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VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM Mercury Network is a vendor management platform that handles transactions for lenders and appraisal management companies. Vendors and clients can start conducting transactions at no cost by visiting Mercuryvmp.com/sandy. a la mode also assured that with 3,300 appraisers available in the affected areas, appraisers should be able to access properties in a lender's portfolio to provide inspection reports, safety conditions permitting. "Our focus right now is to make sure lenders are able to immediately move forward on closings for unaffected properties, and get rapid assessments using the Catastrophic Disaster Area Inspection Report, or CDAIR, on those that have been impacted," said Jennifer Miller, president of a la mode's mortgage solutions division. "We're glad to be in a position to help the industry and the local area's housing markets at a time when they need it the most." John Farley, president of a la mode's appraisal division, explained what to expect when ordering an inspection report. "We designed the CDAIR as a triage tool, to give lenders a quick assessment as to whether the property is still viable collateral," said Farley. "It's intentionally not a full appraisal. Remember that in a disaster, the appraisers serving the area are working under highly abnormal conditions, so delivery times for traditional appraisals with the full URAR scope of work will stretch to several weeks or months." Farley added full appraisals or engineering reports should be requested after CDAIR's conclusions have been reviewed. a la mode is headquartered in Naples, Florida, with additional offices in Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C. Nationwide Appraisal & Settlement Network Adds New Divisions Nationwide Appraisal & Settlement Network (NASN) opened three new divisions to improve services the appraisal management company (AMC) offer to clients. The divisions are reverse mortgage, hard money, and mortgage servicing. "At Nationwide Appraisal & Settlement Network, we work with a number of different lending institutions and we believe it's important to establish divisions within our corporate structure that will assist these client types from order placement to final submission of an appraisal report," said Joni Pilgrim, director of sales and marketing at NASN. Through the different divisions, clients can work with a team that understands their business model. "We believe that the incorporation of these divisions will help to promote a better understanding of the products these clients offer to their borrowers. The team members in each division act as a resource to the borrowers, the appraisers, and the clients by having a strong understanding of what these clients do and what our role is with each of them as their appraisal management company," Pilgrim said. Florida-based NASN says it is working to "dispel the myth" that AMCs are simply the "middle man" between the lender and the appraiser. LPS Releases REO Workspace, Enhances McDash with New Data Modules Lender Processing Services (LPS) released a new REO Web-enabled technology that offers support for servicers as they manage and dispose REO assets. The REO Workspace application integrates the client-specific workflow functionality and data required to support the full cycle of an REO asset and even includes functionality for tenant management within a property. REO Workspace offers a range of features such as a customizable rules engine to reflect each client's business needs, a repository for all files and documents, paperless handling of each loan asset from a single location, and support for integration with a servicer's third-party suppliers. The REO Workspace application allows servicers to easily exchange information with vendors in a controlled, secure environment. The application was designed to offer greater transparency in the loan life cycle, support servicer efforts to efficiently dispose of real estate assets, and reduce losses. "LPS's new REO Workspace technology is a viable tool to help servicers efficiently manage their increasing REO volumes within a single solution," said LPS CIO Joe Nackashi. "We developed this technology to address the unique needs of servicers that want to manage REO activities in-house as part of an overall, end-to-end loan servicing process." REO Workspace is the first of several applications from LPS that combine LPS' MSP and LPS Desktop systems. The company also announced enhancements to McDash, the company's loan level database, through the addition of two supplemental data modules. The newly added features are the McDash Mortgage Scores Module and the McDash Loss Mitigation Module. The mortgage scores module helps mortgage professionals identify high-risk loans. The module determines the probability of default and also identifies loans with the highest potential for loss, which in turn allows servicers to more effectively manage risk. The loss mitigation module gives servicers and investors the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of their loss mitigation efforts. The module provides details on important information such as modification terms, government program identifiers, flags for short sales and deeds in lieu, trial and payment plan information, and redefault rates. "Specializing in the marketing and sales of luxury, equestrian/farm/land and REO Properties from Miami To Palm Beach" Cinthia Ane Keller Williams Luxury Properties Reo Home Team (954) 218-3231 phone (954) 607-5818 fax cinthia@kw.com www.MyLuxuryHomeSouthFlorida.com www.REOHomeTeam.com 103

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