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Special Reports
Document Services: Riding
the Wave of Paperwork
DocMagic Comes in Different Flavors
By Brad Finkelstein
CARSON, CA -- When Document Systems Inc. started in business in 1988, the company
produced typed documents on NCR forms (forms that have carbon copies built in), recalled Don Iannitti, president
and chief executive. Now the company's DocMagic software resides on some 10,000-plus desktop computers and the
firm does between 350,000 and 500,000 transactions per month.
But it is not only through the desktop program that originators have access to
DocMagic. DocMagic Online gives users access to the company's servers via a Web browser. The company's niche, Mr.
Iannitti said in an interview with Origination News, has been the packaging of documents based on the lender's requirements. This makes certain that
the third-party originators (brokers and correspondents) get the proper documents.
DocMagic Online, a Java-based application, allows users of other operating system
platforms such as Macintosh and Linux to access the servers. Windows users can also use this service.
When Document Systems opened for business, it would take the information via fax
and return the package the next day. "Our dedication to speed has never ended," Mr. Iannitti said.
There is also DocMagic Direct that allows clients to post via XML to the company's
servers through the Internet. If the loan data are ready, DocMagic Direct is the way to go, he said. DocMagic Direct
is capable of handling MISMO 1.1 to MISMO 2.3.
Typical turnaround time is between three and five seconds and never more than
seven seconds, he said. And he is looking to cut that further. Shaving another second or two off the transaction
time "is worth its weight in gold for us." A product it developed for one lender actually has that time
down to a second-and-one-half.
If an originator makes a change in the mortgage documents, the DocMagic software
has the capability to inform the user of all the documents that are impacted by the change.
Document Systems has also come to an agreement with Ellie Mae to add connectivity
to DocMagic and the LoanMagic contact management system through ePass.
In this way users can access other services through those programs, Mr. Iannitti
said.
Another service Document Systems provides to users is a computation screen. This
screen allows originators to determine if the rates, points and fees exceed the high cost loan threshold. The system
automatically tunes the calculator to the correct state.
A worry that many software users have is that is the version of the program they
are using up-to-date. In many cases it is up to the user to make sure the program is current and to install any
upgrades.
DocMagic, Mr. Iannitti said, has an automated update capability. Any time a user
connects to Document Systems' servers, the program automatically checks for upgrades. For users, he continued,
it means the program is never out of date.
Mr. Iannitti noted that DocMagic has long had this capability, even when it was
a DOS-based program.
The mortgage broker community is Document Systems' "bread and butter,"
said Bill Lambropoulos, general counsel. They want the ability to draw documents, without having the overhead involved.
Towards that end, Document Systems distributes DocMagic software for free.
In addition, Mr. Iannitti said, the company creates interfaces between DocMagic
and every loan origination system for free. It even creates interfaces with proprietary software systems that a
number of lenders have, also for free.
Besides DocMagic, there is a reader program, DocMaster. While the finished document
package is available in a PDF format, DocMaster has functions that are not available in Adobe Acrobat, Mr. Iannitti
said. There are some 30,000 to 40,000 installations of DocMaster.
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