Mortgage bankers should consider the accuracy, speed of implementation and reputation of automated underwriting systems they are contemplating purchasing, according to competing mortgage technology vendors.

MindBox recently announced the launch of Power Portal, an underwriting system accessible by mortgage professionals for borrower and loan information submission. MindBox's underwriting engines generate an automatic analysis under multiple scenarios.

"MindBox Power Portal is the direct result of consulting work we've done to develop portals for our customers," said CEO Rich Barfus in the announcement. "By creating a standard portal that is user-customizable ... MindBox can reduce the time to market and lower the start-up costs for our customers that want to push decisioning technology to the point of sale."

The Greenbrae, Calif.-based company said its product uses only a single source for approval and can be deployed within weeks.

Insight Lending Solutions said its underwriting Web portal, PriceMyLoan, can be delivered in less than a week to its small to mid-size mortgage clients.

"[PriceMyLoan] streamlines the approval process and provides pricing information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Insight Executive Gigi Campbell said in a recent announcement. "It's a virtual account rep that is always available, whenever and wherever the loan officer needs it."

Campbell told MortgageDaily.com that the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company's focus is centered on not only speed but also accuracy.

"The system is sort of a living breathing machine we build and maintain, and propagate any changes instantly for any of our clients," Campbell said. "Nothing is more important than accuracy; we are fully aware that it is their reputation on the line."

And the reputation of an underwriting system is equally as important as the speed and accuracy, ARC Systems CEO Ed Jones told MortgageDaily.com.

With Austin, Texas-based ARC's automated underwriting system Loan Finder Express, mortgage professionals can "compare more than 100 product and pricing options in less than 10 seconds after entering information only once."

Jones cautions that most automated underwriting engines can point a lender in the right direction but another concern remains in that many mortgage loans are sold on the secondary market; proper guidelines must be followed for the subsequent sale of those loans.

"When deciding on an AUS system, you need to look for years of experience in this market segment, (good) reputation and customer references," Jones advised.