Ellie Mae and CoreLogic: Ellie Mae, primarily an LOS provider, said last week that it has partnered with First American CoreLogic to provide what it called “a time-saving, one-stop solution” that allows appraisers to retrieve an appraisal order and the property data required to begin the appraisal process. Ellie Mae’s Encompass Appraisal Center is an online service that enables appraisers to receive electronic appraisal orders from loan originators that use the Encompass Mortgage Management Solution;the company says that approximately 250,000 appraisals are ordered each year through the Encompass Appraisal Center. Via the partnership, appraisers picking up their appraisal orders via Ellie Mae’s platform will now have immediate access to CoreLogic property data, including a property detail report, a transaction history report, sales comparable report, street and aerial maps, parcel map and a flood map. The extra data is available on a for-fee basis only, Ellie Mae said. (www.elliemae.com) FirstClose adds ASCU: Origination tech providers have realized that credit unions are now, officially, hot. First Close, a settlement services provider, said last week that it had added Arizona State Credit Union to its client roster. ASCU will access multiple mortgage settlement services through a technology integration FirstClose developed with Appro by Equifax, company officials said in a press statement. Arizona State will be ordering flood zone determinations, AVMs, Jr. Title Policies from their local title companies, and more. (www.firstclose.com) SearchMyLoan partners with CMG: SearchMyLoan.com, a provider of loan search and pricing services for the mortgage industry, said it has formed a strategic alliance with San Ramon, Calif.-based CMG Mortgage, a national lending firm providing both mortgage banking and mortgage brokerage services. Through the joint venture, CMG Mortgage’s loan products are available to originators through SML’s search and pricing platform, giving originators access to CMG’s wholesale loan products and its new Home Ownership Accelerator loan program. The Accelerator program is a loan product common in Australia, which combines the borrower’s checking, home loan and home equity line accounts into a single loan account that automatically transfers all deposited cash against the loan balance each day in order to save mortgage interest. (www.searchmyloan.com) DocuTech updates closing platform: DocuTech Corp., a provider of compliance services and documentation technology, has rolled out a new release of ConformX, a Web-based platform that generates compliant closing documents. According to the company, the most significant changes to ConformX come in the user interface, which provides lenders more automation and fewer screens to complete closing documents. The upgrade pulls data directly from a lender’s loan origination system (LOS) and runs data integrity, high cost checks and predatory lending checks on the loan. DocuTech’s legal compliance staff automatically updates the program with new regulations, eliminating time-consuming document maintenance. (www.docutechcorp.com) Editor’s note: Tech Roundup runs each Monday morning, and offers a look at key tech news and trends from throughout the week. To have your company’s news considered for inclusion here, send an email with your press statement to [email protected].