GMAC Mortgage Corp. is installing a loan origination system rotended to eventually enable the company to use imaging, electronic data interchange, and laptop computers.
The Elkins Park, Pa.-based company, originators of $8.2 billion in mortgages last year, will use Control-Z software from Lakewood Corp., Greenfield, NH.
The system, running in a variety of operating environments, handles all aspects of the mortgage lending process, including pre-qualification, origination, registration, processing, underwriting, and closing.
"Lakewood not only provides GMAC Mortgage with a means to leap-frog into current technologies, but it also opens the door, for us to accept emerging technologies, such as EDI, imaging, and point of sale," said Don Stow vice president of residential operations at GMAC.
GMAC Mortgage said it plans for its entire network to be online by mid-1995.
Information initially will be accessed from dumb terminals, but, when GMAC moves to client-server technology in a few years, personal computer access will be added, said Mr. Stow.
Imaging initially will be used for back-end applications, such as document storage and retrieval, said Mr. Stow. Later, it may use the technology for tracking documents and improving workflow, he said.
Laptops may be used for remote origination, as well as to allow loan officers in the field to access the main system for information, he said.
The company is also working with Lalewood to establish EDI links to tap into outside databases of national credit unions and appraisal companies, said Mr. Stow. The links would allow the company to automatically receive information into its computer system,
GMAC began reviewing new software for its loan operations last September, because the company's existing, mainframebased software was difficult to upgrade and customize, according to Mr. Stow.
The company decided on Lakewood software after extensive research, which included interviews with branch personnel to ascertain requirements and reviewing the top 15 origination software vendors.
