Calyx Point vs. Encompass from ICE Mortgage Technology

It gets the job done for initiating loans. I can't say anything about the marketing tools as I haven't used them but as a de facto technical support person in the company, I have helped many of the loan officers resolve issues (or inform them they are not resolvable yet). One limitation I ran into was property and loan matching. The system allows one property to be matched with multiple liabilities but not the converse. For an investor with a portfolio loan, it was not possible to show one liability relating to multiple properties. This required workarounds. The field for entering properties is very small in list form making review difficult when there are more than a few properties. The interface could be more adjustable. Overall, the program is not well-liked by the loan officers who would prefer a more modern platform, though all surely have some drawbacks. The program appears to have many functions we do not use and it would be preferred if the ones we use worked better.

Incentivized

The system is great for loan origination and downline processing. The thing about Encompass is that it's only as good as its user so I can see where new loan originators or folks who are new to the system can have a huge disadvantage over somebody who is experienced with it. Of course, if you have experience with it it's the perfect tool. Compliance is also a big factor that Encompass does take advantage of. It communicates with various 3rd parties like Blend, appraisal management systems, Loanbeam, etc to help gather data where needed and keep files in compliance as needed. I don't know of any other case use for Encompass outside of loan origination.

Incentivized

• I can’t say
• I don’t have any examples
• The suite is a constant thorn in my side

Incentivized

• The Web Center allows us to compete in our market and also allows us to continue to originate loans in markets where we don't have a physical originator.
• The software is easy to use so it allows us to train staff very quickly so they can start producing mortgages.
• I appreciate receiving information on upcoming updates well before they take place so that I can review the updates and inform the staff of changes they need to be aware of.

• There is lots of room for improvement as there have been many bugs in the implementation of the new format. Responsiveness to customer needs was inexcusably slow for a change that was years in the planning.
• Many of the calculations seem inconsistent on Fees Worksheet and other pages, including differences in how the information appears when printed vs onscreen.
• The menus are not intuitive and could be much better.
• The user interface is archaic.
• Field links do not work correctly and take a long time to be corrected.

Incentivized

• Encompass is a powerful tool that is flexible and can be set up to meet your business needs. However, a guide of best practices in designing a workflow process would be a huge resource.
• A feature that would be helpful is the ability to easily create pop up boxes that could allow users to identify errors in data being entered in to fields and direct them to a solution to easily correct the error.

Incentivized

Invested and believe the system will be able to meet our needs for years to come, plus we have confidence in the company, Ellie Mae.

some minor improvements would make a huge difference to me

No better support around

Incentivized

Should have sent someone to become an admin prior to implementation.

Incentivized

There are several other products available that we will consider when we are able to upgrade from Calyx.

Incentivized

I am a long time user of Calyx software. I have loved using Calyx for most of my career. Early on, I did experience Encompass once and I felt it was too "management centric" at the time. After coming back to it now, I realize that my original feelings were more about distrust of my own management than the software itself.

Incentivized

• The learning curve to proficiency is steep
• My goals of developing a smooth workflow [are] hindered by the lack of Point’s intuitiveness

Incentivized

• Ellie Mae prepared itself well for TRID. We have been able to manage all of the changes using the configurable workflow to help all users understand the nuances of TRID.
• We have gone paperless saving us time in transporting files between users and allowing us to reduce time to close.
• Electronic signature of documents has allowed us to reach more borrowers.

Incentivized