First American Announces End-To-End Home Equity Solution Suite For Mortgage Lenders

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, today announced its Mortgage Solutions group has enhanced its home equity solution suite (http://firstam.com/mortgagesolutions/solutions/home-equity/) for mortgage lenders wanting to offer market-responsive home equity products while streamlining third-party service resources, accelerating time to close and focusing on risk mitigation and portfolio management. 

The Mortgage Solutions home equity solution suite is an end-to-end product and service offering that supports portfolio retention, valuation, underwriting, closing and post-closing needs, allowing home equity lenders to work with a market-leading trusted vendor both on first and second lien products. Designed to expedite originations while providing comprehensive risk mitigation and collateral protection, the home equity solution suite assists lenders to manage a strong portfolio and comply with evolving regulations while working more efficiently with one trusted provider.

“Home price appreciation is alleviating equity constraints and building equity for more homeowners, which is certain to drive increased demand for home equity lending of every kind, particularly in a rising interest rate environment,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American. “As rates begin to rise next year, home equity loans will become increasingly attractive relative to the alternative of a cash-out refinance or selling and moving, which is a situation we have not seen in a generation.”

Kevin Wall, Mortgage Solutions president, commented, “It is an exciting time to be a home equity lender, as well as an ideal time to evaluate best practice strategies for engaging service providers that can deliver mission-critical home equity lending solutions. As a demonstration of our commitment to delivering solutions that anticipate market demand, we’ve launched new data services such as LienSmart (http://firstam.com/mortgagesolutions/
solutions/home-equity/liensmart-lien-evaluation.html), our portfolio lien analytics tool underpinned by unmatched First American enterprise property data resources delivered via DataTree.”

In addition, the company has added popular new features to their home equity solution suite, including a new valuation option via PACE Pro with an enhanced geographic competency option. These expanded service offerings, together with existing capabilities including fraud and compliance analytics, flood certifications, eSigning, notary and recording services, create an end-to-end solution not available by any other service provider.

Supporting all aspects of the home equity loan cycle with customizable, end-to-end solutions, Mortgage Solutions’ home equity solution suite lets lenders make informed equity decisions supported by trusted real estate data versus relying on credit-based reports. It enables lenders to:

• Confidently underwrite loan quality and collateral security with the goal of defect-free mortgage lending;
• Reduce cycle time with streamlined valuation solutions, especially for lower risk loans;
• Manage risk with enhanced reimbursement options and multiple valuation solutions to support compliance needs;
• Increase profitability by leveraging the significant depth of First American property data and real estate expertise;
• Save time on vendor and supply chain management with a national provider who knows third-party audits and anticipates compliance needs.

For more information, visit www.firstam.com/mortgagesolutions, or stop by First American Mortgage Solutions’ booth #509 at MBA’s Annual Convention & Expo, October 18-21, 2015 in San Diego, California.

News release above was updated on February 9, 2016.

About First American Mortgage Solutions

First American's Mortgage Solutions group is guided by our pursuit of certainty in lending and strengthened by the nation's largest repository of 5.5+ billion land records. We deliver collaborative and customizable data, analytic, valuation, and quality control solutions for loan origination and servicing. More information about the Mortgage Solutions group can be found at www.firstam.com/mortgagesolutions.

About First American

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF) is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions that traces its heritage back to 1889. First American also provides title plant management services; title and other real property records and images; valuation products and services; home warranty products; property and casualty insurance; and banking, trust and investment advisory services. With revenues of $4.7 billion in 2014, the company offers its products and services directly and through its agents throughout the United States and abroad. More information about the company can be found at www.firstam.com.