Ellie Mae Adds MDS Lending Solutions to its HVCC-Compliant Appraisal Services Program

Addition of MDA gives Encompass users direct, HVCC-compliant access to 10 top appraisal management companies

PLEASANTON, CA—May 26, 2009—With the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) now in effect as of May 1, 2009, Ellie Mae announces that MDA Lending Solutions, a leading appraisal management company, has been added to its comprehensive appraisal services program that gives mortgage banker, broker and lender clients a fast and easy way to stay in compliance with HVCC guidelines.  With the addition of MDA, Encompass users now have direct and easy access to 10 of the industry’s most widely accepted appraisal management companies.  

As one of the leading providers of information solutions to the real estate lending industry, MDA Lending Solutions is focused on developing solutions to meet the unique needs of specific industry groups, including brokers and correspondent lenders.  Integration into the Encompass platform further demonstrates MDA’s commitment to delivering solutions that drive time, cost and risk out of loan originations.  MDA’s offerings include MDA DataQuick®, MDA MindBox® and traditional settlement services such as collateral valuation, title and property search, flood compliance, residential credit and closing/settlement products.

Ellie Mae’s appraisal program was created to help Encompass users, who together originate more than 50 percent of the nation’s third-party origination loan volume and 25 percent of the nation’s mortgages each year, to better comply with HVCC guidelines.  “Our Encompass clients have become accustomed to accessing the solutions they need, right from within the Encompass system,” says Jonathan Corr, chief technology officer for Ellie Mae. “With Encompass Appraisal Services, Ellie Mae is extending that direct access, providing Encompass users with a solution for HVCC compliance, all without having to leave the Encompass system.” 

The Encompass Appraisal Services program leverages technology enhancements, partnerships with appraisal management companies (AMCs), and direct connection via its ePASS technology to facilitate HVCC-compliant ordering and delivery of appraisals.

“Originators who fail to comply with the HVCC may be faced with penalties, the inability to sell loans or, for brokers, will be unable to submit their loan applications to the wholesale lender of their choice,” says Corr.  “By adding to our network of approved appraisal management companies, along with providing direct access through Encompass, the Encompass Appraisal Services program is not only giving our client companies the freedom of choice, but also helping them to ensure that they don’t incur the additional costs and difficulties that result from violating HVCC guidelines.  We’re pleased to be providing our customers with the tools to do business in the most efficient manner, along with the options and flexibility to maintain their own unique business processes.”

About Ellie Mae, Inc.
Ellie Mae is an award-winning provider of software and services for the mortgage industry, offering comprehensive business solutions for mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers and lenders. The company's key offerings include the flagship Encompass® Mortgage Management Solution, Encompass CenterWise™ and Encompass Closer. More than 120,000 mortgage professionals use the Encompass Mortgage Management Solution. Ellie Mae, recipient of the prestigious Inman Award as the most innovative company in the mortgage industry, is recognized for developing technology that links the many parties critical to the mortgage origination industry through its patented ePASS® technology. One quarter of the nation's almost $3 trillion in new mortgages originated every year pass through Ellie Mae’s ePASS technology, enabling mortgage companies to easily and securely conduct electronic business transactions with dozens of leading lenders and more than 2,000 settlement service providers. Ellie Mae is also the parent of Online Documents, the industry’s leading provider of flexible, compliant electronic mortgage documents and related services for the mortgage industry. Ellie Mae was founded in 1998 and is based in Pleasanton, California. To learn more about Ellie Mae, visit www.EllieMae.com or call 877.355.4362.

###

© 2009 Ellie Mae, Inc. All rights reserved. Ellie Mae, Encompass, ClickLoan (patent No. 7,472,089) and ePASS (patent No. 7,444,302) are registered trademarks and Encompass CenterWise and Encompass Closer are trademarks of Ellie Mae, Inc. in the United States.