Under pressure from a tight credit and regulatory environment, companies in the mortgage space have responded by leveraging technology to gain more ground. In some cases this has meant adapting current systems to accommodate new processes, and in others, it has meant creating entirely new mortgage technology products.
In this section we highlight products that are game-changers for companies working hard to adhere to regulations while still providing great service to their clients. The list features products ranging from new mobile platforms to a loan-level audit capability that will reshape the way audits are done for years to come.
By tackling the challenges head-on, these companies are setting themselves up for long-term success. The efficiencies they see today will continue to pay dividends in the future as they realize significant gains from a faster, more streamlined process.
The importance of accurate data to everyone involved in the mortgage lending process is hard to overstate. In a time of increased regulation, the reliability of property-centric information is key to staying compliant.
DataTree was purpose-built to address mortgage professionals’ three priorities in choosing a property research and mortgage information solution: data quality, speed and ease of use.
“Throughout the mortgage lifecycle — from customer acquisition to providing the data, property reports and insight that empowers zero defect loans — DataTree is the property, homeowner and mortgage information solution lenders depend on,” said Brian Fluhr, vice president of marketing.
Data quality is of first importance, and DataTree offers the broadest data coverage in the industry, leveraging market-leading title plants and 5.5 billion recorded document images.
The company’s exclusive FlexSearch feature allows access to previously unsearchable information, so mortgage professionals can search any name, phrase or item in billions of recorded document images, nationwide.
By unlocking more data, FlexSearch can help reduce risk and mitigate fraud.
DataTree provides instant access to a variety of information, including:
- Property details
- Interactive sales comparables
- Transaction history
- Chain of title, direct from First American’s title plants
- Lien history
- AVMs
- Recorded document images
And by using DataTree’s Verified Record, which digitally matches property information against multiple, independent sources, mortgage professionals can have confidence in the property data they access through the company.
“Using DataTree means lenders can confidently verify homeowner and property information, explore 100% of the data contained in recorded documents and search, discover and share property-centric information with greater speed and ease,” Fluhr said.
In a first for users outside of title underwriting, DataTree gives users direct access to title plants, making it easier to validate a property’s chain of title. And the company’s Integrated Search merges map, address, owner and APN into one search solution so professionals can search multiple properties at once.
“DataTree helps professionals do more in less time,” Fluhr said. “Integrated Search allows professionals to search multiple properties at once, FlexSearch can help quickly identify hard-to-find documents and Verified Record can reduce the time required to independently verify standard mortgage transactions."
First American invests heavily in acquiring data, in developing data solutions to solve customer challenges and in building its team of data professionals.
“Every day, we seek the opportunity to make accessing accurate real estate data easy for our customers. We also continue to invest in customer research, which we incorporate into all of our solutions, including DataTree.com,” Fluhr said.
“DataTree makes accessing property, homeowner, and mortgage information more powerful, intuitive and insightful than any other property-centric research solution on the market today.”
