SingleSource Property Solutions, a provider of residential services supporting the U.S. housing industry, is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the launch of its home equity service offerings. The company’s second mortgage services, which are available in bundles and include valuations, title products and online closings, are currently helping lenders meet growing demand for home equity loans (HELs) and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), the company announced in a release.
SingleSource began offering services that helped providers of HELs and HELOCs better serve their borrowers while improving efficiency and reining in expenses 20 years ago. Today, those offerings have grown into a suite of services that are available in bundles to address the specific needs of each individual lender, the company stated.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s most recent forecast, residential mortgage volume during the second quarter was roughly 35 percent lower than the second quarter of last year and is expected to fall further in the third quarter. But home equity lenders are seeing phenomenal growth. For example, Bank of America Corp., one of the nation’s largest residential lenders, revealed in its second-quarter earnings data that its quarterly HEL production has more than doubled from a year earlier.
“Over the years, our home equity offerings have been greatly enhanced with the latest technology to help lenders succeed in today’s growing market,” SingleSource Chief Operating Officer Ed Austin said in the release. “With our specialized home equity bundles, lenders are significantly reducing the amount of time and expense associated with closing a second lien transaction.”
Loan valuations are one of the biggest sources of cost savings for second mortgages compared with first mortgages. With SingleSource, a Morningstar-accredited valuation provider, lenders can skip full appraisals and obtain less expensive alternative valuations, such as drive-by reports, broker price opinions and automated valuation models with property inspections.
“Whether it’s valuations, evaluations, data products, title reports or online closings, our bundled offerings can help lenders capitalize on our nation’s record-breaking growth in home equity,” Austin said. “We have streamlined the home equity process so lending decisions can be made in as little as one to three business days.”