A la mode, inc., Ocwen Technology introduce new plug-in for appraisals.

Real estate software developer and technology service provider a la mode, inc. and Ocwen Technology Xchange, Inc., the technology subsidiary of Ocwen Financial Corporation, announced recently the release of a plug-in to a la mode's Mercury Desktop product that is compatible with OTX's REALTrans platform. The plug-in will allow the reception and transmittal of appraisal reports from users fulfilling appraisal orders on the platform.

Mercury eliminates the need for appraisers to own several different applications simply to send appraisal reports to all of the mortgage lending and appraisal management companies they serve.

As part of a feature incorporated into REALTrans, lenders and appraisal management companies easily receive both the PDF version of the appraisal report and data that helps those organizations track the report more efficiently. Mercury's Application Programming Interface's open architecture, based on Extensible Markup Language, allows any third-party software developer to write plug-ins which add client-specific quality assurance and workflow features to Mercury, allowing the product to function as a superior transaction utility for appraisers and their clients.

"Using a Mercury plugin specially developed for REALTrans allows lenders and other appraisal users a reliable and cost effective method for managing their collateral from virtually all their appraisers," said William Erbey, chairman of OTX.

"The Mercury plugin utilized in conjunction with REALTrans will automate a number of processes lenders and investors perform manually today in collecting and routing appraisal reports throughout the enterprise and loan process. Mercury also provides each of our clients with a fully automated, rules-based quality control and rules-based re-ordering facility when exceptions arise. We believe that implementing this capability is just one more example of why REALTrans continues to be selected by the country's largest lenders as their one, enterprise-wide vendor management and transaction platform."

Appraisal reports sent via REALTrans using the Mercury plug-in will flow directly into a lender's or appraisal management company's internal production systems, saving time and insuring accuracy.