Technology

In order to provide mortgage lenders and their investors unprecedented assurances of appraisal quality and value accuracy, Solidifi U.S., a New York-based provider of full fee appraisal services, recently launched the Solidifi CoverageMAX and Solidifi CoveragePLUS insurance programs. Created in conjunction with Companion Specialty Insurance Group and Wells Fargo Special Risks, Inc., these appraisal warranty insurance programs aim to attend to the risk mitigation concerns of mortgage lenders and their investors.

Valligent has announced the introduction of V-Cert, which certifies that Valligent's desk reviews are completed in accordance with secondary market investor and rating agency requirements. The company says this new guarantee provides investors with confidence in the collateral value of the loans they purchase and shifts the collateral due diligence to the prior-to-funding stage.

NeighborWorks America announced Tuesday that it received $1 million from the Rockefeller Foundation in New York to support infrastructure development and technical upgrades for the organization's network of nonprofit housing counselors. NeighborWorks says the grant will help to strengthen and supplement its counseling capacity and increase the efficiency with which its community-based members are able to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Appraisal technology provider InHouse, Inc. has announced the launch of InHouse Connexions. The company says it's the industry's first technology for managing any combination of disparate appraisal vendors, including appraisal management companies (AMCs) and individual appraisers, from a single platform.

Mortgage Delivery Specialists (MDS), a provider of mortgage servicing rights acquisition due diligence analysis services, and Indecomm-Mortgage Dynamics Inc. (IMDI), a mortgage banking management consulting and outsource services firm, recently announced a strategic partnership. As a result, IMDI will immediately begin incorporating MDS's mortgage servicing analysis product into its suite of mortgage servicing solutions.

As the real estate market continues to fight an uphill battle towards recovery, the dream of homeownership seems to be dying out for some consumers, at least for the time being. According to a new online survey conducted in May, 76 percent of consumers deemed renting to be the more favorable option to owning a home in the current real estate market, a 5 percent jump from the 2008 survey results.

Mortgage Pricing Systems (MPS), a developer of sophisticated pricing solution for mortgage lenders, recently announced that it has integrated its flagship mortgage product and pricing system - LEAP! - into Calyx Point, a loan origination application for mortgage brokers and bankers offered by Calyx Software, a provider of loan marketing, originating, and processing software. With this integration, MPS can now provide instantaneous loan pricing to Point users.

S&P Valuation and Risk Strategies and Fiserv, Inc. have joined forces to further industry implementation of the American Securitization Forum's (ASF) Loan Identification Number Code (LINC) initiative. Fiserv is the first technology provider to integrate ASF LINC in its loan servicing platform. By doing so, the company hopes to provide increased disclosure and transparency to the mortgage and asset-backed securities marketplace.

RealtyTrac announced this week the hiring of technology and Internet veteran Jesse Gant. In his role as VP of product and user experience, Gant will lead a team to develop a product plan and vision to drive membership and revenue growth. He will also spearhead new site initiatives, including social networking capabilities, aimed at improving page views, sales, and retention rates.

Sending letters of notification to homeowners throughout the delinquency life cycle is a requirement to meet insurer, investor, and state guidelines. Failure to send mail to a valid address can invalidate a foreclosure action and result in penalties. Technology provider IndiSoft has added U.S. Postal Service address verification to its RxOffice platform to help its clients address this issue.