Industry Briefs Oct. 5, 2020
Digideck, OptifiNow Partner to Offer Customized Sales Enablement
OptifiNow, Seal Beach, Calif., a provider of CRM and marketing automation, announced a partnership with cloud-based presentation platform, Digideck, Minneapolis. The partnership enables users of OptifiNow to send personalized presentations to prospects and customers.
Digideck is a presentation tool that uses video, animations and personalization to communicate with prospects, customers and partners. OptifiNow is a CRM and marketing automation platform designed to help salespeople generate leads and close deals more effectively.
GSEs’ Mortgage Translations Online Clearinghouse Now Includes Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (announced the addition of Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog language resources to the Mortgage Translations clearinghouse. These additions to the online repository improve the ability of interested parties to navigate the mortgage and homebuying process by enabling the mortgage industry to better assist consumers in their primary language. The repository also includes documents translated into Spanish and traditional Chinese.
To further support individuals who are limited English proficient, the clearinghouse added a list of industry resources available to provide oral interpretation services. These resources can help LEP consumers navigate topics such as fraud avoidance and scam detection, foreclosure prevention, financial management and budgeting, financial wellness coaching, buying or renting a home, and mortgage options. These no-cost services support more than 250 languages and can provide the clarity and confidence needed to better support sustainable homeownership.
Insellerate Partners with Project Hope Alliance
Insellerate, Costa Mesa, Calif., a provider of mortgage lead management, CRM & engagement platforms, launched a partnership with Project Hope Alliance to help close California’s digital divide in education.
For each demo booked and performed in September, Insellerate made a donation to Project Hope Alliance who serves the 32,000 homeless children in Orange County, that will enable a child access to a Wi-Fi hotspot. For any lenders who sign a new contract Insellerate will make a donation and enable a student to have a Chromebook and Wi-Fi for the school year.
QuestSoft Hosts Free Virtual Lending Compliance & Risk Management Conference Oct. 26-28
QuestSoft Corp., Laguna Hills, Calif, will host a virtual event October 26-28 that will provide lenders educational sessions on compliance and risk management along with networking events. This free event will have a special emphasis on providing practical and realistic guidance on current and future compliance and risk management issues.
The conference will host 10 sessions, two social happy hour opportunities, and three networking events. All sessions will be live with the ability to interact with speakers from across the industry, including attorneys and regulators.
Registration and more information can be found at https://www.lendingcomplianceconference.com.
DocMagic, VirPack Integrate Platforms
DocMagic Inc., Torrance, Calif., integrated its eSign platform with VirPack to enable seamless exchanges of loan files and docs for compliant eSigning through DocMagic’s eSign platform.
Using VirPack’s API, electronically signed documents can automatically be accessed and retrieved from DocMagic’s eSign platform and delivered to the appropriate party, establishing a secure, seamless exchange of sensitive borrower information and documents. A set of user notifications alert customers to all DocMagic eSign platform events.
E Mortgage Management Changes Name to EMM LOANS LLC
E Mortgage Management LLC., Cherry Hill, N.J., a residential mortgage lender, announced it will begin its transition into operating under its new legal name of EMM LOANS LLC and with the brand/logo of “emmloans.”
“The original brand served its purpose in shaping the company’s formative years,” said President and COO Kevin Crichton. He said the new brand represents a “simple, clean and transparent way to obtain a home loan. The digital platform behind the scenes expedites the process, resulting in a smooth and easy customer journey.”
Avison Young Acquires Proptech Company Truss
Avison Young, Toronto, acquired intellectual property and other select assets of proptech company Truss.
In addition to Truss’s intellectual property, Avison Young brought two dozen Truss software engineers, data scientists, digital analysts and brokers to its team. Truss Founder Bobby Goodman will join Avison Young as a Principal.
Avison Young said it plans to expand the Truss platform to further digitize the commercial real estate leasing and sales processes.
Green Street Sells Green Street Investors
Green Street, Newport Beach, Calif., sold investment manager subsidiary Green Street Investors.
Green Street said the decision reflects a plan to focus on its core offerings: research, news, data, analytics and advisory services.
Green Street Investors was purchased by Craig Leupold and Nicholas Tannura, who have managed the business for several years. Green Street Investors will now operate as GSI Capital Advisors. It will continue to invest in publicly traded real estate investment trusts.
Impac Mortgage Re-Enters Non-QM market
Impac Mortgage Corp., Irvine, Calif., announced it restarted its Non-QM lending programs. The company said it is now offering Bank Statement, Agency Plus (for borrowers who fall just outside of GSE guidelines), Investor and Asset Qualification loans with 48-hour underwriting decisions and loan limits as high as $3 million and cash-outs up to $2 million.
Impac announced plans to re-launch its Non-QM program and to start wholesale VA and conventional lending in August on its 2Q earnings call. At that time, the company said it would follow “a disciplined ramp-up for Non-QM, with a target run rate of $15 million to $20 million per month in 2020, rising to a $75 million monthly run rate by the middle of 2021.”
Black Knight: Loans in Forbearance Rise for 1st Time in 6 Weeks
Black Knight, Jacksonville, said its weekly Blog showed mortgages in active forbearance increased for the first time in six weeks, as plans rose by 21,000 over the past week.
Black Knight said the increase was driven primarily by an uptick among portfolio-held and private labeled security loans, which rose by 28,000 for the week. FHA/VA loans also saw a slight increase of 2,000. Those increases were partially offset by a 9,000 decline in GSE forbearances.
As of September 29, Black Knight said 3.6 million homeowners remain in COVID-19-related forbearance plans, or 6.8% of all active mortgages, unchanged from last week. Together, they represent $751 billion in unpaid principal.
SimpleNexus Launches Team Members
SimpleNexus, Lehi, Utah, launched SimpleNexus Team Members, a feature that allows lenders to work more efficiently by managing loan file permissions and employee workflows based on assigned user roles.
Lenders can assign SimpleNexus users to roles such as loan originator, LO assistant, processor, disclosure desk personnel, closer, post-closer or settlement agent. Lenders may also limit user access to a specific list of loan files or to loans associated with specific collaborators. Once Team Member settings have been configured, user workflows, notifications and document access are automatically customized based on Team Member assignments.
