Residential Briefs

MBA (6/10/2008 ) Palaparty, Vijay
NeighborWorks America Offers Training, Online Learning Center
NeighborWorks America, Washington, D.C., will offer foreclosure counseling training in Burbank, Calif., July 28-Aug. 1. Courses include foreclosure intervention, credit and default counseling.
Upon completion, students will receive certification. Scholarships and lodging for housing counselors from qualified nonprofit agencies are available. For more information, visit http://www.nw5.org/training/schol_event.php?event=80.

Additionally, NeighborWorks America launched an online learning center and is offering its first course, Foreclosure Basics, an introduction to foreclosure intervention counseling. The organization is offering the course at no charge until the end of 2008 to HUD-certified housing counseling organizations, state housing finance agencies, municipalities and other government agencies.

Insured Banks and Thrifts Earn $19.3 Billion in the First Quarter
Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported net income of $19.3 billion in the first quarter, a decline of $16.3 billion (45.7 percent) from the $35.6 billion that the industry earned in the first quarter of 2007.

The FDIC cited higher provisions for loan losses as the primary reason for the drop in industry profits. The size of the earnings decline was mainly attributable to a few large institutions, but 50.4 percent reported lower net income in the first quarter.

CRMnow Announces Mortgage iQ on Demand
CRMnow, Aliso Viejo, Calif., a provider of foundational customer relationship management for lenders, will offer its Mortgage iQ software as a hosted monthly subscription. CRMnow hosts clients’ Calyx Point, Microsoft Office and now Mortgage iQ CRM software, also providing virtual access to data files.

Mortgage iQ streamlines lead management, provides sales force and marketing automation including credit analysis, loan scenario and debt consolidation analysis, loan application and Good Faith Estimate input. It completes workflow with loan pipeline tracking, commission tracking and automated condition triggers.

1-800 East West Mortgage Selects MRG for Document Preparation Services
1-800 East West Mortgage, Marlborough, Mass., selected MRG Document Technologies, Dallas, a provider of compliance and documentation services for the financial industry, for its document preparation services. 1-800 East West Mortgage uses disclosure documents and compliance packages through MRG’s Miracle Online browser-based system for its loan products including mortgages, refinances and mortgage closing.

FNC to Help Fannie Mae Streamline Appraisal-Related Processes
FNC Inc., Oxford Miss., announced that Fannie Mae will use its Collateral Management System to mitigate risk and streamline its appraisal-related processes. Fannie Mae began using FNC’s CMS to streamline its foreclosure appraisal processes in two divisions: the National Property Disposition Center and the National Underwriting Center, both in Dallas.

Additionally, the CMS will automate some of Fannie Mae’s manual processes, including ordering appraisals and the subsequent tracking, receipt, analysis and reporting processes related to appraisals.

Cogent Road’s Funding Suites Incorporates IRS Tax Information
Cogent Road, San Diego, a provider of online applications for the mortgage industry, launched a new feature in Funding Suite, its credit management platform, which enables loan originators to retrieve borrowers’ tax documents online from the IRS.

This feature provides mortgage originators to access tax documents online in PDF format. Security features include 128-bit encryption and direct access from the Funding Suite platform to the IRS without third-party intervention.

NYLX Launches LendingArt System
NYLX, Mt. Arlington, N.J. a provider of point-of-sale product eligibility and pricing technology systems, launched LendingArt, www.LendingArt.com, an information portal that provides loan product eligibility and pricing information as well as the mortgage industry news and information.

In addition to free eligibility and pay-as-you-go loan pricing, LendingArt offers properties and tools such as a program and guidelines search engine, a scenario desk, investor news and profiles, a business and events directory and a messenger tool that updates subscribers on program guidelines, rates and loan requirements.