Technology

Stewart Lender Services, a nationwide provider of centralized origination, loss mitigation, and REO asset solutions for mortgage lenders and servicers, has announced three key partnerships that will allow the company to expand its service offerings. Stewart is collaborating with Inglet Blair, LLC, Spectrum Field Services, and Field Asset Services.

BrokerPriceOpinion.com, a California-based provider of customized valuation solutions, now provides a new online repair cost estimator with its broker price opinion (BPO) services. The tool, available as an add-on to the BPO, generates repair estimates for REOs, short sales, and other properties. It covers interior and exterior repair cost and maintenance estimates and complies with new GSE and interagency valuation requirements.

DecisionReady, a provider of default servicing compliance solutions, released a pre-foreclosure review module for the DecisionReady Compliance Suite on its cloud-based technology platform this week. Operating like a compliance quality control checklist, the pre-foreclosure review module enables servicers to ensure they meet the requirements for reviewing a delinquent mortgage loan.

Oklahoma-headquartered a la mode, a developer of desktop, mobile, and Web tools for the real estate and mortgage industries, is expanding its Mercury Network vendor management platform (VMP) to offer broker price opinions (BPOs). Mercury Network is an online VMP, allowing lenders and appraisal management companies to manage appraisals nationwide.

Cogent QC Systems released Version 3.0 of its CogentQC.NET platform, which includes ServicingQC.NET for quality control of servicing processes as well as ProductionQC.NET for quality control of loan originations. The new release includes enhanced functionality for audit findings feedback, enterprise level security features, and additional user controls.

Equator launched a new Web site Friday along with three new modules: Loan Segmentation, REO Segmentation, and Invoice Management. The company says these new modules will seamlessly interface with existing modules to offer an end-to-end default suite to assist servicers with upcoming inventories.

Last week a New York judge ruled that the relationship between Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) and its members is not one in which the company can act on behalf of the lenders in filing documents and proceeding with foreclosures. But judges that same week in Kansas and Massachusetts ruled the connection between the company and its members does allow for such actions. MERS issued a statement Wednesday saying it plans on making some changes so that members are not allowed to foreclose in MERS' name.

Federal regulators have amended their interagency appraisal and evaluation guidelines for real estate transactions, and confusion has set in. According to Pro Teck Valuation Services, the 70 pages of hard-to-decipher rules and conditions have led industry participants to ask the following question more than anything else: What can I use to replace broker price opinions (BPOs)? Pro Teck says it has two products in production and available to clients today that meet the new interagency requirements.

Real Info, Inc., a national technology provider of real estate data and automated valuation models (AVMs), is offering AVMs with property condition reports designed to meet new regulatory appraisal and evaluation guidelines. Real Info contracted with Safeguard Properties, the nation's largest privately held mortgage field services company, to provide third party condition inspection reporting with full photo documentation.

Real estate software developer RES.NET has created a free, online Agent University. The new University is available in the AMP (Accelerated Management Platform) section of the RES.NET Web site and allows professional level members to sign in and take advantage of several classes designed to enhance their skills and advance their careers, as well as additional courses that are specific to the company's AMP system.