Technology Called Crucial for Managing Lien Releases.(Cendant Mortgage Corp. and BankAmerica Corp. information technology)(Brief Article)

Last year, heavy refinancing volume meant that Cendant Mortgage had to manage about 150,000 loan payoffs, about twice the number the company had budgeted for, according to an executive who spoke at the MBA national mortgage servicing conference last month.

Unfortunately, that experience was not unique. Just about everyone had to manage much higher payoff volume than they had anticipated at the beginning of the year.

And heavy volume adds to the compliance burden lenders face as well.

"Everybody is having trouble keeping up with the flow," said Ron Rooney, eastern regional manager for First American Real Estate Solutions.

During a panel discussion at the conference, Mr. Rooney said that state deadlines for recording loan payoffs vary significantly, from a low of 10 days to up to 90 days.

And the penalties for failing to meet those deadlines can be severe.

He said the key to managing periods of heavy volume is to automate as much of the process as possible and rely on databases with a deep pool of data. That "enhanced technology" process results in quicker turnaround and reduces the number of document recordings that require "additional research" because the information needed to record the loan payoff was not readily available.