pursuant to a recognized exemption typically place restrictions on who can invest.”

Using cryptocurrencies for real estate transactions W

hile bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not widely accepted at major retailers or most websites yet, they can be used for larger purchases, like real estate, if the seller and buyer are willing to agree to the terms. The Keyes Company’s Elizabeth Perez Team completed the sale of a Miami townhouse on Feb. 7. This is believed to be the third such transaction to close in Florida as both real estate buyers and sellers are starting to embrace cryptocurrency, the company said. Manuel Perez of the Coral Gables, Fla.-based team closed the sale of the 1,321-square-foot townhouse for 41.35 bitcoin, or $338,878, at the time of sale. The transaction’s seller and buyer were not disclosed. The price of bitcoin can swing dramatically, so how was this transaction safe from those wild swings? Perez told HousingWire that to protect both sides of the transaction, there was a fluctuation limit in place during the transfer period for the money. “The value was set in dollars, and the number of bitcoins was determined at the moment of the closing,” Perez explained. “We negotiated with the buyer to have a fluctuation limit during the period of transfer, as a safeguard for both sides against a sudden crash or spike. Luckily, while there was some fluctuation, it was minimal by the time of receipt and everyone walked away happy.” Perez said this transaction shows that cryptocurrencies

are becoming “mainstream” in the real estate industry and business world. Perez is also handling a Miami Beach condominium in which the owner is willing to accept both bitcoin and ethereum currencies. “Real estate sales using bitcoin or ethereum are adding legitimacy to the use of cryptocurrencies in the real world,” he said. “Our team is seeing interest from other buyers and sellers in these kinds of transactions.” Perez said he sees bitcoin and ethereum transactions – for general goods and services, as well as real estate – becoming more frequent. Perez believes the volatility of the market comes from those who don’t quite know or understand the technology behind the coins. “The more people that read about it, and understand it, the more comfort you get with it, and the greater adoption you’ll have of it,” he said. With the sale of the townhouse, Perez told HousingWire he gathered articles, videos, forum posts and other information about cryptocurrency and studied it with his client, who was somewhat familiar with the technology and the coin but not the specifics of it. “It was really about the education to get them interested in it, as well as comfortable with what the technology and the ecosystem that’s built around it,” he said. “Looking back at PayPal, people had to continually use it to grow comfortable with it and the idea of putting their payment information online. This is a very similar process.”

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C O M P A N Y S P O T L I G H T: M O R T G A G E C A D E N C E , A N A C C E N T U R E C O M P A N Y | S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T

Borrower survey reveals 3 key observations in lending Lenders need to meet borrower expectations for the experience

ince 2016, Mortgage Cadence has been partnering with Accenture Research, polling American borrowers to determine what they were thinking, feeling and doing as they were moving through their mortgage application journey. In 2016, when we first asked borrowers to rate their level of satisfaction with lenders, 45% said they were ‘very satisfied.’ Just two years later in 2018, that number declined to 39%, leaving a staggering 61% of borrowers who are, at the very best, indifferent about their lender’s performance. It’s safe to assume a low likelihood of future business, an online review, or a recommendation to a friend or family member with such a low satisfaction rate. In any commoditized market where customers are looking for the lowest rates and fees, there is only one thing that separates you from your competitors: the borrower experience your organization is delivering. Most borrowers today aren’t loyal, and their indifference is preventing lenders from achieving real, sustainable growth. The barriers to a better borrower experience, such as a market transitioning to purchase-dominant and the complex regulatory environment, are real. Sales and revenue growth in your lending operations don’t happen without borrowers who are entrusting you to process their loan faster with less frustration. It’s good for them, and it’s good for your bottom line.

ONLY 25% OF BORROWERS ARE FULLY ENGAGED At a local level, lenders can take comfort in the fact that customers feel better about the relationship they have with their lender. The 2018 Borrower Survey of more than 1,500 U.S. banking customers revealed that 25% obtained their mortgage 70 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

from their primary financial institution. According to Accenture Research’s 2017 U.S. Mortgage Market Trends, small lenders have, in fact, become a dominant segment, increasing their market share from 19% in 2010 to 50% in 2016. This suggests a combination of great marketing by small financial institutions, fully engaged customers who want to keep their business with an organization whose employees they know, like and trust and a great technology stack that creates a better borrower experience. But any investment in your people, process or technology in order to gain market share has to begin with an understanding of the borrowers’ journey from start to finish. It’s through mapping each borrower touch point that you begin to identify where they may fall through a gap. Explore objectively the mindset and actions of your borrower at each stage; specifically, what are they thinking, feeling and doing. It is at this point of understanding that you can determine the best investments in people, process and technology that ultimately supports your organization’s strategy. In the absence of a borrower journey, you’re bound to fall back on digital and automation investments that aren’t designed to be a substitute for the human-to-human connection. This may, in fact, be the cause for a 6% satisfaction drop in two years.

REPLACING HUMANS WITH TECHNOLOGY IS SHORT-SIGHTED To be clear, 70% of borrowers surveyed don’t care about meeting you face-toface, however, they do want consistent personalized communication from real humans that things are on track to close as scheduled. A highly personalized borrower experi-

ence that is fast, simple, transparent and secure across all channels, both online and offline, is a universal want of all borrowers.

OBSERVATION #1 If you think you’ve won the borrowers’ business because you have their application in hand, that may not be the case. According to our 2018 Borrower Survey, 49% of borrowers applied to more than one lender, and of those who submitted applications to multiple lenders, 72% did so because they found a better price. What do you do when half of your borrowers are continuing to shop for a better price after they apply with you? Anything less than high touch from the moment you receive their application to the moment their signature is on the closing documents puts you at risk of losing the loan, and the customer. If you’re not competing on service than you’re competing on price, plain and simple. The real opportunity for sales and growth is by providing to a borrower the education, resources, hand-holding and assurance they need, want and frankly deserve as they embark on this highly emotional journey of home buying. This is, after all, the largest purchase of their life. If lenders fail to make immediate contact with the borrower and work immediately to develop rapport, relationship and trust, then the borrower may easily be plucked by your competitor, mid-transaction, who is doing just that, only much better and faster than you are. And, since you don’t get paid until the loan closes, if you fail to nurture them at every touch point and guide them on the journey, you risk not just lost revenue, but the added investment of labor and technology costs that you’ve already put toward this application.

C O M P A N Y S P O T L I G H T: M O R T G A G E C A D E N C E , A N A C C E N T U R E C O M P A N Y | S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T

OBSERVATION #2 Today’s borrowers demand multiple online and offline channels to use however and whenever they choose. They demand the convenience of borrowing their way, whether it is in person, over the phone, through the Internet, or by using a mobile app. Borrowers want a lending experience that puts them in the driver’s seat. But as much as borrowers want the convenience of multiple channels, they want something else even more — speed. They want an absolutely seamless experience across all touchpoints so that there are no delays and no surprises. In the study of 1,500 borrowers, 36% cited that it took over 24 hours for their application to be acknowledged as received by the lender. Acknowledged… As in a simple automated message that confirms receipt of their application, and that someone will be in touch with them immediately to have a chat about their exciting plans to purchase a home. Acknowledged… As in a telephone call from a friendly voice that congratulates them on completing the first step in a very exciting journey, and that you are there to support and guide them along. So, when we assess the Borrower Journey Map to better understand what borrowers are thinking, feeling and doing at each touch point, it’s safe to conclude that what borrowers are thinking at this stage of exploring products and rates is, “I wonder who has the best rate?”

What they are feeling is confused on how to compare different products and prices. And in the absence of immediate guidance from a professional who is offering to partner with them, what they are doing is continuing to apply with multiple lenders. If your people and process aren’t designed to immediately respond to an application, then you’re allowing the borrower to conclude that a relationship isn’t important to you. Conversely, when you respond quickly, provide education and nurture them, the borrower will no longer feel alone, and since feelings are the seeds of loyalty, it makes good business sense that you invest in training your people so that they can deliver an exceptional experience at every touch point, every time.

OBSERVATION #3 Digital channels are important to borrowers, and as mobile becomes more commonplace in all facets of banking, it will be essential for lenders to offer their customers a suite of digital lending channels that interact seamlessly with each other as well as with any offline channels. If lenders want to realize cost savings through their digital channels, they will have to ensure that these channels are highly personalized and in parallel with a human-to-human connection to achieve true customer engagement. As Mortgage Cadence and Accenture have consistently found in borrower stud-

ies, the simplicity borrowers are seeking extends all the way to the closing table where lenders are still not optimizing a safe and efficient piece of technology that is 100% designed to drive borrower satisfaction: eSign and eClose. Give customers the choice. Although lenders may be anxious to provide customers the option of eClosing, the 2018 survey found that 74% of borrowers would be comfortable with closing with eSign. Being borrower-centric means providing convenience and designing your solutions around their desires. By contrast, 61% of borrowers were instructed to wet sign their closing documentation, and 16% were instructed to sign both in person and electronically. There isn’t anything about those statistics that serve the satisfaction of a borrower.

INSPIRED LENDING Borrowers are ready for more sophisticated digital transactions, but lenders are playing catch up in many cases. By taking steps to ensure the online borrower experience more closely resembles the human-to-human experience — meaning highly personalized — you’ll be delivering an experience that is easy, simple, transparent and maybe even fun. After all, this is an exciting time for the borrower. By playing a greater role in ensuring an exceptional borrower experience, lenders can then work toward upselling and cross selling into other products. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 71

Photo Stephen Voss

Inside Baseball

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Inside Baseball

The woes of Ben Carson IT’S NOT EASY BEING HUD SECRETARY BY BEN LANE

HOUSINGWIRE PUBLISHED AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH HUD SECRETARY BEN CARSON IN OUR 2017 OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER ISSUE, WHEN THINGS WERE STILL PRETTY ROSY FOR THE NEWLY INSTALLED CABINET MEMBER. IN 2018, HOWEVER, THE SECRETARY HAS ENDURED A SERIES OF SETBACKS.

IN MARCH, A HUD EMPLOYEE accused HUD Secretary Ben Carson of running a “witch-hunt” and a “smear campaign” against a whistleblower who complained about HUD’s plan to spend $31,000 on a custom hardwood dining set that was to be installed in Carson’s office. In an email sent to Carson, Marcus Smallwood, who is HUD’s director of records and information management within the office of administration, said that HUD employees have been operating in “fear” since Helen Foster first spoke out about the controversial dining set. Foster, who was HUD’s chief administrative officer, recently filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, accusing HUD management of taking “retaliatory personnel actions” against her for raising concerns about the dining set purchase. In his letter (which was first reported on by Politico and subsequently obtained by HousingWire), Smallwood paints a picture of the turmoil that’s existed within HUD involving non-politically appointed employees, often called “careers.” “Helen Foster is not the only person at HUD that has been persecuted in this witch-hunt under your watch,” Smallwood wrote. “She is the only person who has been brave enough to stand on principle and put her career, reputation, and livelihood on the

line,” he continued. “The rest of us have operated in fear. I have had my subordinates and peers also suffer from retribution as leadership has run this campaign against Helen.” Smallwood also notes the recent posts on Carson’s personal Facebook and Twitter pages, where Carson seemingly responds to the number of allegations that have surrounded HUD recently. “Thank you to so many who have expressed concern for me and my family over the latest accusations. Rest assured that there has been no dishonesty or wrongdoing by us. All the numbers and evidence are being gathered and a full disclosure is forthcoming,” at the end of February. “We suspect, based on past attempts, that they will continue to probe and make further accusations even without evidence or substantiation. We will continue to ask for God’s guidance to do what is right.” According to Smallwood, that post painted Foster in a negative light. “Last week you tweeted from your personal account that Helen Foster’s claims were ‘unsubstantiated.’ You essentially called a whistle blower a liar not 24 hours after the story broke,” Smallwood said. “A week has gone by and it is now very clear that Helen Foster was not lying about the furniture purchases,” Smallwood HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 73

Inside Baseball

continued. “I have seen nothing from HUD to defend her as a whistle blower with regards to the furniture purchase.” But in a statement provided to HousingWire, HUD spokesperson Raffi Williams said that Carson’s posts do not represent an official comment about Foster or her claims. “HUD has not officially commented on any of Ms. Foster’s allegations,” Williams said. “Ms. Foster has a pending case against the department. The agency has a policy of not commenting on pending cases.” Williams also said that HUD is “fully cooperating” with the 74 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

Office of Special Counsel in regards to Foster’s allegations. Smallwood also claims that he and others at HUD have suffered harassment relating to Foster’s allegations. Asked about that allegation, Williams said: “The Secretary does not tolerate harassment.” Smallwood also said that he “participated in the silencing of employees trying to protect them from the malicious activities of senior leadership at HUD” in the last several months. Smallwood also claims that “undue influence” was placed on both he and Foster to process a Freedom of Information Act

Inside Baseball

request that was “of a political nature” in a different manner than how FOIA requests are usually handled. To that, Williams said: “FOIA requests are typically processed in the order they are received. HUD receives FOIAs of a political nature almost every day, and they are handled in our normal process.” Smallwood also claims that Foster was demoted twice in retaliation for asking “tough questions” and subsequently prevented from working in government. “It was her job to be conscience of HUD and ask the tough questions and when she did that, she was not just demoted two levels (she was essentially moved from being over me to under me), she was blocked from other job opportunities at every turn because of the smear campaign that was conducted to prevent her from working in government,” Smallwood writes of Foster. But Williams told HousingWire that Foster is still a HUD employee, but per her request, is currently on detail with the Department of Treasury and is expected to return once that detail is completed. Smallwood closed his letter by advocating on Foster’s behalf. “I’ve known Helen for approximately five years and she believes in the Constitution, she believes in HUD’s mission, and she believes in the law,” Smallwood wrote. Smallwood also asked Carson for written responses to three questions: 1. When are you going to apologize to Helen? 2. When are you going to reinstate her? 3. When will you make a public statement that all employees at HUD should feel free to follow the law, ask when they are unsure, and not fear retribution? “I feel this should come from you directly, as you have now participated in the smear campaign against Ms. Foster with your tweet,” Smallwood added. Williams told HousingWire that Smallwood’s email is “under review.” The brouhaha started when The New York Times reported that HUD officials spent more than $31,000 on a new custom dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson’s office in late 2017. And according to another report in The Guardian, the agency is planning more furniture upgrades to the tune of $165,000. The New York Times’ report explains the table was purchased a month after Foster filed a whistleblower complaint against Carson’s wife, Candy Carson, for pressuring department officials to locate money for the redecoration efforts. The purchase was made right around the time the White House circulated its plans to cut HUD programs by billions of dollars, The New York Times’ Glenn Thrush reported. The NYT further reported that Carson “didn’t know the table had been purchased,” but does not believe the cost was too steep and does not intend to return it,” Raffi Williams, HUD’s communica-

“

There are more complexities here than in brain surgery. Doing this job is going to be a very intricate process.”

tions director, told the paper. “In general, the secretary does want to be as fiscally prudent as possible with the taxpayers’ money.” The NYT’s report also stated that HUD officials did not seek approval from the House or Senate Appropriations Committeesfor the purchase, despite federal law requiring congressional approval “to furnish or redecorate the office of a department head” if the cost exceeds $5,000. From the NYT report: Mr. Williams said department officials did not request congressional approval because the dining set served a “building-wide need.” The table is inside the secretary’s 10th-floor office suite. The decision was made by a “career staffer” who selected the company, Sebree and Associates, which is based in Mr. Carson’s longtime hometown, Baltimore, from a list of preapproved federal contractors, Mr. Williams said. Additionally, The Guardian reported that HUD agreed to spend $165,000 on “lounge furniture” for the agency’s headquarters, in addition to the new dining set purchased for Carson’s office. The Guardian’s Jon Swaine reported that HUD officials signed a contract last September with an Indiana-based seller for the furniture, according to a federal procurement record. The paper also reported that Williams said in a February email that further records on the lounge furniture contract were not immediately available. In another report from The Guardian, Foster, now former chief administrative officer for the agency, says she was demoted, in part, for refusing to spend more than the allowed amount to redecorate Carson’s office. Foster said she was pressured multiple times to “find money” beyond the $5,000 limit for redecorating, in a November 2017 complaint obtained by The Guardian. In one instance, Foster said a supervisor told her that “$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair.” In another instance in the complaint, Foster was told during a one-on-one meeting on February 10, 2017 with HUD Acting Secretary Craig Clemmensen, that the administration “has always found money for this in the past.” Carson summed up his time at HUD in an interview with the New York Times in March: “There are more complexities here than in brain surgery. Doing this job is going to be a very intricate process.” HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 75

Kudos GIVING BACK

MILESTONES

• Aiming to help low-income

• M/I HOMES, a homebuilder

families move up the economic ladder, the J. RONALD TERWILLIGER FOUNDATION FOR HOUSING AMERICA’S FAMILIES is giving $3 million to ENTERPRISE COMMUNITY PARTNERS, a nonprofit that designs and builds affordable housing. The grant is designed to create “innovative, integrated approaches” in areas like job training and healthcare that can increase economic mobility. The grant will be used to fund a two-year effort that includes assessing existing programs and identifying priority needs. Enterprise will partner with the URBAN INSTITUTE to detail the current landscape and identify areas that may provide the greatest prospect for increasing opportunity. The grant will also create an economic mobility network to build on existing relationships with key partners to create a data-driven, capital-supported approach for sharing knowledge and demonstrating new strategies for increasing opportunity.

with operations in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, is expanding into Michigan by acquiring PINNACLE HOMES, a Detroit homebuilder. Pinnacle currently controls more than 1,000 home sites and delivered 214 homes in 2017 in the Detroit area. In July, HOME BAY, a San Diego-based startup that offers real estate services for a flat fee, announced that it raised $5 million to fund its expansion beyond California. Since then, Home Bay has expanded to Florida, Illinois, and Georgia and now, Home Bay has expanded into Texas as well. Home Bay offers a team of licensed real estate agents along with a technology platform that expedites each transaction to borrowers for a flat fee of between $2,000 and $3,500. Home Bay claims that the flat fee can save consumers an average of $16,000 per transaction over the traditional 3% listing fee charged by real estate agents. TITLE SOURCE unveiled a massive rebranding effort and will now be known as AMROCK. The new name comes in part from Amrock’s parent company, ROCK HOLDINGS, which also owns QUICKEN LOANS. Rock Holdings is also the parent company of ONE REVERSE MORTGAGE; QUICKEN LOANS MORTGAGE SERVICES, IN-HOUSE REALTY, ROCKETLOANS, and ROCK CONNECTIONS. While the company shares a parent and a technology focus with Quicken Loans, Amrock gets a significant portion of

SIGNINGS • FLAGSTAR BANK signed a definitive agreement to purchase a mortgage warehouse loan portfolio from SANTANDER BANK. As part of the transaction, Flagstar will bring on Santander’s existing relationship managers, adding the employees to its warehouse business. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 76 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

its business from other lenders, including nine of the nation’s top 10 lenders. Amrock CEO Jeff Eisenshtadt said the company outgrew its previous name after being known as Title Source for more than 20 years, and said that the company operated with different names in many states due to state naming requirements involving the use of the word “title” in the company’s name. UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE is expanding its virtual eClosings to borrowers in 16 states, and making the option available to purchase borrowers. Previously, the company announced it completed its first virtual eClosing on July 28, allowing borrowers to complete their closing completely remote for refinances. While e-mortgages are making strides in the housing industry, eClosings are still rare. But UWM’s solution allows borrowers to FaceTime or Skype with the notary, making it the first eClosing borrowers can complete remotely.

Other eClosing solutions require borrowers to physically be with a notary, even while signing remotely. Now, the company expanded from its original four states of Illinois, Montana, Virginia, and Washington to offer its product in 12 additional states. NEW PENN FINANCIAL, a mortgage lender owned by SHELLPOINT PARTNERS, is expanding into Nevada by launching SYNERGY HOME MORTGAGE. Synergy Home Mortgage will be based in Reno, and is licensed to operate thought the state of Nevada. Synergy is also a joint venture between New Penn and local real estate firms DICKSON REALTY and FERRARI-LUND REAL ESTATE. The company will focus on partnering with local Realtors and real estate agents to “provide a complete line of residential mortgage products” for homebuyers in northern Nevada. Synergy will operate under New Penn’s Shelter Mortgage subsidiary, which New Penn acquired back in 2014.

Kudos

LAUNCHES • HousingWire launched HOUSINGJOBS, a brand-new online career center created exclusively for mortgage and real estate talent. The career center can be found at HousingJobs.com and through a link featured in the top navigation bar at HousingWire.com. “We hold a unique vantage point into trends in the mortgage industry and we strive to identify opportunities to better support our audience and clients. One such persisting trend is the challenge related to identifying and hiring qualified talent,” Clayton Collins, CEO of HousingWire and HW Media, said. “HousingJobs connects employers with the most knowledgeable, talented and successful housing professionals — HousingWire readers.” For employers, the platform includes an advanced applicant tracking system, promoted postings through HousingWire and branded employer profiles. Job seekers will benefit from search tools to identify the right opportunities, job alerts and an employer directory. CORELOGIC unveiled a new pair of flood risk tools. Future Flood, which provides updated flood map information to the company’s servicing clients, and Next-Day Notification, which provides Life of Loan Determination updates the day after the FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY’S latest flood map becomes effective, debuted in a soft launch at the MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION’S SERVICING conference, in Grapevine, Texas. The determination means

homeowners can grandfather in more favorable flood insurance rates, even if future changes shows increased risk of property damage due to flooding. “With Next-Day Notification, servicers no longer have to wait up to two months for map change notices,” said Scott Little, CoreLogic underwriting and workflow solutions executive. “With Future Flood, now, for the first time, originators and servicers will have access to pending flood map data in advance of the change to provide greater transparency at origination and to reduce risk throughout the servicing lifecycle.” In February, CALYX SOFTWARE launched Zip, a new loan interview platform for loan originators to use with prospective borrowers. The platform allows LOs to interview prospective

borrowers via a custom, branded URL and borrowers are able to access the platform online or via mobile device. Zip prompts prospective borrowers with questions that apply to their unique situation and loan inquiry to improve the borrower’s experience and the quality of leads originators receive. Zip features a mobile-responsive website design, Spanish language functions and integration with the company’s Point and PointCentral software. UNISON HOME OWNERSHIP INVESTORS, a provider of home ownership investments, and VALLEY NATIONAL BANK, the wholly-owned subsidiary of VALLEY NATIONAL BANCORP, launched their 5% down payment program. The 5% down program will be given in conjunction with an 80% loan-to-value

mortgage to provide buyers with short and long-term savings. The program works by allowing homebuyers to put down 5%, while Unison invests 15%, allowing the buyer to take out a 20% LTV loan. Unison would then share the changing home values – thereby profiting if the value increases and losing money if it decreases. The program is currently available in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with plans for further regional expansion in 2018. LENDERCLOSE launched a new compliance tool to help companies navigate the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Its new tool will allow community banks and credit unions to validate and export HMDA required data fields to meet the requirements set by the CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 208 77

Knowledge

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W H I T E PA PE R: Chronos Solu tions | SP ONSOR E D CON T E N T

Knowledge Center

Perfecting your process for tax monitoring and lien release INTRODUCTION In our business, more so than perhaps any other but health care, the details are critically important. Mortgage lending involves the creation of such a complex financial instrument that no single party can complete the work alone. It takes a team of partners to originate, service and ultimately release mortgage liens. Making sure that every party in the value chain is meeting the highest possible standards for performance requires financial services companies to employ the best possible vendor partners and then manage them according to a set of best practices to ensure fully compliant processes. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made it abundantly clear that the lender or servicer is responsible for every action taken on their behalf by a third party. This has placed a heavy burden on the industry because our product is complex and the details involved in compliant origination and servicing are many. A well-defined process is critically important for every aspect of our business. Unfortunately, in our work throughout the home finance industry, we have rarely witnessed prospects using well-defined, best practices-based processes for every aspect of their operation. Too often, especially for smaller servicers and those banks and credit unions that service their own portfolios, we find that certain functions are relegated to a secondary position in terms of importance. In our experience, tax monitoring and lien releasing are two areas that do not often get enough attention, but are still subject to investor and regulatory requirements that make mistakes costly. These financial institutions do a fantastic job of building solid relationships with their borrowers and members. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy

to understand why they want to maintain that relationship by servicing their own loan portfolio. Unfortunately, these firms are not staffed to handle every aspect of the servicing operation and do not have the internal expertise to handle every function. Failure to meet compliance requirements can cost the bank far more than it earns by maintaining the servicing. The solution for those that choose not to hire a sub-servicer is to outsource functions that internal staff are not qualified to perform. To mitigate the risk that comes with hiring third parties and to get the most out of these external relationships, there are a set of best practices that should be employed. In this white paper, we will describe a method for developing and implementing a solid process, specifically as it pertains to the functions of tax and lien release. This information will be of value to anyone working to establish an effective process for outsourcing these activities.

FOCUS ON GETTING YOUR PROCESS RIGHT Once the decision has been made to outsource any business function, the first concern is in perfecting the process for making that happen effectively. Too often, companies focus on the end result and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lay the groundwork for making the journey. First, focus on the process. We have visited with many executives over the years who have provided a workflow diagram that they learned bore little resemblance to the current operation.

To read the entire white paper, visit the Knowledge Center at knowledge.housingwire.com. HOUSINGWIRE â?ą APRIL 2018 83

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Knowledge Center

W H I T E PA PE R: Ellie M a e | SP ONSOR E D CON T E N T

The true digital mortgage AN ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION FOR A CHANGING INDUSTRY OVERVIEW We hear a lot these days about the benefits of the “digital mortgage.” The term is widely overused, yet its promoters have largely under-delivered on its true promise. Often they are simply referring to the online applications that have been available for well over a decade. Others define digital mortgage as an eClosing, again merely citing one moment in the lending process. Here’s the real question: If the solutions currently being promoted as a digital mortgage really streamline the process, why does it still take up to 60 days to close a loan? A true digital mortgage must encompass the entire loan lifecycle, from targeted marketing automation to lead generation to application and all the way through to automated investor delivery. Only then will the promise of the digital mortgage pay off for both borrowers and lenders.

A DIGITAL MORTGAGE FOR HOMEBUYERS To better understand the preferences of U.S. homebuyers, Ellie Mae surveyed more than 3,000 Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. The Ellie Mae Borrower Insights Survey found that across generations and genders, homebuyers want a mortgage experience that combines speed, convenience and security with personal interaction. When Millennials were asked what could most improve the experience, nearly a quarter said they would like the mortgage process to move faster. Not just the application process, but the entire process. While that response was expected, more surprising was that nearly the same number of millennials also desire more personal interaction. Today’s borrowers expect transparency, service and speed, and a human touch. To meet these requirements,

lenders must offer an engaging, intuitive user experience that continues even after the application has been submitted. Lenders should have access to current and historical data on every individual borrower, and provide an intuitive borrower portal that offers a simple, transparent interaction, the ability to easily upload documents, and real-time status updates, with the ability to talk to someone at any point in the entire process.

A DIGITAL MORTGAGE FOR LENDERS As lenders learn what it takes to engage all borrowers, they must also adjust to a purchase-centric market with lower volumes, higher expectations of on-time origination dates being met, and tougher scrutiny of the bottom line. In this environment, the savvy lender is focused on reducing the cost of origination (now at nearly $8,000 per loan, according to the MBA) and recognizes the need for automation, exception-based processing, and the ability to better leverage data in all aspects of the origination process. This is where the true digital mortgage earns its name. Through the use of front-end intelligent automation, the true digital mortgage not only helps lenders engage with consumers to generate more leads, but also helps them manage loan processing on an exception basis in order to fund and close more loans faster, all while reducing overall origination costs. What’s more, the true digital mortgage enables the lender to gather behavioral, transactional, and performance data, and make smarter decisions through predictive analytics and machine learning.

To read the entire white paper, visit the Knowledge Center at knowledge.housingwire.com. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 85

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W H I T E PA PE R: Docu T ech | SP ONSOR E D CON T E N T

Knowledge Center

10 ways dynamic document software can optimize the borrower’s loan experience SPECIALIZED TECHNOLOGY AND COMPLIANCE EXPERIENCE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE WHILE THE FOUNDATION for the federal government’s current regulatory oversight of the financial services industry is consumer protection, the customer experience has also been a strong driver of change within the industry in general. Providing an excellent experience will set great companies apart, and failing to do so will result in losing business to those companies who make it a priority. In the mortgage process, customer experience is most impacted by the many documents a consumer must read, sign and deliver. From the initial application to disclosures to closing, making documents clear, accurate and easy to access can make the difference between a frustrated customer and raving fan of your mortgage company. The right document solution partner can optimize the mortgage lender’s delivery of an exceptional customer experience. In part, this results from specialized technology, but it also springs from domain expertise, adept staff members and compliance experience. In this white paper, we’ll address 10 ways the right partner can help any mortgage lender deliver an excellent customer experience.

sonal information to only deliver it again to a live operator. And yet, that’s what mortgage lenders do on a regular basis. First the loan officer asks for a great deal of information only to be followed by the loan processor requesting the same information. Consumers already feel that the mortgage process is intrusive. Asking for information more than once makes this worse and degrades the overall experience. The right dynamic document solution partner gets around this by providing a tight integration between the document preparation technology and the lender’s loan origination system (LOS). A seamless integration will make it easy to get the data directly from the LOS and onto the documents in the correct way. By dynamically generating documents, the information that’s already inside the LOS is used to complete the documents without going back to the borrower. Built-in data verification algorithms check the information coming out of the LOS to ensure that it is the required data for the forms in question. If it’s not, a good platform will send back an error message without printing documents that are out of compliance.

1. NEVER ASK FOR THE SAME INFORMATION TWICE If the rise of Automated Voice Response technology taught us anything, it was that consumers hate to be asked to key in per-

To read the entire white paper, visit the Knowledge Center at knowledge.housingwire.com. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 87

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W H I T E PA PE R: Su ther l a nd | SP ONSOR E D CON T E N T

Knowledge Center

How digital solutions are transforming the mortgage customer experience Sutherland, which provides process transformation for compaTHE MORTGAGE LOAN PROCESS continues to be an expensive, time-consuming endeavor for mortgage companies, which are nies across a range of industries, and leverages expertise in defacing not only the challenges of meeting escalating regulatory sign thinking and data analytics to streamline mortgage lending. requirements, but also heightened consumer expectations for a Its solutions deliver the right balance of automation and human input to reduce the amount of time and money spent on every quick, painless process. The cost of originating a loan climbed to more than $8,000 loan. Using digital solutions from Sutherland, lenders can create in the first quarter of 2017, driven largely by compliance with a satisfying mortgage experience for homebuyers with an agility regulations put in place over the last decade. Those regulatory that helps their bottom line. costs are likely to grow over the next year as lenders incorporate the new Home Mortgage Disclosures Act (HMDA) rules, which THREE GAME-CHANGING DIGITAL CAPABILITIES require changes to policies and procedures, integration with Sutherland provides a connection point between artificial intelcurrent software solutions or the purchase of new solutions, and ligence and human effort with three key solutions that can be training for staff. deployed separately or work in tandem to generate a smarter loan Those climbing compliance costs coincide with a growing ex- process: robotic process automation (RPA), data analytics, and pectation among consumers for a mortgage loan process that customer journey mapping. delivers the ease and convenience provided by other companies RPA interfaces with existing systems to perform complex rulesthey transact with. A PwC study on consumer lending found that, based tasks. This technology mirrors the way humans navigate “Other than economic factors or having an existing relationship, the user interface, controlling applications through the existing borrowers believe the most important factor in choosing a lender commands of whatever legacy systems are in place. RPA’s design is the speed of the process.” makes it a good fit for some of the repetitive, checklist driven The only way mortgage companies can meet this need for speed work in mortgage lending, while injecting quality control and while still being compliant is to deploy technology solutions that assurance in the process. enable their human employees to be as efficient as possible. And to provide real value, this technology has to go beyond simple software applications to perform complex tasks in a way that reproduces human decision making: it requires applying artificial To read the entire white paper, visit the Knowledge Center at knowledge.housingwire.com. intelligence to the mortgage process. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 89

GSE Report

Hensarling blames Watt for GSEs’ Treasury draw CRITICIZES WATT FOR ORDERING FANNIE, FREDDIE TO CONTRIBUTE TO HOUSING TRUST FUND BY BEN LANE

ONE of the top Republicans in Congress lays the blame for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needing money from the government for the first time since 2012 not on the Republican tax plan’s reduction of the corporate tax rate, but rather, squarely at the feet of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt. In a letter sent in mid February to Watt, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said that Watt could have avoided the need for a Treasury draw by suspending the government-sponsored enterprises’ payments to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund, but chose not to. And Hensarling wants to know why. When Fannie and Freddie reported their fourth quarter earnings in February, they indicated that the GSEs would need approximately $4 billion total from the Treasury to eliminate budget deficits caused by the new tax law reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% . But, as Hensarling notes, Watt sent letters to both Fannie and Freddie earlier in February ordering each GSE to make its payments to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund as scheduled, even though all parties involved knew that the Republican tax plan would likely trigger a draw for both Fannie and Freddie. “While the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

requires Freddie Mac to re-measure its net deferred tax asset using the new law’s lower corporate tax rate which will trigger a one-time charge through the provision for federal income taxes and will likely require a draw under the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, I do not consider this one-time event to relate to any financial instability on the part of the Enterprise either now or in the future,” Watt wrote in the Feb. 7 letter to Freddie Mac. Despite acknowledging that Freddie (and Fannie) would likely need draws from the Treasury, Watt directed the GSEs to make the payments to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund, citing the amount of profit that each GSE has sent to the Treasury in the last several years. In December 2014, Watt ordered the GSEs to begin contributing to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund again. Contributions to the funds, which aim to provide support to states to build, preserve and ultimately increase the supply of affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income families, were suspended in 2008. As Watt notes in his letters, each of the GSEs has “consistently generated profits” since he ordered them to restart the affordable housing contributions, with Fannie declaring dividends of $31.9 billion and Freddie declaring dividends of $21.4 billion in the HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 79

GSE Report

“

If the GSEs don’t have the money to pay their own bills, they should not be making optional payments to outside entities.”

period between December 2014 and the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act late last year. And under the terms of the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements that went into effect when the government took the GSEs into conservatorship, Fannie and Freddie send dividends to the Treasury each quarter that they are profitable. According to Watt, combining those dividends, which were sent to the Treasury under the terms of the PSPAs, and the expected positive effect of the lower corporate tax rates on the GSEs’ bottom lines going forward, meant that the GSEs could afford to make the affordable housing contributions, even if it meant taking a draw. But, in Hensarling’s view, Watt’s decision is flawed and wrong, and he wants to know why Watt made it. 80 HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018

“The even more troubling aspect of the GSEs financial crisis is FHFA Director Mel Watt’s continued insistence to siphon taxpayer dollars to prop up payments to the Housing Trust Fund that the GSEs cannot afford to make,” Hensarling said in a statement after Fannie reported its fourth-quarter earnings. “If the GSEs don’t have the money to pay their own bills, they should not be making optional payments to outside entities. That was an essential part of Director Watt’s 2014 unilateral decision to force Fannie and Freddie to make Housing Trust Fund payments,” Hensarling continued. “Director Watt personally guaranteed these rules in his 2015 congressional testimony: ‘If we ever have a draw on the Treasury, that would automatically stop the funding of the Housing Trust Fund.’

GSE Report

“I call on Director Watt to do his duty, stand by his word, and immediately suspend these payments.” Hensarling went a step further in his letter to Watt, pressing the FHFA director for more details on his decision. “The requirement to continue making payments to the Funds despite their PSPA draw from Treasury directly contradicts both your 2014 supervisory guidance issued to the GSEs outlined when FHFA reinstated payments to the Funds, as well as your own Congressional testimony before the Financial Services Committee,” Hensarling wrote. “Given your 2015 remarks to Members of this Committee and the letter of the 2014 supervisory guidance you developed to justify the discretionary policy changes you imposed through

your office, your refusal this month to automatically stop GSEs payments to the Funds as FHFA stated would occur following a GSE draw of new taxpayer funds is unjustifiable,” Hensarling continued. “Congress must have the confidence that it can rely upon the credibility of the regulators it empowers to faithfully execute their authority and provide accurate written and verbal assurances of their decisions,” Hensarling added. “Otherwise, Congress cannot perform appropriate oversight of those regulators to protect the interest of taxpayers.” To that end, Hensarling said Watt had to provide his reasoning for allowing the GSE contribution to the funds. “I demand you provide a detailed written explanation by Friday, Feb. 23, 2018, of how your decision to require continued GSE payments to the Funds, despite the need for a new draw on Treasury funds does not directly contradict your previous written and verbal guidance from 2014 and 2015, and how the FHFA intends to limit your ability to exercise your discretion in the future so that it can establish a consistent policy on this subject that provides both clear and reliable guidance to Congress and the GSEs,” Hensarling concluded. As of press time, there was no report that Watt had responded to Hensarling’s demand in the requested time frame. For its part, Fannie Mae expects to return to profitability within the year, which may make Hensarling’s demands a moot point. After Fannie Mae reported that it suffered a net loss of $6.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, CEO Timothy Mayopoulos predicted the government-sponsored enterprise will return to profit for the full year 2018. “We had a solid quarter in that our business performance was excellent,” Mayopoulos told HousingWire by phone in February. “The quarter’s earning are not a reflection of our underlying business. We will also benefit from the lower corporate tax rate.” So, how is that underlying business performing? According to recent analysis by DBRS: At Fannie Mae, FICO scores are trending downward over time, DTIs increased slightly and LTV ratios remained relatively stable. The similarities in loan characteristics resulted in comparable delinquencies, disaster-affected areas aside, Mayopoulos adds. “For the actual loss pools, cumulative net losses are at or close to 0% because the definition of credit event net loss excludes any mortgages 180+ days delinquent and the loans in these deals are not seasoned enough to experience certain credit events,” DBRS wrote in its recent, special report that reviews the U.S. housing market and the residential mortgage-backed securities. “We do expect to be profitable in 2018,” Mayopoulos added, saying that Fannie Mae remains dedicated to their true customer; that is mortgage originators and investors. “We are a b2b business, we’re not a b2c business,” he said. HOUSINGWIRE ❱ APRIL 2018 81