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5 December 2025 December 2025 » themortgagepoint.com M T E C H FIRSTCLOSE INTEGRATES STEWART HOME EQUITY SOLUTIONS INTO OMS F irstClose™, a fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lend- ers nationwide, announced a new part- nership with Stewart Lender Services, a division of Stewart Information Services Corporation, that enhances FirstClose's Order Management System (OMS) with expanded home equity fulfillment capabilities. Through this partnership, FirstClose OMS users will gain integrated access to Stewart's suite of home equity title, valu- ation, and closing solutions. By stream- lining ordering and fulfillment within a single workflow, lenders can reduce manual steps, accelerate decisioning, and improve borrower experiences. "Our home equity fulfillment solutions are designed to help lenders move with speed and confidence," said Beth Fowler, President of Stewart Lender Services. "By integrating with FirstClose, we're equipping lenders with the tools needed to accelerate loan deci- sioning, improve operational efficiency, and provide borrowers with a modern, streamlined home equity experience." Stewart's addition to FirstClose OMS provides lenders with data, property re- ports, title insurance, and an E&O policy covering home equity loans, offering options, and rapid response. Stewart also offers automated title decisioning tools and a streamlined curative process, which supports faster eligibility checks and quicker clear-to-close outcomes for many loan scenarios. "Partnering with Stewart Lender Services enhances the power of our Order Management System by giving lenders direct access to a broader set of integrated home equity solutions," said Tedd Smith, CEO of FirstClose. "By unifying data, title, valuation, and clos- ing workflows in one place, lenders can shorten cycle times, manage risk, and drive growth in the evolving home equi- ty market while also delivering a more seamless experience for borrowers." Lenders using FirstClose OMS can also leverage Stewart Valuation Intelli- gence's offerings, which include desktop and field appraisals, AVMs, hybrid inspections, and analytics that support accurate property valuation and risk assessment. Stewart's integrated signing and closing services offer multiple op- tions, including mobile notary, remote online notarization (RON), and in-per- son electronic notarization (IPEN). REAL GENIUS AND TAVANT PARTNER TO LAUNCH DIRECT- TO-CONSUMER MORTGAGE PLATFORM LAZLO T avant, a provider of AI-powered fintech solutions and digital engineering, announced that, in partnership with Real Genius, a nation- al direct-to-consumer mortgage banker, it has developed LAZLO, a proprietary digital lending platform designed to deliver a faster, fully online mortgage experience from application to close. LAZLO is enhanced by Tavant's TOUCHLESS® Experiences and Fin- Connect platform, featuring embedded automation, API-driven integrations, and custom dashboards. Both borrowers and loan officers gain complete visibility into application status, underwriting progress, and closing milestones. "Our goal has always been to pro- vide exceptional value and a five-star customer experience," said Jamie A. Thornton, CEO of Real Genius. Part- nering with Tavant enabled our team to develop and deploy LAZLO, making that vision a reality. We're providing borrowers a faster, more transparent mortgage experience, while streamlin- ing operations for our team. This part- nership allows us to scale smarter, close more loans faster, and deliver a more confident homebuying experience." Hassan Rashid, President – Fin- tech, Tavant, said, "Real Genius is a forward-thinking, technology-first lender that is setting the bar for how modern mortgage experiences should be delivered. Their unwavering focus on transparency, speed, and borrower empowerment sets them apart in this industry. We're honored to partner with their team to build LAZLO, integrating cutting-edge technology with exception- al service." EQUIFAX INTRODUCES INCOME QUALIFY TO DELIVER INSIGHTS EARLIER IN THE MORTGAGE LENDING PROCESS E quifax has announced the intro- duction of Income Qualify, a new solution that provides mortgage lenders with income and employment insights from The Work Number throughout the prequalification and pre-approval stages. The capacity of lenders to reliably issue prequalification offers is currently restricted. Income Qualify is designed to enable mortgage lenders to perform an initial assessment more quickly and with less burden on the borrower by providing verified income and employ- ment data earlier in the process. "Mortgage lenders are facing increased competition for qualified buyers," said Joel Rickman, General Manager and SVP of U.S. Mortgage and