Patent Application
20170069022
This disclosure relates generally to communicating property data, and more particularly to communicating property data related to obligations attached to the property.
Property, such as real-estate and vehicles, is often encumbered by liens. It is non-trivial and time consuming to determine whether a particular property has encumbrances, such as liens. The difficulty in determining whether a property is encumbered by liens is especially problematic when dealing with conveying the property and with insurance payments on property. For example, a property owner may demand rapid payment from an insurance company of an insurance claim on a property, however, if the property is encumbered by one or more liens, other parties (e.g., lien holders) may be entitled to a portion of the insurance payment.
According to embodiments of the present disclosure, disadvantages and problems associated with providing internal services to external enterprises may be reduced or eliminated.
In certain embodiments, a system for communicating property data includes one or more interfaces operable to receive lien data, the lien data including an identification of a lien on a property, an identification of the holder of the lien, a balance of debt associated with the lien, and a repayment schedule for the amount of debt associated with the lien; and lien authentication data, the lien authentication data including one or more from the set comprising: a copy of an agreement memorializing the lien, a property title memorializing the lien, and a government record memorializing the lien; one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more interfaces, the one or more memories operable to store the received lien data and the received lien authentication data; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors operable to: determine, based on the received lien authentication data, that the received lien data is valid, and determine, based on the received lien data, that the received balance of debt associated with the lien needs to be updated.
In particular embodiments, a system for communicating property data, comprising one or more memories operable to store a lien data for a plurality of properties, the lien data including: an identification of a lien on a property, an identification of the holder of the lien, and a balance of debt associated with the lien; and one or more interfaces communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more interfaces operable to receive a property payment request from a requesting party, the property payment request including an identification of a subject property; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors operable to: determine that the subject property is one of the plurality of properties stored on the one or more memories, determine one or more liens associated with the subject property, and determine the lien holder for each determined lien associated with the subject party.
Certain embodiments of the present disclosure may provide one or more technical advantages having specific technical effects.
In certain embodiments, a system is operable to provide a centralized repository associating property with liens, thereby conserving the computational resources and bandwidth consumed by searching disparate resources to identify liens on a property.
In particular embodiments, a system is operable to determine an amount of debt associated with one or more liens on a property, thereby conserving the computational resources and bandwidth consumed by searching disparate resources to determine an amount of debt associated with a property.
In an embodiment, a system is operable to allocate a payment associated with a property between the property owner and lien holders, thereby conserving the computational resources and bandwidth consumed by searching disparate resources to determine payment allocations for the property owner and lien holders.
Other technical advantages of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims. Moreover, while specific advantages have been enumerated above, various embodiments may include all, some, or none of the enumerated advantages.
For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and for further features and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Embodiments of the present disclosure and its advantages are best understood by referring to
In an example, a system includes a lien holder interface module operable to receive lien data from lien holders and store the lien data in a centralized database. The lien holder interface module may be operable to determine liens associated with properties, debt balances associated with liens, and to interface with interested entities to disburse payments associated with property encumbered by liens to the lien holders and to the property owner.
Property owners 110 represent entities that own property, for example, real-estate, vehicles, or any other type of property. Property owners 110 may be individuals, companies, or other entity that owns property. In an embodiment, property owners 110 may have an encumbered interest in a property. For example, a property may be encumbered with liens on the property, which represent a non-possessory security interest in the property. Liens may be memorialized in property ownership documents (e.g., a title), agreements between property owners 110 and lien holders, in government records (e.g., publically registered documents), or in any other suitable form. In certain embodiments, liens are associated with an amount of debt secured by property of property owners 110, and the debt may have a particular repayment schedule (e.g., an amortization schedule).
Member financial institutions 120 represent a plurality of financial institutions 132 that have entered into an agreement (e.g., a joint venture, contractual agreement, and/or other suitable agreement) to maintain a centralized repository (e.g., database 128 of lien holder interface module 140) of property information, such as identification of liens on property. Financial institutions 120 may include organizations such as commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, Internet banks, mutual fund companies, brokerage firms, credit card companies, or other entity. In certain embodiments, financial institutions 120 have different business units or subdivisions that handle different business activities.
Member financial institutions 120 may have liens on a number of properties (e.g., vehicles, real-estate, or other property) and communicate lien data to lien holder interface module 140. Lien data may include an identification of a lien on a property, an identification of the holder of the lien (e.g., the lien holder), an identification of the property subject to the lien (e.g., an address, a vehicle identification number (“VIN”), or other suitable property identifier), an identification of the type of property subject to the lien (e.g., car, boat, recreational vehicle, motorcycle, first home, second home, business, or other suitable property categorization), a balance of debt associated with the lien, a debt repayment schedule associated with the lien, an identification of the property owner (e.g., property owner 110), or any other suitable information associated with a lien or a property. Member financial institutions 120 may further communicate lien authentication data to lien holder interface module 140. Lien authentication data represents information that can be used (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) to validate a lien, such as an agreement between the lien holder and the property owner memorizing the lien, a property title memorializing the lien, a government record memorializing the lien, or any other suitable information operable to validate a lien on a property.
Third party lien holders 130 represent lien holders that are not member financial institutions 120, but that hold liens on property. Third party lien holders 130 may include organizations such as commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, Internet banks, mutual fund companies, brokerage firms, credit card companies, vehicle dealerships, vehicle manufacturers, contractors, developers, or any other type of lien holder. In certain embodiments, third party lien holders 130 may submit lien data to lien holder interface module 140. For example, member financial institutions 120 may charge a fee for maintaining third party lien holder 130 lien data (e.g., in database 128 of lien holder interface module). The fee may be based on the type of property associated with the lien, the amount of debt associated with the lien, the particular third party lien holder 130, or any other suitable information. In certain embodiments, lien holder interface module 140 is operable to communicate fee requests, for example, to third party lien holders 130 or member financial institutions 120, and to receive payments on the communicated fee requests for example, to third party lien holders 130 or member financial institutions 120.
Lien holder interface module 140 represents a component of system 100 operable to maintain lien data received from one or more of member financial institutions 120 and third party lien holders 130. Lien holder interface module 140 may further be operable to receive requests for lien data from member financial institutions 120, third party lien holders 130, or interested entities 150. In certain embodiments, lien holder interface module 140 is operable to interface with one or more of property owners 110, member financial institutions 120, third party lien holders 130, and interested entities 150. Lien holder interface module 140 may include one or more processors 142, interfaces 144, memories 146, and databases 148.
In an embodiment, lien holder interface module 140 is operable to receive lien data and/or lien authentication data, for example, from member financial institutions 120 and/or third party lien holders 130. In certain embodiments, member financial institutions 120 have a relationship (e.g., a joint venture, contractual agreement, and/or other suitable agreement) such that lien data from each of the member financial institutions 120 is trusted. For example, member financial institutions 120 may not be required to submit lien authentication data to lien holder interface module 140, while third party lien holders 130 may be required to submit lien authentication data. Alternatively, member financial institutions 120 may be required to submit different lien authentication data to lien holder interface module 140 than third party lien holders 130. In particular embodiments, lien holder interface module 140 is operable validate lien data, for example, based on lien authentication data. Lien holder interface module 140 may compare received lien data to received lien authentication data to determine whether the lien data matches the lien authentication data to validate that the lien data is accurate. Lien holder interface module 140 may store received lien data and/or lien authentication data in database 148.
In certain embodiments, lien holder interface module 140 is operable to search database 148 and determine whether a property is listed in database 148, and if the property is listed to identify liens and lien data associated with the property. Lien holder interface module 140 may be operable to determine whether stored lien data is current or whether stored lien data needs to be updated. For example, a lien may be associated with a debt balance and a debt repayment schedule and lien holder interface module 140 may be operable to determine whether the debt balance needs to be updated based on the debt repayment schedule. If the lien balance has not been updated by the lien holder for a time period (e.g., for a time period longer than the payment periods described by the debt repayment schedule), lien holder interface module 140 may determine that the debt balance needs to be updated and send a message to the lien holder requesting an update to the lien data. In an embodiment, if lien data is not updated, lien holder interface module may designate it as unreliable and may not consider the lien data in operations (e.g., payment disbursements, lien searches, etc.) performed by lien holder interface module 140.
Lien holder interface module 140 may be operable to receive a property payment request (e.g., from interested entities 150), for example, a payment on an insurance claim associated with a property. In certain embodiments, lien holder interface module 140 searches database 148 for a property identified in a received payment request to determine whether there are associated liens. If lien holder interface module 140 determines that there are identified liens, it may determine lien balances associated with the identified liens. In an embodiment, lien holder interface module 140 may determine a total debt balance associated with a property based on the determined liens and lien balances associated with the property. Lien holder interface module 140 may be operable to determine whether a payment amount identified by the received payment request is greater than the determined total debt balance associated with the property, and may be operable to communicate the result to the interested entity 150 communicating the payment request.
In particular embodiments, lien holder interface module 140 is operable to receive payment related to a property (e.g., from interested entities 150) and disburse the payment to lien holders associated with the property and to the property owner associated with the property. For example, interested entity 150 may be an insurance company paying an insurance claim for a home that was destroyed in a fire. Lien holder interface module 140 may be operable to identify the property owner and lien holders associated with the property, determine a debt balance associated with each lien, and to disburse payment to the lien holders for the debt balance corresponding to each lien, and to disburse the remainder to the property owner. Accordingly, lien holder interface module 140 can function as a clearinghouse for payments related to property encumbered by liens. Further, lien holder interface module 140 can provide lien holders (e.g., member financial institutions 120 and/or third party lien holders) with a centralized repository of lien data for interested parties 150 to easily access.
Interested entities 150 represent entities that have an interest in a property and may include insurers of the property, prospective buyers of the property, prospective lenders seeking the property as security on a loan, or any other suitable entity. In an example, insurance customers may demand rapid payment on an insurance claim in the event of damage to, or total loss of, a property. Insurance companies may compete by ensuring that customers receive rapid payment in the event of a covered insurance claim, however, properties may be encumbered by liens where the lien holders have an interest in an insurance payment related to property. It may be less burdensome for lien holders (e.g., member financial institutions 120 and third party lien holders 130) to be paid directly from property insurers than trying to recoup payment from the property owner. For example, if a vehicle was destroyed in an accident and the vehicle owner received an insurance payment for the value of the vehicle, but still had debt to a lien holder on the vehicle, the lien holder is unsecured and must try to recoup the debt directly from the property owner.
Network 160 represents any suitable network operable to facilitate communication between components of system 100, such as property owners 110, member financial institutions 120, third party lien holders 130, and lien holder interface module 140. Network 160 may include any interconnecting system capable of transmitting audio, video, electrical signals, optical signals, data, messages, or any combination of the preceding. Network 160 may include all or a portion of a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public or private data network, a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a local, regional, or global communication or computer network, such as the Internet, a wireline or wireless network, an enterprise intranet, or any other suitable communication link, including combinations thereof, operable to facilitate communication between the components of system 100.
A module (e.g., module 140) may execute any suitable operating system such as IBM's zSeries/Operating System (z/OS), MS-DOS, PC-DOS, MAC-OS, WINDOWS, a .NET environment, UNIX, OpenVMS, or any other appropriate operating system, including future operating systems. The functions of a module may be performed by any suitable combination of one or more servers or other components at one or more locations. In embodiments where modules represent a server, the server may be a private server, and the server may be a virtual or physical server. Additionally, a module may include any suitable component that functions as a server.
Components of system 100, such as real-time processing module 140, may include one or more processors. A processor represents any computing device, such as processors 142, configured to control the operation of one or more components of system 100. A processor may comprise one or more processors and may be a programmable logic device, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, any suitable processing device, or any suitable combination of the preceding. A processor includes any hardware or software that operates to control and process information received by a component of system 100. In certain embodiments, a processor communicatively couples to other components of system 100, such as a module (e.g., module 140), an interface (e.g., interface 144), a memory (e.g., memory 146), a database (e.g., database 148), or any other suitable component.
An interface represents any device, such as interface 144 operable to receive input, send output, process the input or output, or perform other suitable operations for a component of system 100. An interface includes any port or connection, real or virtual, including any suitable hardware or software, including protocol conversion and data processing capabilities, to communicate through network 160. In certain embodiments, an interface includes a user interface (e.g., physical input, graphical user interface, touchscreen, buttons, switches, transducer, or any other suitable method to receive input from a user).
A memory represents any device, such as memory 146, operable to store, either permanently or temporarily, data, operational software, or other information for a processor. Memory includes any one or a combination of volatile or non-volatile local or remote devices suitable for storing information. For example, a memory may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, semiconductor storage devices, or any other suitable information storage device or a combination of these devices. A memory may include any suitable information for use in the operation of component of system 100. A memory may further include some or all of one or more databases (e.g., database 148).
Logic may perform the operation of any component of system 100, for example, logic executes instructions to generate output from input. Logic may include hardware, software, or other logic. Logic may be encoded in one or more non-transitory, tangible media, such as a computer-readable medium or any other suitable tangible medium, and may perform operations when executed by a computer or processor. Certain logic, such as a processor, may manage the operation of a component.
Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to system 100. System 100 may include more, fewer, or other components. Any suitable component of system 100 may include a processor, interface, logic, memory, or other suitable element.
Property owner ID column 202, represents an identifier of a property owner associated with a property identified in column 208. Lien ID column 204 represents an identifier of a lien with a property identified in column 208. Lien type column 206 represents a category of lien (e.g., car, boat, recreational vehicle, motorcycle, first home, second home, business, or other suitable property categorization). Property ID column 208 represents an identifier of a property (e.g., an address or VIN). Lien holder ID column 210 represents an identifier of a lien holder (e.g., member financial institution 120 or third party lien holder 130). Lien balance column 212 represents a debt balance associated with a lien identified in lien ID column 204. Update needed column 214 represents an indication of whether the lien data (e.g., the lien balance) needs to be updated (e.g., the lien balance has not been updated for longer than a payment period associated with a debt repayment schedule associated with the lien). Property owner account ID column 216 represents identifier(s) of account(s) held by member financial institutions 120 associated with the property owner identified in column 202.
Row 218 includes “ABC123” in property owner ID column 202, “LIEN123” in lien ID column 204, “mort.” in lien type column 206, “123 4th St. City, State ZIP” in property ID column 208, “FI987” in lien holder ID column 210, “$123,456” in lien balance column 212, “no” in update needed column 214, and “A123, B456, C789” in property owner account ID column 216. Row 218 indicates that a property owner identified as ABC123 has a mortgage lien identified as LIEN123 on a property identified by 123 4th St. City, State ZIP with a lien holder identified by FI987 that has a debt balance of $123,456.00 and that the debt balance information has been updated. Further, the property owner identified as ABC123 has accounts with member financial institutions 120 identified by A123, B456, and C789.
Row 220 includes “ABC123” in property owner ID column 202, “LIEN456” in lien ID column 204, “mort.” in lien type column 206, “123 4th St. City, State ZIP” in property ID column 208, “FI654” in lien holder ID column 210, “$7,890” in lien balance column 212, “yes” in update needed column 214, and “A123, B456, C789” in property owner account ID column 216. Row 220 indicates that a property owner identified as ABC123 has a mortgage lien identified as LIEN456 on a property identified by 123 4th St. City, State ZIP with a lien holder identified by FI654 that has a debt balance of $7,890.00 and that the debt balance information needs to be updated. Further, the property owner identified as ABC123 has accounts with member financial institutions 120 identified by A123, B456, and C789.
Row 222 includes “DEF456” in property owner ID column 202, “LIEN789” in lien ID column 204, “vehicle” in lien type column 206, “VIN12345678” in property ID column 208, “FI987” in lien holder ID column 210, “$1,234” in lien balance column 212, “no” in update needed column 214, and “D987” in property owner account ID column 216. Row 222 indicates that a property owner identified as DEF456 has a vehicle lien identified as LIEN456 on a property identified by VIN12345678 with a lien holder identified by FI987 that has a debt balance of $1,234.00 and that the debt balance information is updated. Further, the property owner identified as DEF456 has an account with member financial institutions 120 identified by D987.
Rows 218 and 220 demonstrate that the same property owner can have multiple liens on the same property with different lien holders. In an example, lien holder FI987 may be one of the member financial institutions 120 and has kept the lien balance information updated, while lien holder FI654 may be one of the third party lien holders 130 and has not kept the lien balance updated. Rows 218 and 22 demonstrate that that lien holders may hold multiple different types of liens with different property owners (e.g., lien holder FI987 holds both mortgage and vehicle liens with multiple different property owners). Rows 218, 220, and 222 further demonstrate how unique identifiers (e.g., real estate addresses and VINs) can be used to identify a plurality of liens associate with a property. Further, rows 218, 220, and 222 demonstrate that maintaining updated balances on debt associated with liens, total debt associated with a property can be determined.
Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to table 200. Table 200 may include more, different, or less fields, and may include any information relevant to communicating and maintaining property data. Table 200 may include any suitable amount of information and may be stored in any suitable type or number of memories.
Method 300 begins at step 302. At step 304 it is determined (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) whether lien data has been received (e.g., from lien holders such as member financial institutions 120 and/or third party lien holders 130). If lien data has not been received, the method returns to step 304. If lien data has been received, the method proceeds to step 306. At step 306, it is determined (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) whether lien authentication data has been received (e.g., from lien holders such as member financial institutions 120 and/or third party lien holders 130). If lien authentication data has not been received, the method returns to step 306. If lien data has been received, the method proceeds to step 308. At step 308, the received lien data and lien authentication data are stored (e.g., in database 148 of lien holder interface module 140). At step 310, it is determined (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) whether the received lien data is valid. Validation processes are discussed in more detail above with respect to
Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to method 300. The method may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order, in parallel, and/or sequentially. Any suitable component of may perform one or more steps of method 300.
Method 400 begins at step 402. At step 404, it is determined (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) whether lien data has been received (e.g., from lien holders such as member financial institutions 120 and/or third party lien holders 130). If lien data has not been received, the method returns to step 404. If lien data has been received, the method continues to step 406 and the lien data is stored (e.g., in database 148 of lien holder interface module 140). At step 408, it is determined (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) whether a property payment request has been received (e.g., by a property insurer, property purchaser, or lender considering the property as collateral). If a property payment request has been received, the method proceeds to step 410. At step 410, it is determined (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) whether a subject property identified in the property payment request is stored in a database (e.g., database 148 of lien holder interface module 140). If the subject property is not stored, the method ends at step 418. If the subject property is stored, the method proceeds to step 412. At step 412, one or more liens are identified (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) that are associated with the subject property. At step 414, one or more lien holders are identified (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) that are associated with the identified liens associated with the subject property. At step 416, the identified liens and lien holders are communicated (e.g., by lien holder interface module 140) to the requesting party. At step 418, method 400 ends.
Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to method 400. The method may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order, in parallel, and/or sequentially. Any suitable component of may perform one or more steps of method 400.
Certain embodiments of the present disclosure may provide one or more technical advantages having specific technical effects.
In certain embodiments, a system is operable to provide a centralized repository associating property with liens, thereby conserving the computational resources and bandwidth consumed by searching disparate resources to identify liens on a property.
In particular embodiments, a system is operable to determine an amount of debt associated with one or more liens on a property, thereby conserving the computational resources and bandwidth consumed by searching disparate resources to determine an amount of debt associated with a property.
In an embodiment, a system is operable to allocate a payment associated with a property between the property owner and lien holders, thereby conserving the computational resources and bandwidth consumed by searching disparate resources to determine payment allocations for the property owner and lien holders.
Other technical advantages of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims. Moreover, while specific advantages have been enumerated above, various embodiments may include all, some, or none of the enumerated advantages.
