Technology

The Short Sale Association of America (SSAA) recently launched a pre-notice of default (pre-NOD) map for real estate professionals looking for distressed property leads. Users can find and order pre-NOD leads by ZIP code and number of days late on mortgage payments using an interactive heat map. The new heat map provides lead counts for each state, county, and ZIP code, which are live-streamed from the credit bureaus. The map is also color-coded to illustrate high to low rates of default.

RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, launched a new foreclosure search widget in February for real estate agents and brokers. The widget allows users to INSERT IGNORE a fully functional nationwide foreclosure property search on their Web sites, which delivers real-time foreclosure data from RealtyTrac.

DepotPoint, Inc., a provider of Web-based default management, short sale, and REO workflow solutions, recently partnered with Code Violation Services, Inc., a provider of code violation disclosure reports and vacant property registration services. With this partnership, users of TrackPoint, DepotPoint's technology platform for managing default transactions, can now perform code violation checks on their REO properties.

DRI Management Systems, Inc., a provider of default process management software, added new functionality with several new modules to version 1.4 of its flagship technology. Officially relabeled DRI Office, the platform was previously known by its development code name, Rincon. According to DRI, the new version was created to relieve mortgage servicers' workloads and improve results with capacity planning, workflow tracking, services ordering, and enhanced communication capabilities.

Romspen Investment Corporation, the largest non-bank lender in Canada, will use the Mortgage Office from Applied Business Software Inc. (ABS) to administer its commercial loan portfolio and manage its mortgage investment fund. ABS is a Los Angeles-based global provider of software systems to the lending industry. Romspen's current portfolio is $500 million, and the company's mortgage investment fund has thousands of investors.

Coester Appraisal Group, a nationwide appraisal management company based in Maryland, announced the appraisal industry's first smart phone application last week. The free application, currently in beta testing and available later this year, connects Coester Appraisal Group with staff, contracted appraisers, and its lender and broker clients.

A new module available from Fiserv, Inc., LoanServ: LoanLink, gives lenders the ability to offer borrowers the option to access their loan information, including loss mitigation options, via an Apple app. Consumers can update their loan information in real-time via the Internet or iPhone or iPad application, and retrieve such details as payoff requests, payment histories, and information about loan modifications and other options for borrowers struggling to make their mortgage payments.

InHouse Inc., a California-based appraisal management company and provider of appraiser management technology for banks, lenders, servicers, credit unions, and other mortgage originators, now offers technology to manage multiple broker price opinion (BPO) vendors, including BPO companies, appraisers, and individual real estate agents and brokers, via its Connexions appraisal management system.

Three of the top five lenders use Point In Time for retro income verification, according to Equifax. Point In Time, a service that validates and documents a borrower's employment and income at the point of loan funding, is provided by Equifax's the Work Number, the largest source for employer employment and income verifications.

The technology firm RES.NET, Inc. is adding a Short Sale Portal to its Accelerated Management Platform (AMP) to provide mortgage servicers with tools to manage the short sale workflow process and connect with their borrowers and representing listing agents. The company is also launching a HomeOwner Portal, a secure application borrowers can go to in order to complete the short sale application and stay abreast of the status of their transaction through direct links with the servicer and listing agent.