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» financial burdens and provide a graceful exit while allowing servicers to more effectively manage their portfolios and mitigate significant losses. These efforts appear to be working, as CoreLogic data show foreclosures continue to decline. In September, there were 57,000 completed foreclosures, down from 59,000 in August of this year and a dramatic reduction from the 83,000 completed during September 2011. The national foreclosure inventory was down 1.1 percent from August to September of this year. Technology and neutral parties such as Hope LoanPort (HLP) have played a huge part in helping servicers adapt to new regulations and enhance their processes through collaboration with counseling agencies. In the 2013 loss mitigation management landscape, technology will no longer be limited to managing business processes. Instead, technology will become a valuable tool to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of the business processes. Servicers will continue to seek the assistance of HLP to help facilitate loss mitigation efforts by engaging third parties in a meaningful way. While regulations may be tweaked to ease the burden on servicers, regulators have received real feedback on the impact of new policies and rules. Therefore, we can look forward to effective policies staying in place and adjustment to those policies that are not providing the desired results, such as qualified mortgage requirements. Overall, loss mitigation will continue to be refined in 2013 as a meaningful method of managing risk and losses. Since 2005, Sanjeev Dahiwadkar has guided IndiSoft's overall strategic planning and direction and has managed the software development company's business operations. He's spent 13 years of his career in the mortgage technology space. Since 2007, 5.82 million permanent loan modifications have been completed nationwide, according to HOPE NOW's thirdquarter tally. L O S S M I T I G A T I O N MELANIE GAMBLE PRINCIPAL BROKER 212 Degrees Realty, LLC For some, "The New Normal" may conjure up scenes of slapstick and moral reflection colliding in NBC's television comedy series of the same name, but for us in real estate, it's more appropriately linked to what we are now seeing in the marketplace by way of short sales. Short sales are "the new normal," and as a loss mitigation option, they're becoming more and more prevalent, particularly in some of the hardest-hit markets. Unfortunately, the banks have not figured out a way to make short sale transactions seem normal to all real estate practitioners. For those of us who happen to work in the default services space already, we're accustomed to the various demands banks place on our time and resources. However, most traditional retail real estate brokers are not, and I see this as one of the many hurdles banks must jump when trying to work with homeowners desiring to sell their home for less than they owe on the mortgage. Education is key to the success of short sales. It is imperative that the listing agent and the selling agent, the seller, and the buyer be fully educated on the short sale process. We've all heard the horror stories of buyers' agents who fail to set their clients' expectations, and two days before receiving a final bank approval, they watch as frustrated buyers walk away from the deal—in fact, these horror stories are far too many to count. Likewise, there have been a countless number of short sale transactions upended just as the approval process is winding to an end because the parties discover the seller has a home equity line of credit that was not disclosed, and the listing agent failed to ask about such deal breakers. From where I sit, short sales are the new norm for the near future. Every real estate professional who is serious about his or her business should become as educated on the short sale process as possibly. There are many great resources right at your fingertips for certification training, as well as peer-to-peer social networks and online discussion groups where you can go for day-to-day questions and answers. In the words of Malcolm X, "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." L O S S VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM M I T I G A T I O N SCOTT P. CIUPAK ATTORNEY AT LAW Reimer, Arnovitz, Chernek & Jeffrey Co., L.P.A. As 2012 draws to a close, we ask, what does 2013 hold for loss mitigation? Significant progress has been made in the processing of modifications and other foreclosure alternatives, but much of that progress was due to increased pressures from the courts and incentives from federal and state government programs, some of which will expire at the end of this year. It remains to be seen whether lenders and servicers will continue to review loans using the same criteria once the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) expires at the end of 2013. Anecdotal evidence suggests a lively loan modification program provides alternatives that greatly benefit borrowers, lenders, and the community at large. But will lenders continue to offer modifications to the same extent once the government-backed incentives run out? Many borrower incentives may soon expire as well. With the overwhelming deficit of our federal government, funding for mortgage assistance programs such as Ohio's Restoring Stability/ Save the Dream initiative may be on the chopping block. Additionally, the tax exemption for debt forgiven on a primary residence in a foreclosure, short sale, or deed-in-lieu is set to expire at the end of 2012. Will a cash-strapped Congress extend this exemption for distressed borrowers? On a more positive note, the benefits of meaningful foreclosure mediation programs are receiving greater recognition. While a few courts are eliminating or reducing formal mediation programs (usually due to budgetary constraints), the general trend seems to be in the other direction—more courts are turning to formal mediation as a Melanie Gamble's brokerage serves the Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., real estate markets. Gamble herself is a certified short sale agent. She is also chairman of the board for the African American Association of REO Brokers, Inc. 57

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