Ellie Mae Releases Encompass Version 3.5 of its Standard and Professional Editions

Enhancements make it faster, easier and more economical for brokers and bankers to originate and process quality loans, including increasingly popular FHA products

PLEASANTON, CA—June 23, 2008—Ellie Mae, the award-winning provider of innovative software and services for the mortgage industry, has released version 3.5 of the Standard and Professional Editions of the Encompass Mortgage Management System.  Among the systems’ numerous enhancements are upgrades that simplify data entry, increase system performance and make it even faster and easier for both brokers and bankers to ensure quality and compliance when originating FHA loans. 

“With heightened restrictions and a slowing market, mortgage professionals are looking for ways to ensure loan quality while spending less time double checking details, manually inputting data and cross referencing information,” states Jonathan Corr, chief strategy officer for Ellie Mae.  “This new version of Encompass helps users to originate quality, compliant loans faster, so they can allocate their time to the activities that generate the highest revenue.”

Some of the most market-pertinent enhancements include adjustments that make it easier for users to originate increasingly popular FHA loans. A new ‘FHA Maximum Mortgage and Cash Needed’ worksheet simplifies calculations of statutory investment requirements, maximum mortgages and actual cash requirements, and a new ‘Energy Efficient Mortgage’ (EEM) calculation feature tallies a borrower’s energy-efficient items, along with the borrower’s actual costs and maximum amounts available according to FHA guidelines.  There’s also a direct link to the Good Faith Estimate displayed at the top of the mortgage credit analysis worksheets, and a new auto entry button ensures that contract sales prices are accurately entered for a 203(k) loan.  Additionally, Encompass user profiles now include a CHUM field, which automatically copies approval codes into the Freddie Mac additional form.

Encompass 3.5 also incorporates the addition of two tables that enhance efficiency and accuracy in entering data into loan files.  Mortgage insurance (MI) tables, which are now available for use with conventional, FHA and VA loans, enable users to not only determine the types of mortgage insurance data that will automatically populate fields in each type of loan, but also create and manage their own MI tables, download existing FHA and VA tables and create and manage subfolders that help organize the MI tables used for conventional loans.  The FHA county limits table, which automatically populates county limits for FHA loans, offers an automatic warning if the loan amount exceeds county limits as well as Internet-enabled synchronization for consistent current updating.

Additional enhancements include:

• A new customer loyalty program that enables loan officers to provide borrowers with helpful advice and offers for new mover services. Borrowers who purchase services can earn HomePoints, which are redeemable at leading companies like Home Depot and American Airlines
• Multiple document return in a single ePASS order. Once documents are returned, users can import and assign them to the completed documents segment of the eFolder
• Professional Edition performance enhancements that make running reports more efficient, using far fewer system resources
• A Truth-in-Lending (TIL) disclosure output form that enables users to use the TIL to disclose the payment amount, loan amount and payment schedule
• Hover help and HelpPad functions that provide field IDs and definitions simply by hovering a mouse pointer, and allow users to print, copy or save that information quickly and easily
• Population of the minimum required FICO field now based on the selected loan program.

“We’re in a market where every detail counts,” states Corr.  “By streamlining and automating a lot of those detailed areas in the transaction cycle, we’re not only ensuring greater security and compliance, but also enabling Encompass users to capture additional time that’s usually lost to repetitive, error-prone activities.  Ellie Mae is proud to provide a performance-enhancing upgrade for the organizations that are moving forward so tirelessly through these challenging industry changes.”

Both Encompass editions are designed for use by multiple users.  Encompass Standard Edition includes all of the basic features needed to originate and process loans, while Encompass Professional Edition offers companies a more robust solution that includes additional features such as an integrated marketing Campaign Manager, extended reporting database, contact synchronization to Microsoft Outlook and ACT!, and a software development kit that gives users the ability to easily integrate Encompass with their existing back office applications.

About Ellie Mae
Ellie Mae is an award-winning provider of software and services for the mortgage industry, offering comprehensive business solutions for mortgage brokers, mortgage bankers and lenders. The company's key offerings include the flagship Encompass Mortgage Management Solution, the Encompass WebCenter, Electronic Document Management (EDM), Encompass CenterWise™ and Encompass Closer. More than 150,000 mortgage professionals use the Encompass mortgage management solution, including two-thirds of the nation’s top 300 brokers and nine of the top 10. Ellie Mae is recognized for linking the many parties critical to the mortgage origination industry through its ePASS Network. One third of the nation's almost $2 trillion in new mortgages originated every year pass through the ePASS platform, enabling mortgage companies to easily conduct electronic business transactions with dozens of leading lenders and thousands of settlement service providers. Ellie Mae was founded in 1997 and is based in Pleasanton, California. To learn more about Ellie Mae, visit www.EllieMae.com or call 877.355.4362.

2008 Ellie Mae, Inc. All rights reserved. Ellie Mae, Encompass, and ePASS are registered trademarks and Encompass CenterWise, and Ellie Mae Closer are trademarks of Ellie Mae, Inc. in the United States.

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