Crossland Mortgage Corp. is testing mortgage origination software that lets its loan officers plug into the Federal National Mortgage Association's underwriting system from their laptops.
The Windows-based software, called Mobile Loan Office, was developed by Dynatek Inc. of Livonia, Mich.
Gary Pence, a vice president with the Salt Lake City-based lender, said the software can give loan officers working in the field an underwriting decision within minutes, thereby making the origination process "faster and less expensive."
"The interface gives our loan officers instantaneous underwriting capabilities at the point of sale," Mr. Pence said.
Lenders using Dynatek's Morvision product line, of which Mobile Loan Office is a part, can access Fannie Mae's automated underwriting system, called Desktop Underwriter.
Field officers will be able to convert loan applications into an electronic data interchange format and electronically send information over Mornet Plus, which is Fannie Mae's value-added telecommunications network.
Desktop Underwriter will then assess the information and return a decision in about four minutes on whether the agency will buy the loan in the secondary market, officials said.
"Dynatek is the first vendor to have the Fannie Mae underwriting system embedded ... it's all one package now," said Frank Farren, an account executive at Dynatek.
"We expect other venders to have it in the future, but right now we are the first."
Crossland Mortgage originated more than $2.8 billion in mortgages last year and has a servicing portfolio in excess of $10 billion.
Mortgage experts say there is an eager market for acquiring the most up- to-date origination technology. In addition to laptops, lenders are also interested in acquiring Windows-based software, and developing electronic data interchange connections to other agencies such as credit bureaus, loan insurers, and other service providers.
The goal is to reduce the time it takes to approve and close mortgage loans, said Barbara Smiley, an analyst with Tower Group, a bank technology consultant in Wellesley, Mass.
