By Mike Sorohan

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Residential Technology Forum recently created an eWarehouse Workgroup to inform and educate originators and warehouse lenders on the benefits of supporting an eClosing process and the secondary marketing efficiencies it provides.  

The eWarehouse Workgroup has been hosting monthly calls (the next call is Wednesday, Sept. 9) toward that goal. "We are encouraging collaboration and participation from all counterparties to develop industry standards for eWarehouse business processes, based on electronic exchange of data and documents, which improve operational efficiency among lenders, document custodians, investors and warehouse lenders," said Rick Hill, MBA vice president of industry technology.  

Hill said the Dodd-Frank Act, along with new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requirements, such as Qualified Mortgages, Ability to Repay and the upcoming TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule (slated to go into effect Oct. 3 ) "almost mandate that all parties implement an electronic process in order to prove compliance and defend against future audits or challenges." With the new regulations, all parties now must retain electronic evidence for a minimum of five years to prove that they met all compliance and regulatory requirements.  

The eWarehouse group was created by MBA, operating within ResTech, to support industry education and raise awareness for adoption of an electronic funding process (eWarehouse) as part of the overall eClosing initiative. Further, eWarehouse will expand the acceptance and increase the volume of eNotes sold into the secondary market.  

Brenda Clem, CMB, eWarehouse director with Street Resource Group Inc., Cincinnati, and Tim Anderson, director of eServices with DocMagic, Saint Johns, Fla., are co-chairs of the eWarehouse Workgroup.  

Clem, who was first exposed to warehouse lending back in 1996 when she worked for Provident Bank, said eClosing technology is critical to warehouse lending compliance and success, noting that the warehouse industry has slowly recovered after the financial crisis in 2008. Before the crash, she said, more than 150 warehouse lenders were in operation; after the crash, that number fell to around 20 and has slowly improved to 70 today.  

"When we look at where the CFPB has focused--on eClosings and the integrated disclosures and the electronic audit trail being collected--the person sitting in the middle of those transactions is the warehouse lender," Clem said. "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are willing to buy eNotes, but we need others to buy eNotes as well. For those of us who want greater efficiencies and want to move the industry forward, we have to move forward with the eClosing process.  Currently, Merchants Bank of Indiana and ArcLight Financial are soliciting eNote business from interested parties.  Having warehouse lender participation will broaden the Investor market for acceptance and purchase of eNotes, expand the securitization market for eNotes and reduce cost and risk to all counterparties."

Clem said participation in the monthly eWarehouse Workgroup calls has averaged about 60 attendees. "About three-fourths [of participants] have been lenders who want to learn more about what eOrigination looks like; some want to learn more about warehouse lending," she said. "We have also had strong participation from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and MERS. We want more independent mortgage banks and more warehouse lenders.  We want to emphasize not only what the benefits are, but also create awareness of who else will buy these notes."  

Anderson said interest in the eWarehouse Workgroup picked up after CFPB Director Richard Cordray held an eClosing forum earlier this month.  

"A lot of people are now connecting the dots with the upcoming TRID deadline and three-day delivery rule," Anderson said. Many see the advantage in cutting down the delivery time from (six to ten days) with Mailbox Rule Vs advantage with eSign/eConsent to assure 'receipt of delivery' three days prior to consumption. Lenders and title companies/agents say 'If I can do this with the one document, (electronic delivery of the Closing Disclosure) why can't we do "all" the closing documents three days prior to closing?'"  

Anderson also noted increased interest from major warehouse banks on board now to start buying eNotes to differentiate themselves in the marketplace by providing a "new and better way of doing business" as well offering better execution and efficiencies on funding.  One of the significant benefits of eClosing is ensuring that all the data and documents are current, compliant and correct prior to closing so you don't have to incur the time and costs of re-underwriting the loan post closing prior to funding.  "Another benefit of eClosing is to have a full electronic audit trail to show proof of compliance, (electronic evidence) around eDelivery, eAcknowledgement and eConsent of receiving the disclosure from application to closing which travels with the documents," he said.

Anderson expressed concern that the overall preparedness of warehouse lenders and originators in meeting new eClosing requirements is still "minimal."  "The purpose of our eWarehouse workgroup is to create education and adoption by knocking down still long-held misunderstandings and perceptions that have been out there for a long time," Anderson said.  

The next eWarehouse Workgroup call takes place Wednesday, Sept. 9 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET. For more information on participating, contact Rick Hill at rhill@mba.org or 202/557-2718; Tim Anderson (DocMagic) at tim@docmagic.com; or Brenda Clem (Street Resource Group) at bclem@streetresource.com.  

Clem said the eWarehouse Workgroup will also have a presence at the upcoming MBA Independent Mortgage Bankers Conference, Dec. 2-4 in Nashville, Tenn.; for more information, visit https://www.mba.org/store/events/conferences-and-meetings/independent-mortgage-bankers-conference. 

As featured by MBA NewsLink, August 2015

CALIFORNIA

ANAHEIM

Carrington Mortgage Services appointed Dennis Hueman to senior vice president of centralized lending.

Prior to joining Carrington, Hueman served as senior vice president of PennyMac Mortgage, charged with building the retail purchase money and builder platforms for retail lending.

Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions with American Equity Mortgage, H&R Block Mortgage Corp. and Household Finance.

MISSION VIEJO

Comergence, a provider of third-party vendor and risk-management platforms for the mortgage industry, has hired Dave Crugnale as business development manager.

Crugnale comes to the firm from Perrin & Associates, where he served as senior consultant.

He also served as an executive at several mortgage lenders and appraisal management companies including InHouse Appraisals, Mirad Financial, Cub Funding/Market Street Mortgage and Conti Mortgage.

TORRANCE

DocMagic Inc. named Gavin Ales as chief compliance officer.

Prior to joining DocMagic, Ales was the deputy chief compliance officer at Prospect Mortgage.

He specializes in mortgage banking compliance, federal and state regulatory compliance, financial services law, real estate law and consumer credit law.

ILLINOIS

CHICAGO

Berkadia has expanded its multifamily investment sales team with 12 new hires across the Midwest.

The new additions, all joining from Marcus & Millichap, include nine multifamily investment sales advisors and three supporting team members, who will be located in Berkadia's Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., offices.

Senior Directors David Gaines and Alex Blagojevich, along with Director Michael Sullivan, are the leaders of the coordinated team.

Gaines and Blagojevich have investment sales experience across several states, including Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.

Prior to joining Berkadia, both served as vice president investments and senior directors for the national multihousing group at Marcus & Millichap.

Sullivan, who will be joining the Kansas City office, brings 12 years of commercial real estate experience to Berkadia. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a senior associate at Marcus & Millichap.

Berkadia's investment sales team has also added six associate directors: Grant Kollman and Brett Meinzer to the Kansas City office, Patrick Sullivan to the St. Louis office and Greg Gonzalez, Chris Bruzas and William Ryan to the Chicago office.

The Chicago office also welcomes Greg Bloomer as a marketing assistant, Robert Perez as an analyst and Brynne Barnard as a transaction manager.

NEW YORK

NEW YORK

Two Harbors Investment Corp. appointed Jeffrey Hurley as managing director and chief technology officer.

Hurley has over 25 years of experience in technology management and prior to joining the company served as managing director, head of technology, at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board since 2011.

From 2004 to 2011, he served as an executive director, fixed-income technology at Nomura Holdings.

As featured by National Mortgage News, August 2015

With TRID now only weeks away, companies are focusing on extensive compliance expertise as being key to managing loans and being positioned for automated audits.

“Compliance is more and more important, and non-bank lenders now have the same type of compliance systems that the traditional banks have long had,” says Gavin Ales, the new chief compliance officer for DocMagic. “Consumers expect companies to be compliant.”

The sheer amount of training, workshops and webinars that Ales and his team has put on for lenders in the last six months has been jaw-dropping, says Joe Bowerbank of Profundity Communications, but adds that the feedback they’ve collected on compliance issues as been invaluable.

“it’s a great time to be a compliance officer,”  says Bowerbank.

The upcoming TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) will allow mortgage professionals to take control of the closing process, generate closing documents and schedule closings directly with the title company – something that has taken on a new sense of urgency for those in the mortgage industry

“(We’ve) been working very closely with our clients, LOS partners, industry experts and other mortgage entities to be absolutely 100 percent certain that we are TRID compliant,” says Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic.

But it also means those in the industry need to be up to speed with the requirements of the “Know Before You Owe Rule” by the October 1 deadline.

Being “up to speed” is crucial, as it boils down to the reputation of the originator, says Ed Fournier of Connecticut Home Mortgages.

“You need to be up-to-date on all the changes because one missed change could affect a borrower and hurt an originator’s reputation,” Fournie

r told MPA. “If I’m not up to date on the mortgage changes, someone else in my office is.”

As featured by Mortgage Professional America, August 2015

by Brad Finkelstein

DotLoop takes the headaches and duplication out of managing real estate documents - right up until the part of the transaction with perhaps the most voluminous and confusing documentation, the mortgage.

So it's only natural to ask whether Zillow, which closed on the purchase of DotLoop for $108 million Thursday, intends to expand its new acquisition into the mortgage doc space.

The online real estate listings giant already has a foothold in mortgages, after all, with its loan rate advertising business. And with a $1.5 billion market cap, Zillow has the resources to take DotLoop places a startup couldn't go on its own.

"It is probably a great opportunity for Zillow to expand its capabilities," said Mark McElvoy, the CEO at Pavaso, a Plano, Texas, firm that offers a similar collaborative document management system for real estate closings.

Such an expansion is possible, but it would be tricky to pull off, industry watchers said.

Mortgage and real estate sales operate under different regulatory schemes, said Scott Stucky, chief strategy officer at DocuTech, based in Idaho Falls, Idaho. While real estate brokerages are mostly regulated at the state level, mortgage originators are regulated by local, state and federal officials, he said.

Then there is the document package size. Real estate sales typically involve just the contract and a couple of other documents. Mortgage closing packages are known for their size and complexity.

"My guess is that it wouldn't be any different than us trying to move into the real estate space," Stucky said. "It's a different business, it's a different workflow."

Zillow declined to comment for this story. On a conference call after the deal was announced but before it closed, CEO Spencer Rascoff told investors that "we think that we can expand DotLoop's market share by applying Zillow Group resources to it," but did not mention any expansion beyond real estate brokerages.

There was a previous attempt to bring the two document worlds together, Stucky noted. In 2010, Emphasys, a real estate tech company, acquired Lender Support Systems Inc., but quickly found it tough to do both kinds of documents. Fifteen months latest, Emphasys sold LSSI to Stucky's company.

Tim Anderson, a long-time executive in the mortgage technology space, is also skeptical about DotLoop being able to migrate to the mortgage space, especially for closing packages.

For static documents like the mortgage application, "I can easily create an e-signable PDF with xy coordinates and lay a tag in the signature line to kind of a dumb document that doesn't change. That is why the realtor space is pretty easy to do. You are not dealing with complex documents," said Anderson, currently the director of eservices at DocMagic.

But closing documents are legal collateral with lots of regulatory and investor requirements; even product differences affect those packages.

"Who is going to maintain all these templates and forms for just the signature piece? Now, that is doable, but your forms library may be 300,000 [files] just around standard forms," Anderson said.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray's long-stated goal is to develop the electronic closing. Even without the document prep part of the process, the DotLoop technology still could be used for e-signatures at closing.

Another issue that makes mortgage documents different than real estate is the need to work "with all the players in the ecosystem, with all of the lenders and the intermediate banks and the investors," said Michael Laurie, vice president of product strategy for e-SignLive by Silanis.

But McElvoy says there needs to be more collaboration among those players in the home sales process. His firm's platform attempts to link all of the stakeholders - lender, title, real estate agent, consumer and secondary market investors - into a collaborative atmosphere with closing process management, communication, audit, tracking and compliance all in one place.

It would be an incomplete strategy if Zillow stopped at the DotLoop deal, thinking that would cover every piece, McElvoy said. The real estate finance process would be better off for the long term if it changes the perspective from the individual needs of lenders, title agents and real estate agents into more of a collective approach that realizes the central focal point of the transaction is the consumer, he said.

DocMagic, Inc., recently named Gavin T. Ales as its chief compliance officer (CCO), according to announcement from the company.

In his new role, Ales will have hands-on involvement in the development, implementation, and maintenance of DocMagic’s compliance products and services. This includes managing DocMagic’s library of mortgage loan documents, which are used by lenders and brokers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories, monitoring legal and regulatory changes, and developing and maintaining DocMagic’s automated compliance tests and audits.

Ales was the deputy chief compliance officer at Prospect Mortgage, LLC, prior to joining DocMagic. He specializes in mortgage banking compliance; federal and state regulatory compliance; financial services law; real estate law; and consumer credit law, among other disciplines.

“We are pleased to have someone with Gavin’s depth of compliance experience and thorough understanding of regulatory rules join our growing team,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic.  “Gavin’s solid background in mortgage compliance will undoubtedly help us effectively manage loan document compliance and continue to provide robust automated compliance audits in today’s very fluid mortgage marketplace.”

Additionally, Ales holds a JD from American University’s Washington College of Law, and a BBA with a concentration in Economics as well as a BA in International Studies, both from the University of Mississippi. He is also licensed to practice Law in California as well as Maryland.

As featured by TheMReport, August 2015

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 18, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- DocMagic, Inc., the premier provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions, announced that it has named Gavin T. Ales as chief compliance officer (CCO).

Mr. Ales has hands-on involvement in the development, implementation and maintenance of DocMagic's compliance products and services. This includes managing DocMagic's library of mortgage loan documents, which are used by lenders and brokers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories, monitoring legal and regulatory changes, and developing and maintaining DocMagic's automated compliance tests and audits.

Prior to joining DocMagic, Mr. Ales was the deputy chief compliance officer at Prospect Mortgage, LLC. He specializes in mortgage banking compliance; federal and state regulatory compliance; financial services law; real estate law; and consumer credit law, among other disciplines. 

"We are pleased to have someone with Gavin's depth of compliance experience and thorough understanding of regulatory rules join our growing team," said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. "Gavin's solid background in mortgage compliance will undoubtedly help us effectively manage loan document compliance and continue to provide robust automated compliance audits in today's very fluid mortgage marketplace." 

Mr. Ales holds a JD from American University's Washington College of Law, and a BBA with a concentration in Economics as well as a BA in International Studies, both from the University of Mississippi. He is licensed to practice Law in California as well as Maryland.

About DocMagic:
DocMagic, Inc. is a leading provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions for the mortgage industry. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Torrance, Calif., DocMagic, Inc. develops software, mobile apps, processes and web-based systems for the production and delivery of compliant loan document packages. The company's compliance experts and in-house legal staff consistently monitor legal and regulatory changes at both the federal and state levels to ensure accuracy.

For more information on DocMagic, visit http://www.docmagic.com/.

DocMagic, Inc., will finally release their SmartCLOSE technology August 15, 2015, according to an announcementfrom the company.

According to DocMagic, the launch of SmartCLOSE comes after extensive testing by lenders, settlement providers, and other relevant parties.  The technology has been honed to perfection and moved to a secure cloud-based production environment.

“The innovative enhancements that DocMagic has added to the portal makes SmartCLOSE the most feature rich and easy-to-use TRID solution in the industry,” said Kevin Marconi, COO of United Fidelity Funding.  “Even though the TRID deadline was pushed to October 3, DocMagic’s early readiness today gives me the peace of mind I absolutely must have to know that I am TRID ready.”

DocMagic selected over 250 lenders to participate in the testing of DocMagic’s new SmartCLOSE collaborative closing portal in June in order to provide key feedback to DocMagic for continued fine-tuning of the system.

“DocMagic really hit a home run with this product.  We are extremely impressed with Smart CLOSE; this system is very easy for us and our settlement agent partners to utilize,” said Jim Paolino, CEO of LodeStar Software Solutions, a leading technology provider for the title insurance industry. “The fashion in which the screens and workflow were developed is going to make adoption by our settlement agents quick and make their jobs easy in the new post-TRID world order.”

DocMagic’s Audit Engine maintains electronic evidence to track and log all transactions and its Compliance Engine continuously compares the initial Loan Estimate against the final to ensure RESPA compliance throughout the process.  DocMagic also reps and warrants all documents created and calculations provided by the system with a complete TRID compliance guarantee.  This compliance “stamp of approval” allows SmartCLOSE users to rest assured that all TRID requirements have been met.

SmartCLOSE integrates with DocMagic’s LOS partners to provide seamless, bi-directional exchange of information with the click of a mouse.  SmartCLOSE is also being integrated with all leading settlement platforms and other third-party applications used in the loan closing process.

“The DocMagic client base and strategic partners say that DocMagic has built the best TRID solution in the industry,” said Tim Anderson, director of eServices at DocMagic. “Our team has diligently worked to fine-tune SmartCLOSE largely based on user feedback which has helped us get to where we are today.”

As featured by TheMReport, August 2015

Most Feature Rich and Easy-to-Use TRID Solution in the Industry Hits a Home Run

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 13, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- DocMagic, Inc., the premier provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions, announced that after extensive testing by lenders, settlement providers and other relevant parties, SmartCLOSE™ has been honed to perfection and been moved to a secure cloud-based production environment for its official release date of Aug. 15, 2015.

In June, over 250 lenders participated in the testing of DocMagic's new SmartCLOSE collaborative closing portal in order to provide key feedback to DocMagic for continued fine-tuning of the system. As a result of months of preparation and testing, lender and settlement provider feedback and fine tuning the technology, SmartCLOSE is now ready for production. 

"The innovative enhancements that DocMagic has added to the portal makes SmartCLOSE the most feature rich and easy-to-use TRID solution in the industry," said Kevin Marconi, COO of United Fidelity Funding. "Even though the TRID deadline was pushed to October 3, DocMagic's early readiness today gives me the peace of mind I absolutely must have to know that I am TRID ready." 

"DocMagic really hit a home run with this product. We are extremely impressed with Smart CLOSE; this system is very easy for us and our settlement agent partners to utilize," said Jim Paolino, CEO of LodeStar Software Solutions, a leading technology provider for the title insurance industry. "The fashion in which the screens and workflow were developed is going to make adoption by our settlement agents quick and make their jobs easy in the new post-TRID world order." 

"The DocMagic client base and strategic partners say that DocMagic has built the best TRID solution in the industry," states Tim Anderson, director of eServices at DocMagic. "Our team has diligently worked to fine-tune SmartCLOSE largely based on user feedback which has helped us get to where we are today." 

DocMagic's Audit Engine maintains electronic evidence to track and log all transactions and its Compliance Engine continuously compares the initial Loan Estimate against the final to ensure RESPA compliance throughout the process. DocMagic also reps and warrants all documents created and calculations provided by the system with a complete TRID compliance guarantee. This compliance "stamp of approval" allows SmartCLOSE users to rest assured that all TRID requirements have been met.

SmartCLOSE integrates with DocMagic's LOS partners to provide seamless, bi-directional exchange of information with the click of a mouse. SmartCLOSE is also being integrated with all leading settlement platforms and other third party applications used in the loan closing process.

About DocMagic:
DocMagic, Inc. is a leading provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions for the mortgage industry. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Torrance, Calif., DocMagic, Inc. develops software, mobile apps, processes and web-based systems for the production and delivery of compliant loan document packages. The company's compliance experts and in-house legal staff consistently monitor legal and regulatory changes at both the federal and state levels to ensure accuracy. For more information on DocMagic, visit http://www.docmagic.com/.

DocMagic Inc. has announced that after extensive testing by lenders, settlement providers and other relevant parties, SmartCLOSE has been honed to perfection and been moved to a secure cloud-based production environment for its official release date of Aug. 15, 2015. In June, more than 250 lenders participated in the testing of DocMagic’s new SmartCLOSE collaborative closing portal in order to provide key feedback to DocMagic for continued fine-tuning of the system. As a result of months of preparation and testing, lender and settlement provider feedback and fine tuning the technology, SmartCLOSE is now ready for production.

“The innovative enhancements that DocMagic has added to the portal makes SmartCLOSE the most feature rich and easy-to-use TRID solution in the industry,” said Kevin Marconi, COO of United Fidelity Funding. “Even though the TRID deadline was pushed to Oct. 3, DocMagic’s early readiness today gives me the peace of mind I absolutely must have to know that I am TRID ready.”

DocMagic’s Audit Engine maintains electronic evidence to track and log all transactions and its Compliance Engine continuously compares the initial Loan Estimate against the final to ensure RESPA compliance throughout the process. DocMagic also reps and warrants all documents created and calculations provided by the system with a complete TRID compliance guarantee. This compliance “stamp of approval” allows SmartCLOSE users to rest assured that all TRID requirements have been met.

“DocMagic really hit a home run with this product.  We are extremely impressed with Smart CLOSE; this system is very easy for us and our settlement agent partners to utilize,” said Jim Paolino, CEO of LodeStar Software Solutions, a technology provider for the title insurance industry. “The fashion in which the screens and workflow were developed is going to make adoption by our settlement agents quick and make their jobs easy in the new post-TRID world order.”

“The DocMagic client base and strategic partners say that DocMagic has built the best TRID solution in the industry,” said Tim Anderson, director of eServices at DocMagic. “Our team has diligently worked to fine-tune SmartCLOSE largely based on user feedback which has helped us get to where we are today.”

SmartCLOSE integrates with DocMagic’s LOS partners to provide seamless, bi-directional exchange of information with the click of a mouse. SmartCLOSE is also being integrated with all leading settlement platforms and other third-party applications used in the loan closing process.

As featured by National Mortgage Professional, August 2015

TORRANCE, Calif., June 30, 2015 -- DocMagic, Inc., the premier provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions, is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Edward Komski who will assume the role of national sales manager. In this capacity, he will be responsible for introducing DocMagic's entire suite of software solutions to large, enterprise-level lending organizations. 

Mr. Komski brings with him a practical, proven knowledge of enterprise sales techniques, creative business development approaches, extensive solution crafting skills, a successful history of deal structuring and applied business strategy. In this position he will work with prospects across all regions of the country to understand their business requirements, and how DocMagic's solutions can be leveraged to benefit the prospects' daily business challenges. 

"We are very excited to work with someone of Ed's caliber," said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO at DocMagic. "Ed's business acumen, strategic sales approaches, and ability to quickly build a rapport will be key in penetrating large market accounts." 

For more than 24 years, Mr. Komski has owned and operated ELK Group, Inc., a comprehensive business consulting firm that focuses on strategically structuring, managing, and implementing complex technical and economical business solutions for clients. He possesses an extensive background in mortgage banking working with lenders, technology firms and other large business entities

"DocMagic has developed a number of amazing solutions which have catapulted the company into becoming the mortgage industry's leading eService's provider," remarked Komski. "I've seen a lot of mortgage technologies over the course of my career, but nothing compares to what DocMagic has engineered. Additionally, the work they are doing with TRID significantly outpaces the nearest competitor's solution." 

Mr. Komski has a B.S. in Business Administration from Shenandoah University and is an active member of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

About DocMagic:
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Torrance, Calif., DocMagic, Inc. develops software, mobile apps, processes and web-based systems for the production and delivery of compliant loan document packages. The company's compliance staff and in-house legal counsel consistently monitor legal and regulatory dynamics at both the federal and state levels to ensure regulatory accuracy.

For more information on DocMagic, visit http://www.docmagic.com/.