Calyx Point® Users Can Now Order Appraisals Directly from the LOS, Through a la mode's Mercury Network, Eliminating Costly Errors and Delays

OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- a la mode today announced a huge step forward for appraisal compliance and efficiency with Mercury Network's full integration for appraisal ordering inside the popular loan origination software, Calyx Point.

Point users can now click a button inside their software to log in to Mercury Network, the nation's premiere online Vendor Management Platform, or VMP, allowing originators to manage their entire appraisal workflow while being compliant with all appraisal independence standards and banking security regulations.  Their appraisal order form will be pre-filled with the data from their Point file, eliminating the errors and delays resulting from human data entry.  Point users can import appraisal status messages directly into the loan file, and download the completed appraisal into the LOS in both PDF and MISMO formats.

The new integration means originators using Point with Mercury Network will have a continuous, automated chain of appraisal data for compliance with FHFA's newly mandated Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP), setting them apart from lenders or AMCs using less sophisticated appraisal management arrangements.  Point users will also have superior appraisal quality control measures because of Mercury's automated and customizable regimen of over 1,000 quality rules.  The QC rules are run on the appraisal before it's delivered to the lender or AMC, dramatically reducing time in underwriting and manual coordination processes.

This optimal automation of appraisal data delivery and quality control is possible because of a la mode's unique position as the provider of both Mercury Network, and WinTOTAL, the appraisal formfilling software used by over half the nation's appraisers (although thousands of appraisers using formfillers other than WinTOTAL daily receive and deliver orders through Mercury as well).  Since a la mode's Mercury Network has direct access to the appraisal data on the appraisers' desktops, the QC rules can be run against every report before delivery, and the lender or AMC ordering appraisals also receives MISMO XML directly from the appraiser, rather than relying on error-prone OCR or PDF extraction methods.  Those using Mercury will submit appraisal reports to the UMDP's "front end", the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP), without fear of rejection due to OCR or human data entry errors.

"We're excited about this integration because it means the appraisal order and the appraisal data will be secure and unmolested from the originator's desktop all the way to submission to UMDP – with no need for the manual interventions that so often result in errors," said Jennifer Miller, EVP of Products for a la mode's Mortgage Solutions Division.  

Mercury Network is used by a lengthy roster of the nation's largest lenders and AMCs, as well as by numerous community banks, credit unions, wholesale and correspondent lenders, and mortgage brokers. It handles over 10,000 appraisal transactions a day, and has been used by more than 200,000 mortgage professionals since 2002 to completely automate the full "round trip" of tens of millions of appraisals. Integration with Mercury Network offers an even more seamless approach to Point's thousands of users.

For more information visit MercuryVMP.com.

About a la mode

Celebrating 25 years as a technology leader, a la mode develops desktop, mobile, and Web tools for the real estate and mortgage industries. a la mode's mission-critical products are used by hundreds of thousands of appraisers, agents, inspectors, and lending professionals to complete the nation's real estate transactions. a la mode's state-of-the-art offices are located in Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.alamode.com.

SOURCE a la mode, inc.