Encompass LO Connect Updates and Enhancements to Features - 21.3 Major Release

This section discusses the updates and enhancements to existing forms, features, services, or settings that are provided in this release.

Rebranding Updates

With the acquisition of Ellie Mae, Inc. by Intercontinental Exchange in 2020, Ellie Mae, Inc. officially became ICE Mortgage Technology in May 2021. In support of this company naming update, references to Ellie Mae in the Encompass LO Connect user experience have now been updated to ICE Mortgage Technology. In addition, a new design for the Encompass logo is being introduced in LO Connect 21.3.

For example, the Encompass LO Connect log in screen now features the new Encompass logo and ICE Mortgage Technology branding.

The About page now features the new Encompass logo.

Note: Beginning October 2nd, the new logos on the Log-in page and throughout LO Connect are visible even if your Encompass instances is still on version 21.2.

ENCW-58383

New Forms

Support for ATR/QM Management forms has been added to Encompass LO Connect. With this initial release, the Qualification and ATR/QM Eligibility forms have been added to provide a convenient, central location for recording the information you obtain to determine the borrower's ability to repay the loan and to help you document compliance with general ability-to-repay standards or eligibility for qualified mortgages status. The Qualification page enables users to make an ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage (ATR/QM) assessment based on the loan term, lien position, note amount, points and fees, monthly payments, and underwriting factors considered for the loan. The ATR/QM Eligibility page provides a matrix to help identify the factors and eligibility used to determine compliance with general ability-to-repay standards, eligibility for Qualified Mortgage status, or exemption from the CFBP ATR/QM requirements.

To Access the ATR/QM Management Forms:

  1. From a loan in Encompass LO Connect, select ATR/QM Management from the forms list.

  2. To view the Qualification page, select Qualification.

    • To view the ATR/QM Eligibility page, select ATR/QM Eligibility.
  3. To change between pages, either select the ATR/QM Management link or select the Arrow and then select the page you want to view.

ENCW-46850

Form Enhancements

To support the purchase and sale of USDA loans with cents included in the loan amount, Encompass LO Connect now provides a new Loan Amount Rounding check box (Encompass field 4745) method that enables users to override the company-wide loan amount rounding option set in the Encompass Admin Tools. This field is available on the Borrower Summary - Origination form.

When the Loan Amount Rounding check box is not select, the calculations use the Loan Amount Rounding policy setting in the Encompass Admin tools to apply the appropriate calculations. When the check box is selected, LO Connect will:

  • Update calculations that use the current loan rounding settings to ignore the loan amount rounding.

  • Update the calculation of the financed amount for the following fees:

    • Line 819 - USDA Guarantee

    • Line 902 - Financed MIP

    • Line 905 - VA Funding Fee

Note: This field is hidden for FHA loans.

ENCW-62513

A number of calculation changes have been made to several fields in LO Connect to support ULAD MISMO specifications for the Verification of Other Assets (VOOA) and Verification of Gifts and Grants (VOGG). The following calculation updates have been made:

  • Liquid Assets (Encompass field 915) now includes Pending Net Sale amounts

  • Gifts and Grants not marked as Deposited in a VOGG record are note included in the Liquid Assets amount

  • Gifts and Grands that are marked as Deposited in a VOGG record are not included in the Liquid Assets amount

  • Earnest money is not included in the Liquid Assets amount

  • Total Assets (Encompass field 732) now includes all assets.

ENCW-63143

The Employment & Income page for loans using the URLA 2020 forms has been updated to support USDA form 3555-21. With the introduction of URLA 2020, the USDA no longer requires their own version of the application. However, the income worksheet is still required for purposed of originating USDA loans and some of those fields are populated using data from the Income Worksheet and Page 6 of the Rural Assistance URLA tap on the USDA management form.

To make this information visible to users, a new USDA specific block has been added to the Income from Other Sources section of the Employment & Income page in LO Connect. This section includes the Current Annual Household Income (Encompass field USDA.X16) and Adjusted Annual Household Income (Encompass field USDA.X17). Both fields have Lock icons that can be selected to manually adjust the amounts. Select the Household Income button to open a new pop-up window that displays the fields from Income Worksheet fields.

In addition, a new Total Income section has been added to the bottom of the Employment & Income page in LO Connect. This section displays the Stable Monthly Income information from the Transmittal Summary input form.

 

ENCW-61298

Tools Enhancements

Support for the Net Tangible Benefit tool has been added to LO Connect. Use the Net Tangible Benefit tool to disclose the benefit to the borrower when one or more existing loans are being refinanced with a new loan. Enter information about the existing loan(s) and the refinance loan, the difference between the monthly payments for the loans, the time it will take the borrower to recoup the cost of the refinancing, and the benefits the borrower will receive as a result of refinancing the loan.

To Complete the Net Tangible Benefit Tool:

  1. From a loan in LO Connect, select Tools and then select Net Tangible Benefit.

  2. In the top section of the form, enter loan information and loan rates for the existing and new loans, indicate whether a prepayment penalty is being paid off with the proceeds of the new loan, and enter the prepayment penalty amount if applicable.

  3. Enter the Loan to Value and Debt/Income ratios, select a Loan Purpose, and then enter the payment and obligation amounts for the new loan.

    • The information for the new loan will populate from the loan file.

    • Payment differences between the new and existing loan are calculated based on the information entered.

  4. Indicate whether the borrower will receive any cash out from the refinance loan, and if so, enter the amount.

  5. In the second section, enter the Fees and Closing Costs Paid, the Savings Amount (based on the difference between the monthly principal and interest payment for the new and existing loans, and any debt being paid off by the loan), and the number of years it will take the borrower will recoup the refinance costs for the new loan.

  6. If applicable, select an Existing Loan was option to indicate the relationship between the broker or creditor for the new and existing loans.

  7. Indicate whether the loan will pay off or consolidate debt, and if so, enter the total amount of debt being paid off.

  8. Select check boxes for any benefits that apply to the borrower.

  9. For loans with subject properties in Massachusetts or South Carolina, select the applicable check boxes in the The following options apply only if the property state is... sections.

  10. Enter a description in the Bona Fide Financial Emergency/Circumstances text box, if applicable.

  11. Enter a description in the Borrower Received Reasonable, Tangible Net Benefit text box.

  12. Select Yes from the drop-down list to print borrower initial lines for each benefit listed on the output form.

ENCW-58312

The TPO Information tool has been updated to add additional fields and bring the tool in line with the equivalent tool in Encompass. The following fields have been added:

  • Initial Application Date (Encompass field TPO.X89)

  • Title Fees Requested Date (Encompass field TPO.X115)

  • LE/Disclosure Generated Date (Encompass field TPO.X116)

  • Loan Estimate Request Comments (Encompass field TPO.X120)

  • Appraisal Ordered Date (Encompass field TPO.X117)

  • AUS Ordered Date (Encompass field TPO.X118)

  • Preferred AUS (Encompass field TPO.X119)

ENCW-63732

The Subject Property Address field (Encompass field 11) is now disabled when a loan is using the URLA 2020 forms. This change brings LO Connect in parity with Encompass.

ENCW-62763

Custom forms designed in Encompass Web Input Form Builder are now configured with a sticky header. When the form is used in Encompass LO Connect, the name of the form now remains persistent at the top of the form so it remains visible and in place as the user scrolls down on the form.

This option is available for the Desktop view only.

NGENY-14604, NGENY-27294

If the Encompass administrator has restricted access to a custom input form in Encompass LO Connect (i.e., the link to the form in the Forms left navigation menu is hidden), when the form is configured to display in the card layout dashboard, the card that is linked to the form is now also hidden from the card dashboard. In previous versions, hidden forms could still be accessed by users if they clicked the associated card in the card dashboard.

NGENY-23017

Navigation Updates

In order to prevent potential loss of data, users are now prompted to save when they are on a loan and select a tab other than the pipeline tab. When the user selects another tab, the following message displays:

To save changes, select Yes. To discard changes, select No. To remain on the loan and not navigate to the selected tab, select Cancel.

ENCW-60489

After clicking the date picker icon in a date field to display the calendar, users can now use the Tab button to navigate through the calendar. When the calendar is open, pressing the Tab button now focuses on the calendar’s back arrow [<], then the forward arrow [>], then the back arrow [<<], then the forward arrow [>>], and then the current date.

In addition, when a calendar is displayed in within a form, the current day/date is now selected/highlighted by default.

NGENY-26415, NGENY-26583

ESign Update

The eSign process has been updated to provide a better user experience for users. Previously, users were required to access the eSign view from the pipeline to view any packages. With this change, users can access their list of packages that need to be eSigned under the new Packages tab in LO Connect. Users can eSign documents directly from the Packages tab without opening a loan, but users can also access the documents that need to be eSigned from the loan file.

Note: The eSign process is unchanged for the mobile view.

To eSign Documents from the Packages tab:

  1. From the LO Connect Pipeline, select Packages at the top of the page.

  2. Locate the loan you want to eSign. You can sort the eSign Packages Pipeline by selecting a column header.

  3. Select Review & Sign to initiate the eSign ceremony.

  4. On the Loan Documents page, select Next to view and sign the document.

  5. Select Start to begin signing.

  6. Select the eSign signature point to eSign the document.

  7. Select Finish when you are finished eSigning.

To eSign Documents from the loan file:

  1. From a loan with documents that need to be eSigned, select the Menu option and then select View Packages.

  2. On the Packages page, locate the package you wish to sign and then select Review & Sign to initiate the eSign ceremony.

  3. Select Next to view and sign the document.

  4. Select Start to begin signing.

  5. Select the eSign signature point to eSign the document.

  6. Select Finish when you are finished eSigning.

Alternatively, users can also view the eSign packages for a loan on the Documents page:

  1. From a loan with documents that need to be eSigned, select Documents from the left navigation menu.

  2. Select the Document Actions drop down option, and then select View Packages.

  3. Locate the package you wish to sign and then select Review & Sign to initiate the eSign ceremony.

  4. On the Loan Documents page, select Next to view and sign the document.

  5. Select Start to begin signing.

  6. Select the eSign signature point to eSign the document.

  7. Select Finish when you are finished eSigning.

To save changes, select Yes. To discard changes, select No. To remain on the loan and not navigate to the selected tab, select Cancel.

ENCW-60099

Workflow Enhancements

A new Query Builder has been added which enables administrators to create advanced conditions in Workflow Rules using a point and click interface to build conditions. With the new Query Builder, users can build conditions without extensive knowledge of the .NET programming language.

To Use the Query Builder

  1. From the Encompass Admin Portal, select Process Automation and then select Workflow Rules.

  2. Select New Rule to start a new Workflow Rule or edit an existing rule.

  3. In the Triggering Event section, select a Triggering Event for the rule.

  4. Select the Conditions tab, and then select Query Builder.

  5. Enter or search for a field. For this initial release, users can only search for an exact match of a field ID. Partial field search support will be added in a future release.

  6. Select an operator for your query from the list. The available options are based on the format of the field you entered/selected.

  7. Enter the value to complete this query.

  8. Once the query is completed, select Apply to apply the query to the rule. The code is copied to the Code Editor.

As you build the query, the related code is displayed in the Output section.

To add additional lines to the query:

  • Select the first Menu icon , and then the middle icon () to add another query.

  • Repeat the process detailed starting with step 5 above to configure the query.

  • If there is more than one query, select the second Menu option to indicate whether to use the AND condition or the OR condition with your queries.

  • If you need to delete a query, you can select the first Menu icon , and then the left icon () to remove the query line.

  • To change the order of the queries, select the Handle at the front of the row.

To create nested queries, select the first menu and then select the right icon ()

ENCW-56984

The ability to export and import workflow rules has been added to LO Connect. This feature enables administrators to export existing workflow rules or import rules from another environment to a new one. This feature assists administrators with moving rules between a test and production environment. Administrators can export up to 10 rules at a time.

Administrators must ensure that all task dependencies are available in the target instance when an import is performed. This includes roles, user groups, task groups, tasks, sub-tasks, documents, and milestones. For information on exporting and importing tasks, see the Task Group and Stand-Alone Task Import/Export Functionality Added entry below.

Note: Imported rules are not active by default. The administrator must enable a rule after it has been imported before the rule will take effect.

Note: Administrators must edit existing rules created before the 21.3 Major Release Update and save them again (no change is necessary) before exporting a rule. Any rules created after the 21.3 Major Release will not be affected.

To Export Workflow Rules:

  1. From the Encompass Admin Portal, select Process Automation, and then select Worklfow Rules.

  2. Select the check box in front of the rules you want to export. You may select up to 10 rules.

  3. Select the Export button.

  4. On the Export Workflow Rule(s) window, enter a name for the file that will be downloaded to your system. For example, you can enter a name like ChangeSetDeployment. When exporting multiple rules, each rule is downloaded as a separate file and is named with an incremental number for each file. Using the naming ahead, multiple workflow rules would be named ChangeSetDeployment(1).xml, ChangeSetDeployment(2).xml, etc.

  5. Select Export.

    Note: You may be prompted by your browser to download files. Each selected rule is downloaded as a separate .XML file to your browser's default download folder. Do not modify the XML files that are generated.

To Import Workflow Rules:

  1. From the Encompass Admin Portal, select Process Automation and then select Worklfow Rules.

  2. Select the Import button.

  3. Navigate to the location where the workflow rules .XML file is downloaded, and then select the file or files and select Open.

  4. On the Import Workflow Rule(s) window, review the items you and importing and then select Next.

  5. Review the validations message and then select Import. Note that any existing duplicate rules will be replaced with the rules in the Import file.

ENCW-54034

Milestone Completed has been added as a Triggering Event for Workflow Rules in LO Connect. With this update, administrators can now configure rules to trigger when a specific milestone has been completed on a loan file.

To Configure a Workflow Rule to Trigger When a Milestone is Completed:

  1. From the Encompass Admin Portal, select Process Automation and then select Worklfow Rules.

  2. Select New Rule to start a new Workflow Rule or edit an existing rule.

  3. In the Triggering Event section, select Milestone Competed for the rule.

  4. Select the milestone that the rule applies to in the Milestones field.

  5. Select the Conditions tab and finish configuring the rule.

ENCW-52976

A new validation warning has been added to alert administrators when a field used for a Field Value Modified event is not part of the Encompass audit trail. In order for a Field Value Modified event to trigger, the triggering field must be part of the Encompass Reporting Database and the Audit Trail. When an administrator adds a field that is not part of the audit trail, the following information displays:

Note: You can define and add the rule despite the warning, but you must add the field to the Reporting Database and include it in the Audit Trail before testing the rule.

ENCW-61233

A new Last Modified By column has been added to the Workflow Rules page. When a workflow rule is created or edited, the user id for the user that created or modified the rule is displayed in this column

ENCW-61389

With this update, some of the Workflow Rules are now triggered from Encompass in addition to the existing support for LO Connect or via APIs. The following events support this expanded scope: Field Value Modified, Document Added, Role Assigned, and Milestone Completed.

Note: The field assigned to the Field Value Modified trigger should be added to the Reporting Database and included in the Audit Trail. Consider the performance implications on Encompass when adding fields to the Reporting Database and the Audit Trail. Adding several new fields to the Reporting DB and the Audit Trail is not recommended to take advantage of this feature. To the extent you already have key fields in the Reporting Database and included in the Audit Trail, consider using those fields with this new event. Enhancements will be made to this feature in future to mitigate this constraint.

ENCW-62669

New Information icons have been added to the Triggering Event field on the Triggering Events tab and the Resulting action field on the Result tab. These new icons provide context sensitive information when the user hovers over them. When a triggering event type or resulting action type is selected, the information icon is updated so that the information that is displayed is relevant to the selection the user made.

For example, when the triggering events of Loan Created is selected, the following information displays:

If the user changes the triggering event to Milestone Completed, the information that displays for the information icon is updated:

ENCW-61921, ENCW-61937

Task Framework Enhancements

LO Connect users can now change the due date on a task if the Administrator has enabled this feature for their persona in Encompass. When the users is viewing the task details page for a task, the user can now select the Lock icon to manually edit the due date rather than use the calculated due date.

To Update the Due Date:

  1. From the Task Detail page, select the Lock icon to manually edit the date and override the calculated due date.

  2. Enter a new date and time, or select the Calendar icon to select a date and time.

  3. Select Apply to save the changes.

ENCW-59850

The ability to import and export task groups and stand-alone tasks has been added to LO Connect. This feature enables administrators to export or import task groups and stand-alone tasks from another environment to a new one. This feature assists administrators with moving task groups and stand-alone tasks between a test and production environment.

Administrators must ensure that all task dependencies are available in the target instance when an import is performed. This includes roles, user groups, workspaces, forms, and tools (including custom forms/tools).

To Export Task Groups and Stand-Alone Tasks:

  1. From the Encompass Admin Portal, select Workflow Tasks and then select Tasks.

  2. Select a task group, and then select the Export button.

    • For a stand-alone task, select the task in the Standalone Tasks section, and then select the Export button.

  3. Enter a name for the file that will be downloaded to your system. By default, the name listed will be the name of the task group or stand-alone task. You can change the name if needed.

  4. Select Export.

To Import a Task Group or Stand-Alone Task:

  1. From the Encompass Admin Portal, select Workflow Tasks and then select Tasks.

  2. Select the Task Group and Task Container folder for Task Groups, or the Standalone Tasks folder for stand-alone tasks.

  3. Select the Import button.

  4. Navigate to the location where the workflow rules .XML file is downloaded, and then select the file or files and select Open.

  5. If the task already exists in this environment, a confirmation window displays. Select Yes to overwrite the existing task with the one being imported.

  6. Review the items you and importing and then select Next.

  7. Review the validations message and then select Import.

ENCW-57280

Several additional task framework enhancements have been made to improve the experience when working with configuring tasks. The following updates have been made:

  • The Always create when parent is created is no longer selected by default when creating a stand-alone task. When this check box is selected for a stand-alone task the task is unavailable for use with Workflow Rules configurations.

  • A new error message displays when a user attempts to create a child task group within an existing task group where tasks are already created. Child tasks groups can only be nested inside a task group when no tasks exist at the same level. The user will also receive this error if they attempt to create a task in a task group that has an existing child task group.

  • Admins now prompted to save changes when selecting the Back arrow on the Add Content page when changes have been made.

ENCW-59058, ENCW-60056, ENCW-61017

Several usability changes have been made to improve the experience for the task details page for tasks. The following updates have been made:

  • The save button has been renamed and moved from the bottom of the Task Details section on the left. The save button is now labeled Apply and is located below the Re-assign field.

  • Custom forms with Virtual Fields now load in the Task workspace

ENCW-54123, ENCW-62712

Services Changes

A new Services persona option has been added to enabled administrators to assign user access to all services in Encompass LO Connect. This option grants global access to the services pages across all categories in LO Connect. Further granular control for specific service categories is done via the Service Management configurations in LO Connect. This option is enabled by default. For more information on configuring this new service, see the Persona Settings: New Options Added for Encompass LO Connect entry in the Encompass 21.3 Release Notes.

NICE-33488, NICE-36425, NICE-36066

A new Underwriting Center (UWC) is now available in Encompass LO Connect.

  • Use this feature to view all your automated underwriting/GSE service order details for DU, LPA, EarlyCheck, LQA, and add details of a manual order.

  • For orders displayed on the UWC, you can view the loan snapshot for loan details at the time of order placement, and copy order details to the Transmittal Summary.

  • For users to be able to access the UWC in Encompass LO Connect, authorized Encompass users such as Encompass admins need to assign an Encompass persona that has Underwriting Center enabled.

For more information, see Underwriting Center Guide.

GSE-18252

Support for Automated Service Ordering for the Appraisal category has been added to LO Connect. With this update, Administrators can define conditions which trigger an automated service ordering attempt for the appraisal category. For information on configuring this category ASO, click here.

ASO-8535

The Corelogic Credco integration has been removed from Encompass LO Connect. This specific product was sunset by the provider. Administrators can use Corelogic Credco (Digital Certificate) in their services management configurations instead.

ASO-9020

Several placeholder categories have been added to the Services Management page in LO Connect. There are no partners available for these categories at this time, but the categories will be utilized in a future update. The following new placeholder categories have been added:

  • Mortgage Insurance

  • Title and Closing

ASO-8655

New Loan Import Feature

LO Connect users are now able to import 3.4 MISMO loan files into LO Connect. The import process enables users to import a 3.4 MISMO file into a specific loan folder. Users can also apply a loan template and assign the loan to a specific loan officer.

To Import Loan Files:

  1. From the Pipeline, select the Menu icon, and then select Import.

  2. On the Import from Fannie Mae screen, drag and drop the file onto the upload section

    • Alternatively, users can select the section above and navigate to the file they want to open.

  3. Select the folder where you want to upload the file.

  4. To apply a loan template, select the Search icon and pick the template to use for the file.

  5. To assign a loan officer, select Assign the following Loan Officer, and then select the Loan Officer from the drop down list.

  6. Select Import to import the loan file.

If a user attempts to import a file that is not supported, the following message displays:

ENCW-60156

Prospect Engagement

A new Communications Hub/Dialer Panel is now available.

  • Use this feature to view your Call History for the last seven days

  • In addition to initiating a call from the Lead Details page (available prior to this release), you can now click to redial from the Call History by tapping on a call

  • The Communications Hub/Dialer Panel now displays across all tabs/windows enabling you to access the panel from anywhere in the application

    • The Communications Hub is collapsed by default. Click the Communications icon on top or the arrow at the bottom of the hub to expand and access the panel.

    • Click the arrow at the bottom of the hub to collapse the panel.

The hub/panel displays only if your Encompass instance is enabled with the Prospect Engagement package and the logged in user has access to Dial-IQ (in Velocify).

LOC-144

Secure Scripting Framework (SSF)

The getPersonaAccess() method for the Application Object has been implemented for Encompass LO Connect. This method returns an object containing persona access information that indicates what a user has access to in the system (i.e., their persona access to forms, tools, etc.). Users must be currently logged into Encompass LO Connect in order for their persona access settings to be provided by this method.

Note: The method can be used with and without arguments.

NGENY-26884, NGENY-26885

Fixed Issues

Why we made these updates: The following issues were fixed to improve usability and to help ensure Encompass LO Connect is operating as expected. The issues that are chosen to be fixed are based on the severity of their impact to clients and client feedback.

For users in Encompass LO Connect using an input form, an issue occurred for ZIP code fields that provide a drop-down list of multiple ZIP code options. When the drop-down list is displayed, users could not use the Tab button on their keyboard to scroll through the list. This issue has been resolved so that users can now use the Tab button to navigate to the ZIP Code field and then scroll through the list of ZIP codes with the Tab button.

In addition, an update has been made that ensures form fields remain in their current position when a drop-down list is opened on the form. Previously, certain fields would shift when a nearby drop-down list was opened on the form.

NGENY-23685, NGENY-26584

An issue occurred with custom input forms that contained virtual fields. When attempting to open a form with virtual fields, the form would not load. The progress spinner would spin until the user exited the screen. This issue has been resolved so that forms with virtual fields now display in the workspace as expected.

This update applies to Desktop and Tablet views.

NGENY-27344

 

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