TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/291672
Th e M Rep o RT | 45 O r i g i nat i O n s e r v i c i n g a na ly t i c s s e c O n da r y m a r k e t SERVICING Department Accurate Title Group Steve Black Serving all 50 states 888.456.4383 x1604 sblack@accurategroup.com Affinia Title Josh Magnuson Serving Georgia, Florida, Alabama 678-281-6506 josh.magnuson@affiniacorp.com Albertelli Law Jonathan Sawyer Serving Florida, Georgia 813-221-4743 jsawyer@albertellilaw.com Alliance Title & Escrow Corp Jenny Martin Serving Idaho, Montana, Washington, Wyoming 208.947.4204 jenny_martin@alliancetitle.com Bay National Title Company Evan Grimm Serving Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Missouri, New Jersey, Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire 727.331.8500 egrimm@bntc.com Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee, P.C. Drew Johnston Serving Tennessee, Mississippi 901.762.0535 djohnston@blackmclaw.com Brady and Kosofsky Jaime Kosofsky Serving North Carolina, South Carolina 704.849.8008 jkosofsky@bandklaw.com California Title Company David Skarman Serving 38 states, please call for information 949.582.8709 davids@caltitle.com Clear Title America Stephen Dorsett Serving Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Virginia 813-288-1660 sdorsett@cleartitleamerica.com Continental REO Services, Inc Katie Van Hook Serving Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa 314.862.2447 kvanhook@creoco.com Delta Title Corporation Howard Leach Serving Louisiana, Mississippi 504.885.9222 hleach@deltatitlecorp.com Elizabeth Wellborn, PA Elizabeth Wellborn Serving Florida, New York 954.354.3544 ewellborn@erwlaw.com Federman & Associates Thomas Federman Serving Pennsylvania 215.572.5095 tfederman@federmanlegal.com First Financial Title of MN Larry Zielke Serving Minnesota 952.831.5010 lzielke@logs.com First International Title Jim Moran Serving Florida 954.905.3881 jim.moran@firstintitle.com First Title and Escrow Stephen Papermaster Serving 38 states, please call for information 301.279.0303 spape@firsttitleservices.com Freedman, Anselmo, Lindberg Jennifer Hester Bross Serving Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan 513.515.9917 jbross@fallaw.com Independence Title Brian Pitman Serving Texas 512.454.4500 bpitman@independencetitle.com Kahane & Associates/Florida Premier Title & Escrow Company Robert Kahane Serving Florida 954.356.1280 robert@reofl.com Kozeny & McCubbin, LC Garry McCubbin Serving Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, Texas, New York 314.991.6755 gmccubbin@km-law.com Landcastle Title Kenny Daniel Serving Serving Alabama, Arkansas, Deleware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia 440.735.6473 kddaniel@closingsource.net Liberty Bell Agency, Inc Jim O'Rourke Serving Pennsylvania 215.625.3660 jim@libertybellagency.com LSR/InTitle Richard Rothfuss Serving Ohio and Kentucky 513-412-6600 rmr@lsrlaw.com Manley Deas Kochalski Paul Blevins Serving Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois 614.947.5744 peb2@manleydeas.com McCurdy & Candler Deborah Cheek Serving Florida, Georgia 404-373-1612 dcheek@mccurdycandler.com McDonnell and Associates, PA Dawn Player Serving South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia 866.931.8793 dawn.player@mcdonnelllawfirm.com Merit Title Andrea Laster Serving Wisconsin, Illinois 414.257.0068 andrea.laster@merittitle.com Nova Title Agency John Dyer Serving Ohio 330.425.4201 jdyer@novatitleagency.com Ohio Title Corp Annamarie Tucky Serving Ohio 440.886.6141 atucky@ohiotitlecorp.com Oklahoma REO Closing & Title Services Vicky Blackmon Serving Oklahoma 918.491.3123 vblackmon@oreotitle.com Omega Title Agency Shannon Moore Serving Ohio, Kentucky 330.436.6700 smoore@omegatitlellc.com Paramount Land Jeffrey Zipser Serving New York 631-224-1345 jzipser@paramountland.com Parks Title/Potestivo & Assoc, PC Julie Mckee Serving Michigan, Illinois 248.591.2751 jmckee@parkstitle.com Pierce & Associates, P.C. Jill Rein Serving Illinois 312-476-5156 jrein@atty-pierce.com Riley Pope & Laney Lowndes Pope Serving South Carolina 803-799-9993 lpope@rplfirm.com Rosenberg & Associates Diane Rosenberg Serving Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia 301.907.8000 diane@rosenberg-assoc.com Rubin Lublin Jason Thurber Serving Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi 770.246.3300 jthurber@rubinlublin.com Security Title Services Mike Nichols Serving Indiana 317.590.4848 cmichaelnichols@aol.com Serrano McKinney Umpierre Frances McKinney Serving Georgia 770.951.2223 fmckinney@smulawfirm.com Sojourner Title Brad Reisenfeld Serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia 317.844.4039 brad.reisenfeld@rslegal.com Terra Abstract Stern and Eisenberg Steve Eisenberg Serving Pennsylvania 215.572.8111 seisenberg@sterneisenberg.com The Hunoval Law Firm, PLLC John Langston Serving North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia 704.626.4364 john.langston@hunovallaw.com Title365 Michelle Hymer Serving 42 states, please call for information 763-295-3513 Michelle.Hymer@Title365.com TitleOne Joel Scrivner Serving Idaho 208.866.2702 jscrivner@titleone.com T H E F I V E S T A R D E F A U L T T I T L E C O A L I T I O N THE FIVE STAR DEFAULT TITLE COALITION Join the Coalition today. For more information, contact: Brent Lockhart | 214.525.6709 | Brent.Lockhart@TheFiveStar.com TitleCoalition.com Our Proud National Sponsors: Associate Member: The Five Star Default Title Coalition is the first industry group dedicated to default title and closing professionals who specialize in lender-driven transactions and post-acquisition legal and title work. Through education, best practices, communication, and networking, the Coalition is committed to advancing the default title space and providing its members a collective voice of influence within the mortgage industry. Best in Title local eDition california Joins $2B Ocwen settlement The Golden STaTe joinS 48 oTherS To GeT iTS piece of The laTeST biG ServicinG SeTTlemenT. CALIFORNIA // The California Department of Business Oversight, along with 48 other states, reached a settlement with Ocwen Financial Corporation and Ocwen Loan Servicing, ac- cording to a press release issued by the department. The $2.1 billion settlement was in response to violations regard- ing mortgage servicing laws. "The agreement calls for $2 bil- lion in loan modification relief in the form of principal reductions for homeowners in default or at risk of foreclosure. The settlement also provides for $127.3 million in cash payments to borrowers whose home was sold in a fore- closure proceeding from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2012," the department said in a release. California's share of the settle- ment is estimated at $268 million. The lawsuit stems from Ocwen's acquisition of two mortgage servicers, Litton Loan Servicing, L.P., and Homeward Residential, Inc., in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Ocwen was alleged liable for prior malfeasance. "As described in the allegations below, the servicers' misconduct resulted in premature and unau- thorized foreclosures, violation of homeowners' rights and protec- tions, and the use of false and deceptive affidavits and other documents," the settlement said. The complaint was filed against Ocwen in federal court by 49 state attorneys and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. All of the settlement proceeds are earmarked to di- rectly benefit consumers, mean- ing no payments will go to the federal government or any states. "Californians should not lose their homes because of deceptive and poorly executed mortgage servicing practices," said Jan Lynn Owen, the state of California's commis- sioner of business oversight. "The Department of Business Oversight strives to identify and hold accountable mortgage companies that violate state and federal laws. This settlement provides needed relief to affected California homeowners." mortgage settlement Banks Fulfill relief requirements hUd SecreTary donovan: "The SeTTlemenT delivered on whaT we promiSed." NORTH CAROLINA // Joseph A. Smith Jr., monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, filed final crediting reports with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo. The reports confirmed that the banks have satisfied their consum- er relief and refinancing obligations under the settlement, nearly a full year ahead of schedule. In a press release, Smith com- mented, "My reports mark the end of the consumer relief portion of the settlement. Because of the way this landmark agreement was designed, an unprecedented amount of relief has been provided to con- sumers quickly and efficiently." He continued, "Furthermore, I believe the rigorous testing process should justify public confidence that the banks have fulfilled their relief commitments and that the settlement has played a part in helping keep struggling borrowers in their homes." Remunerations were called for after the banks engaged in widespread signing of foreclosure- related documents outside the presence of a notary public and without confirmation whether the facts they contained were cor- rect—both illegal actions. The practice earned the futuris- tic-sounding sobriquet "robo-sign- ing" and necessitated that 49 state attorneys general and the federal government correct actions against wronged homeowners, eventually settling with the banks for an initial estimated figure of $25 billion. Oklahoma was the lone holdout. Smith noted that among the banks, 37 percent of total credit relief was in the form of first lien principal forgiveness, while second lien principal forgiveness made up 15 percent. Refinancing made up 17 percent of total credited relief, and other relief (including short sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure) ac- counted for 31 percent of relief. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan commented on a conference call with the media that more than 600,000 consumers received on average more than $79,000 in relief. Seven out of every $10 of credit for consumer relief, such as refi- nancings and principal reductions, came in a form that kept borrow- ers in their homes, Donovan said on the call. Donovan added, "This settlement delivered on what we promised." The tone of the call between Donovan and Iowa attorney general Tom Miller was mostly laudatory toward the banks, praising them for quick action as well as payments that exceeded initial estimates. Miller noted that $20 billion in credits and more than $50 bil- lion in total homeowner benefits were "well in excess of what we predicted or expected." $5.1 billion was required for first lien principal reductions in the initial settlement, but the final figure from bank's totaled almost $7.6 billion—nearly 50 percent more than what was required. Miller fired back at detractors of the settlement who cautioned that principal reductions would create a "moral hazard," encourag- ing borrowers to default on their loans to avoid payment. "Many people in the industry . . . were saying that if there was any principal reduction, there would be all this moral hazard, other people would stop paying—that the whole market would be seriously harmed. Well, we've had substantial prin- cipal reduction, $7.6 billion worth, and none of this has happened. None of the problems, none of the concerns, none of the catastrophes that were predicted happened, as we predicted," Miller said. He noted that principal reduc- tions were "a tool in the toolkit for dealing with homeowners in default." Miller continued, "We knew that there was no single solution, no magic bullet, to turn around the housing market. We knew there had to be pieces, and we thought that this would be one of the pieces, and clearly it has been. This is one of the reasons the housing market now has turned in the right direction." televoice announces launch of new Website The company reaffirmS iTS focUS on aSSiSTinG ServicerS STep Up Their cUSTomer Service. TEXAS // TeleVoice, a Houston- based provider of customized call center solutions, announced the launch of a new company website to better support the company's growth and its mis- sion to help mortgage servicers improve customer service and guarantee compliance. Built on the strong market adoption of SpotLight, TeleVoice's Single Point of Contact (SPoC) call management solution, the new site is designed to emphasize the company's goal of helping the financial industry comply with new servicing and loss mitiga- tion requirements. Through the site's new look and accessible links, visitors can quickly find information on the solutions that best fit their needs, from SPoC to Interactive Voice Response. "To better offer customers, prospects, partners, and industry professionals a deeper look into TeleVoice's customizable call center solutions, it was time for a fresh website to reflect our significant growth in 2013 and our continued commitment to the mortgage servicing industry," said Barry Hays, co-founder and SVP of TeleVoice. SERVICING