a la mode news & marketing tips — October 25, 2005

MBA Convention 2005:  Stop by our booth to learn more about the Network you're already "in"

No, it's not a ploy to get you to change your cell phone plan, but we would like you to stop by our booth at the Mortgage Banker's Association (MBA) 92nd Annual Convention & Expo to learn how you're already a part of the XSites Network and why you should connect.

Thousands of real estate agents, appraisers, home inspectors and mortgage brokers across the U.S. already use the XSites Network to expedite the real estate process through our Web hosting and network infrastructure.  In fact, more than 15,000 orders are placed on the Network each week.  As a mortgage broker, you can order appraisals and settlement services through a myriad of providers, receive loan apps, get automatic status updates, report data and coordinate your vendor and client communications.

Not only do things run more smoothly on the XSites Network, you also have more opportunities to make more money.  How?  By collaborating with so many other real estate professionals using a digital — and paperless — platform, you have the potential to do more business, more efficiently, in less time.

Think of how you interact with your vendors now via e-mail, telephone and fax.  Things can get a bit disorganized can't they? And you're constantly fielding phone calls or making phone calls to get status updates on the loan.  With the XSites Network, everything is electronic and nothing gets lost.  Automatic status updates let everyone involved in the loan know what's been done and what needs to be done.  With XSites, not only does the loan process go more smoothly, but your superior customer/client service helps you to distinguish yourself from your competitors.

We'd like to show you everything the XSites Network can do for your business.  Be sure to stop by booth #1322 at the MBA Convention & Expo!

On the go while on the job?  So is your XSite

The demand for technology built for the "mobile workforce" — those businesses with employees who spend as much time away from the home office as they do in it — is growing at a staggering pace.  From Blackberries to Bluetooth, technology had made it possible for businesses to get out of the office and into homes, cars, airports, even the local Starbucks.

The mantra now seems to be anywhere you can go, so can your business.  In fact, according to a recent study by In-Stat, the market for portable business users is expected to increase from today's 77 million to over 109 million users by 2009.

The real estate market has also been a big part of the growing trend of the "mobile office" fueled by home buyers who often expect an immediate response to their inquiries from the real estate agents and mortgage brokers they're working with.  When we launched Appraiser XSites in 2003, we knew mobile capabilities would be crucial to the business over the years.  So, we built in mobile tools for all of our XSites — Mortgage, Appraiser, Agent and Home Inspector. That way, our customers already have the tools in place to do business on the go without having to install new software.

And with your Mortgage XSite's mobile tools, you can do more than just talk to your clients while away from your office, you can actually work on their loan.  Here are 10 things you do in your office that you can also do on your Internet-enabled PocketPC, Palm device, Blackberry™, or cell phone using XSites Mobile tools:

1. Send and receive e-mail from your CertMail account.

2. Access loan applicant information and view the status of all loan applications.

3. Update your XSite’s content pages.

4. Send your client an up-to-the minute update on the status of their loan.

5. Check your calendar and make appointments with your clients.

6. Add a new contact to your XSite’s contact manager.

7. Assign leads from your XSite to categories (first-time buyer, refi, etc.) for marketing purposes.

8. Schedule a loan closing.

9. Order an appraisal or check the status of your order with your appraiser.

10. Check rates and change your rate sheet.

In short, almost anything you do with your XSite at the office, you can do on the go.  More importantly, with XSite Mobile Tools you’re never truly out of the office, which allows you to provide better, faster service to your clients.

Appraisers provide you better, quicker service with new WinTOTAL

The Aurora generation of WinTOTAL, our form filling and business management software, is shipping to our appraiser customers right now.  By the end of November, every appraiser on the XSites Network will have it. 

WinTOTAL Aurora enables appraisers to reach more customers more efficiently and provide better service.  What does that mean for you?  Quicker turn times on your appraisals, allowing you to close loans faster.

And as the first major form filling software upgrade to be released since the debut of the new Fannie Mae forms, Aurora also gives its users a leg up with the new URAR and 2055.  WinTOTAL users have been using the new Fannie Mae forms for months and Aurora makes it even easier, with full-report scrolling, automatic addendum production and the ability to pull data and comps from old Fannie forms into the new.