Understandably, real estate settlement attorneys are wary of the new TRID compliance rules that require the electronic submission of data. Hackers are becoming ever more sophisticated and are targeting more people and data than ever before. Given the types and amount of private and financial data contained in real estate closing documents, the possibility of hackers stealing that data while in transit from the settlement agent to the lender has some attorneys very reluctant to submit data electronically. As full TRID implementation gets closer, what is a settlement agent to do? How can they ensure the data they submit will meet lender standards, comply with TRID, and remain safe while in transit?
The answer is MISMO.
What Is MISMO?
MISMO stands for Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. The organization is the leading technology standards development body for residential and commercial real estate finance. MISMO is a subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association. The organization creates, promotes, and maintains voluntary electronic commerce procedures and standards for the real estate industry. These standards allow mortgage lenders, investors, servicers, vendors, borrowers, and others to exchange real estate finance-related information and eMortgages efficiently and economically and with more confidence in the security of the data, even if they are using different systems.
MISMO compliance helps save time, reduce costs, improve accuracy, and increase data transparency without sacrificing data security. MISMO standards ensure data consistency throughout a transaction, boosting transparency along with consumer and investor confidence in the process.
MISMO allows free access to its standards, which makes it possible for settlement agents and software vendors alike to integrate the standards into their business. These best practices support smoother, faster, more accurate, and more secure closings.
MISMO is so far-reaching that its standards are routinely accepted in the real estate finance industry, most major lending institutions, and government agencies, including the CFPB, for their own electronic exchange of data.
MISMO And Real Estate Closing Software Systems
What does this have to do with real estate closing software? Plenty. As settlement agents come to rely on software to facilitate and manage the closing process, they need to be more aware of the security risks electronic data submission creates. One way to do this is to make sure their software vendors are designing systems that are in compliance with MISMO standards and recommendations.
To aid in this process, MISMO has a certification program that is used to evaluate software for compliance with MISMO standards, which includes new TRID standards. MISMO certification means a vendor has been vetted by the organization and found to be in compliance with their current standards. This means, the software is capable of producing and consuming MISMO-based files and transmitting them securely. The software will “talk” to other MISMO-compliant systems and provide strong data security measures at the same time.
Compliant products will bear the “MISMO Compliant” or “Certified MISMO Compliant” certification mark, which will help settlement agents and lenders evaluate software systems. This certification process is still relatively new so not all vendors have been certified yet. Until that time, agents can evaluate software on their own by asking the following questions:
- Does the software product produce and consume data files according to MISMO industry standards?
- Which version(s) of the MISMO standards can the software product receive/produce?
- Is the product MISMO Certified and is the certification current?
EasyCDF And MISMO
Easysoft’s new TRID-compliant software, EasyCDF has launched June 1, 2015. Already compliant with all of the major TRID requirements, the software will soon available a MISMO-compliant import-export data function. This feature will be in place well before the August 1 TRID implementation date at which time EasyCDF will be able to help you meet your TILA-RESPA compliance obligations automatically and securely.
To learn more about Easysoft and EasyCDF visit easysoft-usa.com or call us at 1-800-905-7638 to arrange a 30-day risk-free trial.
