Jan

Cenlar Launches Enhanced Homeowner Mobile App

With an eye toward providing homeowners the very best experience no matter how they interact with us, earlier this month Cenlar introduced a new and enhanced version of our homeowner mobile application. The app is available for download in the Apple App Store and on Google Play for homeowners with our non-private label clients.

Front and center will be the app’s new look and feel, with a design reflective of our homeowner website, CenNet. The fresh yet familiar layout was designed with ease-of-use top of mind, so that homeowners may easily access and manage their accounts no matter where they are. The app includes enhancements to the payment history screen to display reversed payments, enhanced messaging for when the app is down for maintenance and the ability to display a full loan number. In addition, users are now able to submit a secure message with one attachment (PDF, PNG, JPEG).

Users who previously downloaded an older version of our mobile app will be required to upgrade to the new version in order to continue using the app.

New CenNet Update Makes Finding Loan Information a Breeze

This week, we launched a new update to the CenNet homeowner website that makes it even easier for your customers to conduct their business online.

Enhancements include:

The top navigation bar on the site now features a “Documents” box that will take homeowners directly to their documents and statements. Previously, the Document Center was located under Account Management. The change should make it much easier for homeowners to see their important documents.
A new tile on the Dashboard guides homeowners with information like how to find billing history, escrow statements, tax forms and insurance documents in the Documents section. It also provides directions on how to obtain a Payoff statement online. A tile on the Payment section of the site that provides clear instructions on how homeowners can cancel autopay themselves on the website.
The Goals and Education sections have been combined into one hub to create a one-stop reference shop for homeowners, including calculators and all the information needed to help them manage their loans.

These enhancements are the result of listening to feedback from many of you and your homeowners, and providing solutions based on this input. For example, using speech analytics of calls to our contact center, we found many homeowners each month were not aware of all the options they had to self-serve on the website. The new tiles display this information prominently on the website, so homeowners can find the information they need quickly and easily. Of course, they still can always call us for assistance, if they prefer to do so. We’ve also uploaded an updated FAQ document to CenAccess that provides more details about the changes.

We thank you for your feedback and support as we work to further build and enhance the homeowner experience. We remain dedicated to this mission of continuous improvement, with this being the first of four CenNet update releases scheduled in 2023. Details on future releases will be provided as they get closer to going live.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your client manager.

Doc Center maintenance in February

In order to ensure your homeowners have the best possible experience, our Document Center will undergo routine maintenance in February. Homeowners may experience an outage on Document Center on CenNet during the periods listed below:

Saturday, February 11, 2023 11 p.m. ET – Sunday, February 12, 2023 3 a.m. ET
Sunday, February 26, 2023: 1 – 5 a.m. ET

Tech Upgrade Weekend of Feb. 11-12 May Affect XML, NLAI, Global Teller and Our IVR

In the name of continuous improvement, our IT team will be conducting an operating system upgrade from Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 at 10 p.m. ET until Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023 at 6 a.m. You may experience an outage on XML, NLAI, Global Teller and the IVR during this period.

We appreciate your partnership and understanding as we work to enhance the experience you and your homeowners have.

ICYMI: SOC1 Report

As we announced last week, Cenlar’s SOC 1 Report (covering the period of January 1, 2022 – September 30, 2022) and the SOC Bridge Letter (covering the period of October 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022) were published on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. These documents are available in the “About” section of CenAccess.

Please reach out to your client manager with any questions.

ICYMI: New FHFA Fair Lending Data Fields Added to XML to Meet Freddie, Fannie Requirements

As we alerted you last week, we have updated the XML file specs to include the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) fair lending data fields. These fields have been added to meet Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae requirements effective for loans originated on or after March 1, 2023.

A majority of the new fields are located on the HMDAInfo BorrowerDem tag (please see below for a full listing of the 34 fields). These fields are designed for information regarding the race, ethnicity, gender, and preferred language of the borrower(s) and is required for every borrower on the loan. To meet the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae requirements, you will also need to provide the age of the borrower and co-borrower (fields denoted as BorrowerAge and CoBorrowerAge), which are listed separately.

The new HMDAInfo BorrowerDem fields are:

BorrowerType
BorrowerGender
BorrowerRace1
BorrowerRace2
BorrowerRace3
BorrowerRace4
BorrowerRace5
BorrowerEthnicity1
BorrowerEthnicity2
BorrowerEthnicity3
BorrowerEthnicity4
BorrowerEthnicity5
TribeText

AsianSubCat1
AsianSubCat2
AsianSubCat3
AsianSubCat4
AsianSubCat5
AsianSubCat6
AsianSubCat7
OtherAsianText
NatHawaiianPacIslSubCat1
NatHawaiianPacIslSubCat2
NatHawaiianPacIslSubCat3
NatHawaiianPacIslSubCat4
OtherNatHawaiianPacIslText

HispanicLatSubCat1
HispanicLatSubCat2
HispanicLatSubCat3
HispanicLatSubCat4
OtherHispanicLatText
BorrowerLangPref
BorrowerLangPrefText
AddConfPrg

Meet Brighid Quinn-Gordon: Enhancing the Homeowner Experience through Chatbot and Conversational Artificial Intelligence SOC1 Report

Cenlar’s deployment of innovative tools like chatbots have enhanced the customer experience, allowing homeowners the opportunity to do business with us when, where and how they please.

IT Analyst Brighid Quinn-Gordon joined Cenlar nearly six years ago after earning a degree from Rider University, and is a key contributor to efforts like Cenlar’s conversational AI (artificial intelligence) and chatbot initiative. This chatbot technology is providing Cenlar with lots of opportunities to meet homeowners where they are and enhance how they interact with us, Quinn-Gordon said.

“I’ve always had a strong interest in information technology,” she said. “I appreciate the statistics component of the position and enjoy evaluating new technologies as a means to improving the way we do business.”

It’s this technology inclination and leadership that is helping Cenlar drive adoption of the cutting-edge technology across the company.

During the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Quinn-Gordon worked with partners throughout the organization to respond to the evolving needs of homeowners by introducing a forbearance chatbot on CenNet. She currently leads this same cross-functional team to deliver additional projects that have high value to our clients and their homeowners.

“Brighid delivers on key strategic projects, and she is proving herself as a leader on the team who is capable of working with various departments, aligning them with shared Cenlar objectives and delivering business value,” said Director of Information Technology Shanth Ananthuni.

Quinn-Gordon has worked closely with her IT Digital team members to deliver on initiatives such as our new mobile application, client-facing APIs and automation technologies. The team, as it shows strength staying current with technology advances, is partnering with our operational areas to enhance service processes as part of our ongoing Automation Factory project. The team, in the spirit of continuous improvement, works tirelessly on client-facing applications, such as CenAccess, Global Teller and the API Library, and homeowner-facing applications, like CenNet, the Cenlar mobile app, chatbot and live chat on CenNet.

When Quinn-Gordon isn’t busy figuring out the intricacies of artificial intelligence, she enjoys training in martial arts (she’s a second-degree black belt) and playing video games.

Now Updated on CenAccess: List of Emails We’ve Sent Homeowners This Month

We have posted a list on CenAccess of all of the emails that we send to homeowners.

To access this list, go to the Training & Reference menu on CenAccess, and select “User Manuals.” The file name is “Email Listing for Clients 01.15.23.”

This file is updated with the most-recent list of homeowner emails once each month.