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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 81 a Law360 report, the suit accused Ocwen Financial Corp and Wells Fargo of exploiting homeowners during the financial crisis. "e [first amended complaint] also asserts that Ocwen 'exercised sweeping, unchecked control of the management and disposition of securitized mortgages, and was a fiduciary un- der ERISA to the benefit plans that invested in those mortgages,'" the judge said. "Ocwen and Wells Fargo, however, have filed numer- ous exhibits in conjunction with their motions to dismiss, which cast considerable doubt on plaintiffs' ability to support these allegations." In March 2018, trustees of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union & Employers Midwest Pension Fund alleged Ocwen had pushed homeowners into foreclosure during the financial crisis in 2007 and 2008 in order to profit off of foreclosures, while Wells Fargo stood by. Ocwen, with control over the mortgages in the American Home Mortgage Investment Trusts, had an ERISA-imposed duty to make responsible decisions on behalf of trust inves- tors like the fund, according to the trustees. According to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, two conditions had to be satisfied in order to move forward with the trustees' ERISA claims—the mortgages underlying the trusts had to be plan assets and Ocwen had to qualify as an ERISA fiduciary to the plan. According to Law360, while the trustees claimed these conditions have been met, the judge stated Ocwen and Wells Fargo had submitted evidence that suggested otherwise. Additionally, Judge Broderick tossed a number of the other dismissal arguments without prejudice to potentially be refiled after those motions were decided. "In particular, the judge recognized that contractual clauses cannot extinguish ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims," said Justin S. Brooks, an attorney for the trustees. "We look forward to proceeding with the discovery or- dered by the court and moving this important case forward." PENNSYLVANIA Strengthening the Digital Mortgage Life Cycle Pittsburgh-headquartered, EXOS Tech- nologies, a ServiceLink company providing cloud-based digital technologies to the mort- gage industry, is partnering with California- based digital technologies and solutions company Tavant to amplify its digital strategy. rough this partnership, Tavant's AI- powered digital lending platform, VELOX, which has processed more than 4 million digital mortgage transactions, is integrating with EXOS Title, EXOS Valuations, and EXOS Close. "EXOS is an innovative industry plat- form that enhances the consumer experience through key touch points that are often over- looked in the digitization of the origination process," said Kiran Vattem, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at ServiceLink. "We're confident that EXOS will be a great addition to Tavant's robust package of products." EXOS said it offers transparency into the mortgage origination process through a focus on critical digital consumer touchpoints. e integration of cutting-edge technology and self-serve capabilities has resulted in a reduction in title and appraisal turn times and an increase in operational efficiencies and consumer satisfaction. "is partnership rounds out our offerings. It brings together the greatest technologies the mortgage industry has to offer," said Hassan Rashid, Chief Revenue Officer for Tavant. "Scheduling appraisals on the front-end makes it more easily accessible, and we are eager to see the value that EXOS provides to that platform and the entire loan intake process." Tavant, which provides solutions for every stakeholder in the lending lifecycle, will use EXOS to support its first mortgage and home equity lines of business. Tavant VELOX is an AI-powered digital lending platform that maximizes the use of data-driven processes in the automation of the loan origination lifecycle. EXOS products include title, appraisal, closing, and servicing—extending and en- hancing critical consumer digital touchpoints throughout the entire mortgage lending life cycle. Addressing Variables in Appraisal Costs Lansdale, Pennsylvania-headquartered Global DMS, a provider of cloud-based valuation management software, rolled out SnapVal, an automated solution that utilizes property addresses to return a guaranteed price on any residential appraisal in the United States. e company said SnapVal integrates seamlessly with loan origination systems (LOS), digital mortgage point-of-sale (POS) systems, borrower-facing web portals, and proprietary lending or servicing platforms. Global DMS provides a configurable REST- ful API web service that facilitates swift and cost-effective integrations. Under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, lenders are bound by the fees represented on the loan estimate. Unlike static fees, appraisals are a variable cost for which lenders constantly struggle to ensure pricing accuracy. If there is any change to the appraisal fee, TRID dictates that a revised loan estimate must be issued to the consumer. is requirement, coupled with strong lender motivation to complete deals and close on time, often results in the lender absorbing ap- praisal fee discrepancies or scrambling to quickly re-issue the loan estimate. "We identified a need in the marketplace to address a common problem that lenders are regularly challenged with for providing accurate appraisal quotes and then ensuring pricing on the Loan Estimate is consistent and compliant," said Vladimir Bien-Aime, Presi- dent and CEO at GlobalDMS. "SnapVal is a piece of technology that lenders currently lack from their digital mortgage strategies. By leveraging SnapVal, they will save time and money, as well as increase their pull-through rates while elevating the borrower experience." Global DMS said SnapVal allows lenders to automate the insertion of the appraisal fee into the loan estimate, expedite payment, and enable real-time ordering of appraisals directly from within their software system of choice. Lenders have several options to configure appraisal pricing, including the lowest price provider, percentage allocation, or round- robin distribution. is helps to hone pricing accuracy by taking into account key factors, including region, appraiser availability, experi- ence, and more. As a result, appraisal pricing guesswork is removed and replaced with automation accuracy. Pennsylvania The Team with More than 10 Years' REO Experience Emma Djiya, Broker 1st Class Realty 98 Forest Drive, Lords Valley, PA 18428 610.301.8803 (c) 570.775.6110 (o) 1stClassREO@gmail.com AroundThePoconos.com

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