Ocwen awarded e-commerce patentMortgagePress.comOcwen, e-commerce, REO, REALRemit, William C. Erbey, REALTrans Platform
Ocwen Financial Corporation, a sub-prime mortgage servicer, has
received a patent for a sophisticated e-commerce invoicing system
it uses to streamline the complex task of managing real-estate
owned (REO) properties.
Ocwen was granted a patent on Aug.12, 2008 by the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office for its REALRemit electronic invoice
management system. The system manages the invoicing and expenses
... often issued by hundreds of third-party vendors that are
generated when a foreclosed or vacated property is put up for sale.
It allows Ocwen, and third-party licensees of REALRemit system, to
manage expenses, track costs and generate the best possible outcome
for mortgage lenders and investors. While designed for real-estate
management, REALRemit system can be used in any complex e-commerce
setting where the coordination of multiple vendors and cost items
is required.
REALRemit System was developed by an Ocwen team led by the
firm's Chairman, William C. Erbey. It has broad
business-to-business applications and is one of many technology
products the company offers to third parties through its
knowledge-based business process outsourcing business line, Ocwen
Solutions. According to Mr. Erbey, "Sub-prime servicing is a
high-volume transaction processing business. We developed REALRemit
system to more efficiently manage all of our intricate e-commerce
activity with the many thousands of third party vendors in our
distributed network. We believe it will add value and extend our
leadership in that arena and in others."
The REALRemit patent applies broadly to both a system and a
method for expense tracking, electronic ordering, invoice
presentment and payment. "The essence of the innovation is that it
enables the user to receive and process third-party vendor invoices
with automated controls, thereby eliminating manual work, cycle
times and errors in the process," said Shekar Sivasubramanian,
Ocwen's Chief Information Officer and President of Ocwen Solutions'
Technology Products segment.
The patented technology, while it has many potential
applications, was originally designed for the sale and management
of real estate owned properties (REO). In that setting, REALRemit
system creates a budget for the property, detailing expected costs
associated with its management and eventual sale. A work order is
created for each budgeted line item and provided to a vendor for
completion. Upon verification that the invoiced price is within the
approved work order price (or a pre-set price limit), the invoice
is electronically presented and approved and payment is
automatically effected through the ACH system.
REALRemit system is one of several technologies comprising
Ocwen's proprietary REAL suite of products, including REALTrans
Platform, a Web-based solution that automates and simplifies
ordering, tracking and fulfilling real estate products and
services, REALServicing® Loan Servicing Software, the only
commercially available solution designed and developed by a
mortgage servicer and the first enterprise-level loan servicing
solution that spans the entire life cycle of the loan and
REALSynergy® Loan Servicing Software, a highly automated,
full-feature platform for servicing commercial and multi-family
loans.
"I work with numerous banks and many different REO invoice
management systems," said real estate broker Allison Roderick of
Reality Executives in The Woodlands, Texas. "I have found REALRemit
system and REALTrans platform to be very user friendly. Not only do
you get notifications on when work orders are submitted but also
other updates on work orders such as late notices and
cancellations. You can easily input numerous files such as photos
for each invoice. For agents, the key to any invoice management
system is one that is easy to use and Ocwens technology fits that
bill perfectly!"
Ocwen recently announced that delinquency rates in the portfolio
of subprime mortgages it services have declined or remained flat in
every category for the first time since the onset of the subprime
crisis in 2007. Ocwen attributes this significant improvement
distinct in the industry -- to the companys sophisticated approach
to modifying loans. This approach relies heavily on proprietary,
Ocwen-developed technology which recently was recognized by
Mortgage Technology Magazine as among the Top 50 Mortgage
Technology Providers for 2008. For more information, visit www.ocwen.com.
