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ELECTRONIC RECORDING GOES FOR QUALITY SEPTEMBER SEES DROP IN NEW PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE Even as the mortgage recording industry presses for universal adoption of electronic recording (eRecording), quality is beginning to overcome quantity as the measure of success. Expanding the availability of eRecording across the country was the first priority in moving mortgage recordation into the e-commerce realm. But completing the goal of having all recording jurisdictions adopt the technological resources for eRecording still seems a long way off with only 1,022 of 3,600 jurisdictions adopters of the technology. eRecording, however, is available to the majority of the population, so two goals stand out. The first is to continue the drive to make eRecording available in counties where it is not. In addition, there is the need to achieve the universal use of eRecording in all transactions. That is not to underestimate all the hard work that the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) and the lending industry have done in support of eRecording. PRIA and the lending industry have disseminated the message that eRecording saves time and increases the efficiency of the recording process relative to paper. The message has gone out far and wide. PRIA has also campaigned against the myths that have held back the adoption of eRecording. Dispelling the beliefs by some that electronic documents are less secure than paper or that a recording jurisdiction should wait for better technology has been central to PRIA's educational campaigns. And reiterating this message needs to continue. Accomplishing the quantitative goal of universal adoption of eRecording can be helped by focusing efforts on one key observable qualitative metric: the first-time acceptance rate. Let's Mortgage business for private insurers declined in September following a drop in applications the previous month, according to statistics from Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA). MICA member firms reported a combined 37,501 new mortgage insurance policies issued in September, down from 46,051 in August. Dollar volume for new insurance totaled $9.6 billion, the lowest level since February. Still, total business grew, with MICA members reporting a total of $417.3 billion in primary insurance in force as of September 30. September's decline in new volume reflects a drop in August applications, which fell more than 5,000 from the prior month to 48,038. In September, application volume came to 39,148— again, the lowest since February—signaling more declines are likely in the fourth quarter. The number of defaults reported by MICA members rose slightly to 20,609 during the month, while the number of cures fell from August to 17,048. The difference brought September's cure-to-default ratio to 82.7 percent, down nearly 11 percentage points compared to the previous month's report. MICA's September report drew its data from statistics reported by Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corporation, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, and Radian Guaranty, Inc. By Latha Parameswaran, Indecomm Global Services just call it the AC. For starters, we can say this is simply the ratio of submissions that do not need to be resubmitted divided by total submissions. Every county should track the AC for eRecording versus paper for their top 10 submitters and publish the findings on their websites. The results will illustrate that eRecording speeds up processes since much of the physical work is done before the recorder gets the document. Counties prefer less rework and so do submitters. Securing lien positions, which is highly timesensitive, is of utmost importance for lenders. The AC statistic should make clear that one of the many ways to do this is by minimizing fee rejects. Fee rejects are the bane of the recorder and the submitter. When checks do not exactly cover recording costs, it can set off a lengthy process of mailing and resubmission. Electronic submission is very effective at reducing this turn time. Counties are paid electronically (via ACH, escrow, or wire) once a document is recorded. The AC can be an important aid for paper submitters evaluating the efficiency of their processes. It is in the interests of all parties, public and private, to provide objective measures of the recording process. For non-recording jurisdictions, high ACs among eRecorders can provide a powerful incentive for adoption. For those who have eRecording available, the savings offered by expanding the number of eRecordings should be apparent. Latha Parameswaran is VP of operations in the document management group for Indecomm Global Services. With more than 15 years' experience in the mortgage industry, she is an active PRIA member and eRecording mentor. STAT INSIGHT 43% Consumers who say their personal finances are getting worse; 24% say they're getting better. Source: Rasmussen Reports 24

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