Feature Enhancements in Version 20.1.0.12 Server Patch 9

Updates to the Encompass Server (i.e., Server Patch 9)

Below are updates in the Server Patch that is applied to the Encompass Server. The Server Patch contains the relevant Encompass code that applies to the following feature enhancement. The Server Patch included with this release will be applied to the Encompass Server automatically and cannot be controlled manually via the Encompass Version Manager tool.

Encompass System Updates

Ellie Mae Invoice Management Moved to shop.elliemae.com

In earlier versions of Encompass, authorized users would view, pay, and manage Ellie Mae invoices within Encompass. In the Encompass 20.1 July Service Pack release, users will start accessing and managing their invoices at shop.elliemae.com.

To access your invoices, follow the same path as in previous versions of Encompass.

On the Encompass Home page, click the Manage My Account link located in the My Account panel on the right side of the page.

You are taken to the Ellie Mae shop.elliemae.com website. Click My Account in the menu bar, and then select Open Invoices.

Type the open invoice number, and then click the Submit button to view the invoice.

While visiting shop.elliemae.com, you can also learn about advisory consulting opportunities, explore class offerings from Ellie Mae Academy, access AllRegs resources, and more.

NICE-29654

Encompass Forms and Tools

New Property Estate Type Field on ULDD/PDD Input Form

A new Property Estate Type dropdown list (field ID ULDD.X197) has been added to the ULDD/PDD input form to capture a mapped value from the following fields:

For loans using the 2009 URLA forms, from the Estate will be held in field (field ID 1066) or the Manner field (field ID 33) on the 1003 Page 1 input form.
For loans using the new URLA forms The Estate will be held in (field ID 1066) or the Manner in Which title will be Held checkboxes (field ID URLA.X139) on the 1003 URLA – Lender input form.

The new Property Estate Type dropdown list includes the following three options, which are populated by Encompass using the logic described below. Encompass users can click the Lock icon next to the field to select an option manually.

Fee Simple – This option is populated when Fee Simple is selected in field 1066 for either 2009 URLA or New URLA loans.
Leasehold – This option is populated when Leasehold is selected in field 1066 for either 2009 URLA or New URLA loans.
Other – This option is populated when Other is selected in field 33 for 2009 URLA loans or when the Life Estate checkbox (field URLA.X138) is selected for new URLA loans.

CBIZ-32229

Update to the Encompass Server
(i.e., Server Patch 9) and Client Machines (20.1.0.12)

The Encompass 20.1 July Service Pack release includes the following feature enhancements. In order for these enhancements to be fully integrated into your Encompass system, both the Server Patch and the client-side update provided with this release must be applied. The Server Patch included with this release is applied to the Encompass Server automatically and cannot be controlled manually via the Encompass Version Manager tool. The client-side update in this release can be controlled manually via the Encompass Version Manager tool. If the tool has been configured to always apply client-side updates to users’ computers automatically, users will receive the client-side updates upon their initial log in of Encompass following the release.

Again, the feature enhancements listed below will not be fully implemented until both the Server Patch and the client-side updates are applied to your Encompass system.

Encompass Forms and Tools

Special Feature Code Lookup Feature Added to the ULDD/PDD Input Form

A Lock icon and an Edit icon have been added to the Investor Feature ID fields on the ULDD/PDD input form to enable users to manually add Special Feature Codes or to select preconfigured special feature codes for a loan. As many as 10 codes can be added. These fields display on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tabs on the ULDD/PDD input form (field IDs ULDD.X36 and ULDD.X179).

Introduced in the Encompass 20.1 June Service Pack, the Field Triggers business rule settings now include a new action type called Add Special Feature Code which enables administrators and authorized users to select one or more Fannie Mae (DU) or Freddie Mac (LPA) special feature codes to be applied to applicable loans when the rule is triggered. In this Encompass 20.1 July Service Pack release, these settings for the Add Special Feature Code option are now fully operational and the business rules will be triggered and enforced as applicable.

In addition, administrators can now import and export these types of Field Triggers business rules. Use the Import and Export icons provided near the top of the settings screen to import or export these rules.

For detailed information about using business rules to populate these fields, refer to the "New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Special Feature Code Option for Business Rules" entry on the Feature Enhancements page in the Encompass 20.1 June Service Pack release notes.

To Manually Enter a Special Feature Code:

Click the Lock icon and then type one of more Special Feature Codes in the field, separating each feature code with a space.

To Select and Add Special Feature Codes Using the Edit Icon:

Click the Edit Icon to open the Special Feature Codes Look-up window.

The window displays the Special Feature Codes configured in the Special Feature Codes setting (Encompass Settings > Tables and Fees > Special Feature Codes).
Only Fannie Mae codes display when accessing the window from the Fannie Mae tab.
Only Freddie Mac codes display when accessing the window from the Freddie Mac tab.

On the Special Feature Codes Look-up pop up window, sort and filter the entries as needed:
- Click the header for the Code or Description column to sort the column in alphanumeric order.
- Click the Add/Delete column header to sort the entries based on the checkbox selections.
- Type all or part of a Code or Description in the search fields above the Code or Description column to filter the entries. At least three characters must be entered to run a filter. To apply the filter, press the Enter or Tab key or click outside the search box.
Select or clear checkboxes to add or remove a code on the Investor Feature ID field.
When finished, click OK to add the codes or click Cancel to cancel your changes and return to the ULDD/PDD form.
- Select up to 10 checkboxes. If you select an 11th checkbox, an error message displays stating that only 10 Special Feature Codes can be submitted.

Migration

For loans created prior to updating to the Encompass 20.1 July Service Pack release, previous selections for the Investor Feature ID field are retained, and the fields are not editable. Click the Lock icon to edit the entries.

CBIZ-32186

Encompass Settings

Updates to the Encompass Client Machines

The Encompass 20.1 July Service Pack release includes the following enhancements, which are client-side updates that are applied to users' Encompass client machines. This client update can be controlled manually via the Encompass Version Manager tool. If the tool has been configured to always apply new releases to users’ computers automatically, users will receive this update upon their initial log in of Encompass following the release.

Encompass System Performance Updates

System Performance Enhancement Options Added to Encompass Admin Tools to Enable Administrator to Enable or Disable These Enhancements

Several new options are available to improve Encompass system performance and help ensure that users can operate more efficiently and create and update more loans in less time. These system enhancement options can be managed (enabled/disabled) by administrators by using these new settings in the Encompass Admin Tools’ Settings Manager.

Loan Open Performance Improvements – A new Loan Open Performance Improvements component is now available in the Components category in the Settings Manager. This option is set to Disabled by default.

When enabled, the following enhancements are applied to the Encompass client machines. (To enable this setting, double-click the Value field, and then select Enabled.):

When opening a loan file, the system now retrieves and processes the following user information and settings from the system cache instead of retrieving these from the Encompass database:
- User license information
- Business calendar
- The user’s service configuration settings (such as the configurations set up in the Encompass Compliance Service, Mortgage Insurance settings, etc.)
- Input form access permissions level
- Milestone access permission level
  - Access to print forms
  - Input field validation
  - Dynamic Data Management (DDM) trigger timestamp
When opening a loan file, the system now retrieves and loads various types of loan-related information (rate lock status, loan property information, Pipeline information, and additional loan data) at the same time (in one API call) instead of loading them individually.
- Plan Code conflicts are managed more efficiently
- Print Auto Selection business rules can be created so that specified forms are automatically listed in the Selected Forms panel of the Print window when the required loan conditions are met so forms can be printed quickly. When enabled, the system will now perform the actions required to attach the forms to the Print window accordingly after the user logs into Encompass- and before the user opens a loan. Prior to this option being available, the attach process was performed after the user opened the loan.
Show Loan Save Progress Bar – A new Feature category has been added to the Settings Manager, along with the new Show Loan Save Progress Bar option. This option is disabled (False) by default.

When enabled, the new loan save progress bar will be provided in the loan workspace to indicate when the loan save process starts and when it is completed. (To enable this setting, double-click the Value field, and then select True.):

Any time a user clicks the Save icon to save changes to a loan, the progress bar displays at the very bottom of the loan workspace. This enhancement provides the user with a clear indication of how the loan save process is progressing and when it is finished. In earlier versions of Encompass, there was no indicator for this process.

The loan status bar is displayed only when the user clicks the Save icon. System autosaves that are performed at various times (such as when a disclosure tracking record is added to the loan) will not use this loan save progress bar at this time. This enhancement will be provided in a future Encompass release.

When the Save icon is clicked, the loan status bar displays at the bottom of the loan workspace.

As the loan save process progresses, the status bar progresses accordingly.

Once the loan save is complete, the status bar is no longer displayed. Instead, the Trade Update icon and eFolder Attachment Status icon are displayed in this location.

When you click the Save icon again to save changes to the loan, the status bar is displayed here again.

In addition to the loan save progress bar described above, an enhanced version of the loan save progress bar is also available when running Encompass in Diagnostic Mode (i.e., Diagnostic Mode – Entire Session or Diagnostic Mode- Just in Time). This enhanced version indicates each activity that is being performed during the loan save process so that the user can observe the time it takes to complete each activity.

Each activity area is indicated in the progress bar and color coded to indicate where time is spent in two categories:

Encompass activities performed (such as calculations and business rules) and loan data saved (blue)
Activities performed through all custom extensions and custom plugins that are registered to run in loan save (orange).

As the loan save process progresses, the status bar progresses accordingly.

The time spent to perform each of the activities is recorded and the name of the plugin being executed is provided with this enhanced loan save progress bar.

Note that the standard loan save progress bar is also displayed at the bottom of the loan workspace during the loan save process when using the enhanced loan save progress bar in Diagnostic Mode.

Once the loan save process is completed, the Loan Save Metrics icon is displayed at the bottom of the workspace.

Click this icon to view specific details about each loan save that has been performed, including a breakdown of the time spent saving data and performing Ellie Mae activities versus custom plugins and extensions versus custom field calculations. Click the graph details to drilldown into deeper details. This option can help users troubleshoot and pinpoint slow loan saves and/or custom plugins.

Show Pipeline Tab at Startup - A new Client category has been added to the Settings Manager, along with the new Show Pipeline Tab at Startup option. This option is disabled (False) by default.

When logging into Encompass, the users land on the Encompass Home page (with a splash message if applicable). Starting in this 20.1 July Service Pack release, when this option is enabled, the users will bypass the Home page and land directly on their Pipeline tab instead (with a splash message if applicable), so that they can begin working on their loans immediately.

To enable this option, double-click the Value field, and then select True.

Note that for users who do not have access to the Pipeline, they will continue to land on the Home page when logging in.

NICE-30270, NICE-30952, NICE-30954

Encompass Forms and Tools

Updates in VA Cash-Out Refinance Loan Home Equity Remaining for Proposed Loan)

The following updates have been made to address issues with the appraised value used in the calculation for the remaining Home Equity Remaining (field ID VASUMM.X112) for a proposed VA cash-out refinance loan as described in V.A. Cash-Out Refinance Circulars 26-18-30 and 26-19-05.

The following updates have been made to the calculation for the Home Equity Remaining (field ID VASUMM.X112) for the proposed loan:

When the Appraised Value (field ID 356) has a value entered, the Home Equity Remaining (field ID VASUMM.X112) for the proposed loan is the Appraised Value (field ID 356) minus the Outstanding balance Property Liens (field ID VASUMM.X126).
When the Appraised Value (field ID 356) is blank and the Reasonable (Estimated) Value (field ID 1821) has a value entered, the Home Equity Remaining (field ID VASUMM.X112) for the proposed loan is the Estimated Value (field ID 1821) minus the Outstanding balance Property Liens (field ID VASUMM.X126).

To enable easy entry of the estimated appraised value for the proposed loan, the Reasonable (Estimated) Value (field ID 1821) has been added to the Cash-Out Refinance tab on the VA Management input form.

CBIZ-24316

Updated Calculations for Down Payment/Funds From Borrower and Funds for Borrower

With the Encompass 19.1 release, an update was made to the calculation of Down/Payment/Funds From Borrower (LE2.X2) and Funds for Borrower (LE2.X3) to include in 3rd party payoffs. Some customers have provided feedback that they would like to include the payoffs only for certain types of purchase transactions. The updates listed below have been made to enable Encompass users to adjust the calculations for these amounts on purchase loans:

A new Include Payoffs in Adjustment and Credits (field ID LE2.X101) has been added to the Calculating Cash to Close section on the Loan Estimate Page 2 input form. This checkbox displays only when using standard disclosure documents for a loan with the Purchase checkbox selected for the Loan Purpose (field ID 19). By default, the checkbox is cleared. When selected, payoffs are included in adjustments and credits for purchase loans.

A new Total Purchase Payoffs included in Adjustments (K04) (Purchase Transaction only) amount (field ID CD3.X1543) has been added to the Adjustments and Other Details pop-up window. By default, this field is blank.

CBIZ-25500

New URLA

New URLA Address Fields Now Being Used on Borrower Summary Input Forms

For loans using the new URLA input forms, the address fields on the Borrower Summary – Origination and Borrower Summary – Processing input forms for the subject property address, present address, and previous address fields for the borrower and co-borrower are being updated to be consistent with the address fields on the new URLA input forms, as shown below. The following fields now display in the sections listed below.

Subject Property Information

The Subject Property Information fields have been updated to use the address fields from the 1003 URLA Part 4. The field IDs for these fields are the same as the field IDs on the new URLA forms. A new Unincorporated Area field has also been added.

Current Address

The labels for the Borrower Present Address and Co-Borrower Present Address sections have been renamed Borrower Current Address and Co-Borrower Current Address, and the following fields now display in each section. The field IDs for these fields are the same as the field IDs on the 1003 URLA Part 1 input form.

Former Address

The labels for the Previous Address sections for the borrower and co-borrower have been renamed Former Address, and the following fields now display in each section. The field IDs for these fields are the same as the field IDs on the 1003 URLA Part 1 input form.

CBIZ-27125

Two New Encompass Admin Tools Options for New URLA Forms

Recent GSE updates to the new URLA forms have removed the sections dealing with Language Preference (URLA Part 1) and Homeownership Education and Housing Counseling (URLA Lender) from the output forms. The data in these sections is now optional but can be collected by the lender if desired. Access to the sections is controlled by two new options in the Policy category in the Encompass Admin Tools:

URLA - Collect Language Preference
URLA - Collect Homeownership Counseling

By default, both options are enabled, and the sections are visible on the input forms, but the settings can be configured to remove one or both sections from the input form.

To Configure Access to the Sections:

On your Windows task bar, click the Start menu or Start icon, navigate to the Ellie Mae Encompass program folder, and then click Admin Tools.
Double-click Settings Manager.

If you are prompted to log in to the server, type the User ID, Password, and Server that you use to log in to Encompass as the Admin user.

Select Policies from the Category list.
Double-click the URLA - Collect Language Preference or the URLA - Collect Homeownership Counseling option.
- Select True in the Value column to make the section visible on the input form.
- Select False in the Value column to remove the section from the input form.