LIEN PAYOFF SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20070282735A1
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Published: 12/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Assurant Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Assurant Incorporated
• Inventors: Schuebert, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US11/618,407
• Publication Number:
  US 20070282735A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A computer system that is adapted for facilitating the payoff of a financial obligation that is secured by a lien on an item, such as a vehicle. In various embodiments, the computer system is adapted for: (A) receiving a payoff proposal from a title requester that includes terms according to which the title requester proposes to pay off the particular financial obligation; (B) in response to receiving the payoff proposal from the title requester, notifying a lien holder associated with the financial obligation that the payoff proposal is available for review; and (C) after notifying the lien holder that the payoff proposal is available for review, displaying one or more terms of the payoff proposal to the lien holder. The system may be further configured for facilitating the electronic transfer of relevant documents and information between the title requestor, the lien holder, and/or various third parties or third party computer systems.

Claims

1. A lien payoff computer system for facilitating the payoff of a financial obligation that is secured by a lien on an item, said lien payoff computer system comprising:

a computer processor; and

memory for storing computer-readable instructions to be executed by said computer processor, wherein said lien payoff computer system is adapted for;

receiving a payoff proposal from a title requester, said payoff proposal comprising one or more terms according to which said title requester proposes to pay off said particular financial obligation;

in response to receiving said payoff proposal from said title requester, notifying a lien holder associated with said financial obligation that said payoff proposal is available for review; and

after notifying said lien holder that said payoff proposal is available for review, displaying one or more terms of said payoff proposal to said lien holder.

2. The lien payoff computer system of claim 1, wherein:

said payoff proposal comprises a payoff amount of said financial obligation; and

said lien payoff computer system is further configured for;

receiving, from said lien holder, an approval of said payoff proposal; and

in response to receiving said approval of said payoff proposal from said lien holder, facilitating the transfer of funds from said title requester to said lien holder.

3. The lien payoff computer system of claim 2, wherein said lien payoff computer system is further configured for, in response to said funds being transferred from said title requestor to said lien holder, notifying said lien holder that said transfer has been completed.

4. The lien payoff computer system of claim 2, wherein said lien payoff computer system is further configured for, in response to said funds being transferred from said title requester to said lien holder, notifying said title requestor that said transfer has been completed.

5. The lien payoff computer system of claim 2, wherein said step of facilitating the transfer of funds from said title requestor to said lien holder comprises generating a funding request for said payoff amount to be paid by said title requestor to said lien holder.

6. The lien payoff computer system of claim 5, wherein said step of facilitating the transfer of funds from said title requestor to said lien holder comprises sending said funding request to a financial institution associated with said lien holder.

7. The lien payoff computer system of claim 2, wherein said step of facilitating the transfer of funds from said title requestor to said lien holder comprises generating a funding request for said payoff amount to be paid by said title requestor to said lien holder.

8. The lien payoff computer system of claim 2, wherein said step of facilitating the transfer of funds from said title requester to said lien holder comprises facilitating the electronic transfer, of a payoff amount to be paid by said title requester to said lien holder, from a financial institution associated with said title requester to said lien holder.

9. The lien payoff computer system of claim 1, wherein said lien payoff computer system is further adapted for facilitating a written electronic exchange of comments between said title requester and said lien holder.

10. The lien payoff computer system of claim 9, wherein said lien payoff computer system is configured for facilitating said written electronic exchange of comments substantially in real time.

11. The lien payoff computer system of claim 1, wherein said lien payoff computer system is adapted for facilitating the transfer of an electronic copy of one or more documents associated with said payoff proposal from said title requester to said lien holder.

12. The lien payoff computer system of claim 11, wherein said one or more documents comprise one or more documents selected from a group consisting of:

(1) a guarantor'"'"'s letter; and

(2) a copy of a title to said item.

13. The lien payoff computer system of claim 1, wherein said item is a vehicle.

14. The lien payoff computer system of claim 1, wherein said lien payoff computer system is further adapted for:

receiving automatic payoff criteria from said lien holder;

determining whether said payoff proposal satisfies said automatic payoff criteria; and

in response to determining that said particular payoff proposal satisfies said automatic payoff criteria, approving said payoff proposal substantially without input from a human user.

15. The lien payoff computer system of claim 14, wherein said step of approving said payoff proposal substantially without input from a human user comprises approving said payoff proposal entirely without input from a human user.

16. The lien payoff computer system of claim 1, wherein said lien payoff computer system is further adapted for:

determining whether an actual cash value of said item is greater than a payoff amount of said financial obligation; and

in response to determining that said actual cash value of said item is greater than said payoff amount of said financial obligation, automatically approving said payoff proposal.

17. The lien payoff computer system of claim 1, wherein said lien payoff computer system is further adapted for:

determining whether an actual cash value of said item is within a predetermined tolerance of a payoff amount of said financial obligation; and

in response to determining that said actual cash value of said item is within said predetermined tolerance of said payoff amount of said financial obligation, automatically approving said payoff proposal.

18. The lien payoff computer system of claim 1, wherein said lien payoff computer system is further adapted for:

retrieving information regarding said item from an external computer system, said external computer system being geographically remote from said lien payoff computer system;

integrating said information into said payoff proposal to create a supplemented payoff proposal; and

displaying said supplemented payoff proposal to a user.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein said information comprises the actual cash value of said item.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein:

said external computer system is a computer system that is associated with said lien holder.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein said information comprises an identification number associated with said financial obligation.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein:

said external computer system is a computer system that is associated with said lien holder.

23. A method of providing a computer system that is adapted to facilitate the structured communication, and the exchange of documents between (A) a requester of a title to a particular item of property, and (B) a lien holder, to facilitate:

(A) the payoff of a loan;

(B) the release of a lien on said title, said lien being used to secure said loan; and

(C) the transfer of a physical embodiment of said title to the title requester.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said physical embodiment of said title is a paper title.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein said computer system is adapted to facilitate a transfer of a payoff proposal from the said requestor of said title to said lien holder.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein said computer system is adapted to allow users to engage in an on-line chat to facilitate expedited processing of a particular lien payoff transaction.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein said computer system is configured to allow users to post messages to an electronic message board to facilitate expedited processing of a particular lien payoff transaction.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein said computer system is configured to automatically notify a user in response to a new comment being posted on the electronic message board in regard to a particular lien payoff transaction.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein said computer system is adapted to:

assign a respective current transaction status to each of a plurality of lien payoff transactions that are pending in said computer system, and

allow users to search said plurality of lien payoff transactions by transaction status.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein said computer system is adapted to automatically determine whether to approve one or more particular lien payoff proposals based on whether said one or more lien payoff proposals satisfy a set of pre-determined automatic payoff criteria.

31. The method of claim 23, wherein said computer system is adapted to:

automatically generate an electronic funding request for a payoff amount of said loan to be paid by said title requestor to said lien holder; and

send this electronic funding request to a third-party funding agency holding funds on behalf of said title requestor.

32. The method of claim 23, wherein said computer system is configured to interface with at least one remote computer system to retrieve information for use in completing approval of a payoff request made by said title requester to said lien holder to pay off said loan.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein said information comprises the actual cash value of said particular item of property.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein said information comprises a deductible amount associated with said particular item of property.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein:

said particular item of property is a vehicle; and

said information comprises the make, model, year, owner, owner address, license plate number, and description of said vehicle; and

said at least one remote computer system is a Department of Motor Vehicles computer system.

36. The method of claim 23, wherein said computer system is adapted to allow said title requester to attach at least one document to said payoff proposal for later viewing by said lien holder.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein said at least one document includes a copy of a title of said particular item of property.