Technology

Equator reports that over 675,000 short sales have been initiated on its platform since the short sale capabilities were launched in November 2009. The company's short sale technology module connects lenders, homeowners, and their selling agents in order to streamline the approval process for transactions. The company also reported that more than 50 percent of all short sale closings under the federal government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program have taken place on its platform.

CoreLogic recently released Vector Securities, a platform to enable transparent and dynamic loan-level analysis of non-agency residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS). The company says the transparency at both the deal- and loan-level provided by the new technology is key to enabling a new era of confident securitizations and reestablishing the RMBS market as private liquidity returns.

iPad is the latest mobile device with access to a Realtor.com app, according to details released Tuesday by Move, Inc., operator of the official site of the National Association of Realtors. Compatible with iPad iOS 4.0 or higher, the free app provides property listings with maps and GPS directions, among other features. Realtor.com mobile apps have been downloaded 3.6 million times with active users increasing by 79 percent in four months.

The Loan Post, Inc. has introduced a new do-it-yourself private label short sales system. ShortSales360 produces e-signature-ready documents for the federal Home Affordable Foreclosures Alternatives (HAFA) short sale initiative. It also calculates probable lender losses if a foreclosure is executed and the net investor benefit in a short sale transaction, so lenders and investors can determine if a short sale makes financial sense.

As home prices began heading further and further south, the term ""strategic default"" made its way into industry jargon...and into the minds of lending and servicing professionals already struggling to keep up with large volumes of borrowers who actually can't afford their mortgage payments. It's a fairly new phenomenon that the industry agrees needs addressing, but the problem is, how do you pinpoint a strategic defaulter? The credit assessment firm FICO says it's developed a method, using consumer behavior analytics, that will allow lenders to identify borrowers who might walk away.

Mortgage Cadence recently announced that its Mortgage Cadence Reprise system can assist servicers in meeting proposed requirements to mortgage servicing procedures. Mortgage Cadence Reprise is a Web-based solution that provides servicers with automation technology, and the company says it will allow servicers to effectively respond to mortgage reform in the servicing industry while providing the customer service expected by state attorneys general and federal regulators.

Real estate executive John T. Price has been named director of operations for HouseSavvy, a national online real estate resource that offers advice from industry experts to educate homebuyers, as well as sellers, about what to expect and how to prepare for transacting in today's real estate market. In this role, Price will work with HouseSavvy CEO Joe Benevides to expand the no-cost services of the online site to the national level.

Aklero Risk Analytics, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based provider of automated data and document validity assurance for the mortgage industry, has appointed Richard J. Downing as EVP of sales. Downing is a veteran of the mortgage and consumer data industries, with more than 30 years' experience in working to deliver technology-based consumer lending solutions to residential and equity lenders.

CoreLogic Credco, a provider of merged credit reports, recently integrated its FinalCheck suite into the Ellie Mae Encompass360 mortgage management solution. FinalCheck is an automated Fannie Mae loan quality initiative (LQI) compliance suite that assists lenders in verifying credit, application, and fraud data. The company says the technology can help lenders uncover undisclosed debt prior to loan submission and mitigate repurchase risk to avoid loan buy-backs from the GSE.

ISGN, a provider of technology solutions and services to the mortgage industry, has hired John Axt as title products operations and delivery executive. With a strong industry background in workflow design and customer service, ISGN says Axt brings to the company a penchant for creating efficiencies in the production and delivery of title products and services.