Tag: AP

Mortgage and Finance News: (NAPA, Calif.) The Staging Collective, a growing organization of more than 45 leading staging companies in North America, sees the challenges that virtual staging creates for consumers in purchasing homes every day. Though there is growing investment in virtual and AI design tools, particularly at Zillow, this group of business owners know that virtually staged homes take longer to sell than homes being traditionally staged after lingering on the market virtually staged.

Mortgage and Finance News: (MCLEAN, Va.) By Light Professional IT Services LLC (By Light), a leading provider of Modeling & Simulation and Cyber products and solutions and a portfolio company of Sagewind Capital LLC (Sagewind), today announced that it has acquired Dignitas Technologies (Dignitas), a leading provider of Modeling, Simulation, & Training (MS&T) products and solutions. Financial terms of the transaction were not announced.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) Vertyx, a provider of intelligent mortgage servicing technology built for enhanced portfolio performance, today announced that company Co-Founders Ayo Opeyemi and Moyin Opeyemi will participate in a live demo session during the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Servicing Solutions Conference & Expo, which runs from Feb. 16-19., 2026.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today released its January 2026 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showing a strong start to the year as falling rates drove a sharp increase in refinance activity. Total rate-lock volume rose 16% month over month (MoM) and finished January 36% higher year over year (YoY), led by a surge in rate-and-term refinances, which climbed 50% from December and more than 400% compared with January 2025.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), the nation's largest independent cooperative network for mortgage lenders and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the national association representing the real estate finance industry, announced today that they have entered into a strategic partnership to expand advocacy, education and engagement opportunities for their members.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) Vertyx, a provider of intelligent mortgage servicing technology built for enhanced portfolio performance, today announced the completion of a milestone year marked by significant market expansion, increased platform adoption and continued innovation across compliance, security and community engagement.

Mortgage and Finance News: (LAKE ZURICH, Ill.) Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. (DMI), a leading mortgage subservicing company, announced today that it maintained a Tier 1 Rating from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) throughout 2025. This quarterly rating was awarded for Dovenmuehle's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) servicing performance under HUD's Tier Ranking System II (TRS II).

Mortgage and Finance News: (DENVER, Colo.) ACES Quality Management® (ACES), the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, announced that Sharon Reichhardt, executive vice president of operations, has been selected to speak at the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Servicing Solutions Conference, taking place Feb. 16-19, 2026, in Dallas.

Mortgage and Finance News: (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced continued client momentum that includes a multi-year renewal with Arbor Bank and a new client signing with Covey Financial, as well as tighter integration of its Elevate℠ Loan Servicing Solution (Elevate) and the Empower® loan origination system (LOS).

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), the nation's leading independent cooperative network for mortgage lenders, today released results from the latest Pulse of the Network survey, along with an analysis examining how mortgage lenders are prioritizing technology, operational efficiency, and growth strategies amid continued market pressure.

Mortgage and Finance News: (HOUSTON, Texas) NotaryCam®, a Stewart-owned company and leading remote online notarization (RON) provider for real estate and legal transactions, announced a standout year in 2025, having reached more than 2 million successful notarizations to date, including more than 238,000 notarizations completed this year. The company also doubled both its credit card transaction volume and the number of servicers using loss mitigation-related RON transactions through its real estate vertical, exemplifying growing industry adoption of digital solutions.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TROY, Mich.) Class Valuation, a leading real estate appraisal management company (AMC), announced today that Chris Flynn has been appointed chief operating officer. Flynn joined Class Valuation in April 2025 as chief data officer and has since played a central role in advancing the company's strategic, operational and product initiatives.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TORRANCE, Calif.) DocMagic, Inc., today announced that two of its executives have been elected to help lead Community of Practice (CoP) workgroups within the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) for the 2026-2027 term. Chief eServices Executive Brian D. Pannell will serve as vice chair of MISMO's Digital Interoperability CoP, and Director of Integration and Technical Services David Garrett will serve as vice chair of the eMortgage CoP.

Mortgage and Finance News: (DENVER, Colo.) ACES Quality Management® (ACES), the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, today announced its acquisition of Basecap Analytics, an established enterprise data quality platform trusted by leading financial institutions. The acquisition enhances ACES' ability to deliver end-to-end quality management by expanding its platform to include enterprise-wide data quality automation.

Mortgage and Finance News: (NEW YORK, N.Y.) Vertyx, a provider of intelligent mortgage servicing technology built for enhanced portfolio performance, today announced the release of Borrower Relationship Management, a new capability within its end-to-end mortgage servicing platform designed to help servicers and investors identify retention and recapture opportunities earlier, deliver timely outreach through borrower channels and measure engagement.

Mortgage and Finance News: (ATLANTA, Ga.) Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry authority on homeownership program data and solutions, today released its Q4 2025 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) report, identifying 2,619 programs. While the total count is five programs fewer than the prior quarter, it marked a 6% increase from a year earlier, rising from 2,466 programs in Q4 2024. The year-over-year (YoY) growth reflects continued expansion and refinement of program options amid persistent housing affordability challenges across much of the country.

Mortgage and Finance News: (GARDEN GROVE, Calif.) Informative Research (IR), a leading technology provider of data-driven credit and verification solutions for the lending industry, today announced that its work in 2025 has introduced significant platform enhancements and expanded its integration ecosystem across credit and verification services. The company introduced new credit and verification capabilities, added multiple data and payroll partners, and enhanced automation through its unified platform.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TROY, Mich.) Class Valuation, a leading real estate appraisal management company (AMC), announced today that Tanya Wright has joined the company as Executive Vice President of Third-Party Origination (TPO) and Distributed Retail. Wright will serve on Class Valuation's Operations Leadership Team and oversee strategy, operations and client success for the company's broker and distributed retail channels.

Mortgage and Finance News: (LAKE ZURICH, Ill.) Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. (Dovenmuehle), a leading residential mortgage subservicer, announced today that Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has affirmed its servicer quality (SQ) assessment as a servicer of prime residential mortgage loans at SQ2-. Moody's assessment highlights Dovenmuehle's strong performance and disciplined execution across key areas of mortgage servicing.

Mortgage and Finance News: (TAMPA, Fla.) Here is a shocking fact. The second leading cause of lung cancer is Radon, says Pillar To Post Home Inspectors. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year are radon related and in Canada that number stands at approximately 3,000.

Mortgage and Finance News: (BRENTWOOD, Tenn.) Franklin Madison is thrilled to announce the addition of Farah Rehman as Group Vice President, Revenue Execution. With 24 years of experience spanning product development, sales, marketing, and strategy, Farah brings a distinguished track record of helping build and scale insurance businesses to the executive leadership team.

Mortgage and Finance News: (AUSTIN, Texas) FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, today announced 2025 results showing faster closings and measurable efficiency gains as lenders used its technology to meet rising home equity demand in a high-interest-rate environment. The company reduced closing timelines, expanded key integrations and strengthened its operating foundation to support scalable growth in 2026.

Mortgage and Finance News: (WARRENVILLE, Ill.) Raymond James Financial Services is proud to announce that Legacy Wealth Advisors has once again been named to the Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams list for 2026, marking four consecutive years of recognition in this prestigious national ranking. Legacy Wealth Advisors is known for its collaborative approach, ensuring clients benefit from the collective expertise of the entire team.

Mortgage and Finance News: (DENVER, Colo.) ACES Quality Management® (ACES), the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, continued to support its customers through a challenging mortgage market in 2025 by sustaining audit scale, advancing AI-driven quality control innovation and delivering trusted regulatory and defect trend insight.

Mortgage and Finance News: (PLANO, Texas) Optimal Blue today released its December 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showing that mortgage rate-lock activity ended the year on a firm footing, bucking typical holiday-driven seasonality. Total lock volume rose 2% month over month (MoM) from November and finished 30% higher year over year (YoY), driven primarily by rate-and-term refinances, which climbed 13% from November and more than 170% compared with December 2024.

Mortgage and Finance News: (MANCHESTER, N.H.) CP Management is thrilled to announce the upcoming debut of Grand Central Suites, a state-of-the-art luxury apartment community located at 21 Central Street in downtown Manchester. Set to begin leasing in February 2026, this meticulously designed residence will redefine upscale urban living with its unmatched combination of modern elegance, premium safety features, and a prime location in the heart of Manchester's vibrant city center.

Mortgage and Finance News: (SEATTLE, Wash.) Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced the integration of its AI Originator Assistant with Fannie Mae's Income Calculator. The new connection enables lenders to instantly calculate qualifying income for borrowers with self-employment or rental income and gain enforcement relief from representations and warranties on the income calculation for conventional loans.

Mortgage and Finance News: (LAKE ZURICH, Ill.) Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. (DMI), a leading mortgage subservicing company, announced today that it has received the ISO/IEC 27001 certification from NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR), an NSF company. ISO/IEC 27001 defines global benchmarks for information security management systems (ISMS).

Mortgage and Finance News: (SAN DIEGO, Calif.) The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC), the nation's only independent, wholly-owned mortgage lending cooperative, today announced the appointment of Rich Swerbinsky as Strategic Advisor to the CEO & President and Heidi Belnay as Senior Advisor for Business Development. These strategic additions to the leadership team position TMC for accelerated growth and continued industry impact in 2026 and beyond.

Mortgage and Finance News: (VALENCIA, Calif.) IRS Solutions® announces today that it has completed the SOC 2® examination. As tax professionals face growing security expectations, technology providers must prove accountability and consistency in how they handle data. A recently completed SOC 2® examination provides independent validation that IRS Solutions systems maintain secure, reliable, and confidential operations.