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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 89 Officer at FirstClose. "Why choose only one provider when you can have the top six cell phone providers all under one plan? You'd have the best possible coverage everywhere you go. at's the essence of SMART Select, it deliv- ers the best coverage, pricing, and turn-time for each customer." SMART Select can be enabled as a single product or as a cascade from the FirstClose Instant Property Report when coverage is limited. Speeding Up Search Reports SLK Global Solutions, offering technology platforms and solutions for the financial ser- vices industry, announced that it has enhanced its SmartProp—a property search solution for real estate title agents and underwriters. is platform is currently being used by more than 100 title and tax agents to make their property ownership search reporting faster and risk free. SLK's 100-plus customers include six of the largest U.S title insurance underwriters. e enhancements to SmartProp include adding an automated vendor rating system to ensure the best choice of abstractor for a property search and digitized data source links to ensure efficient order execution. ese enhancements facilitate accuracy and even faster turn times across all 3,537 U.S. counties at highly competitive prices. Dallas-based SLK Global Solutions America President Alok Datta noted that these enhancements will further strengthen SLK's ability and commitment to deliver the best technology-enabled platform solutions for title agents. "e new SmartProp® automated vendor rating system enables tracking of abstractor performance for three critical parameters, including turn-times, quality, and price," said Timothy Moreland, SVP of Business Devel- opment for Title Insurance Solutions at SLK Global. "e platform automatically grades the abstractors on a 100-point scale based on these parameters, allowing SmartProp to decide the best abstractor for the respective county and state and to automatically assign the order to ensure higher performance." "We have also added a state and county data source link for every order, which guides our researchers to the right digital resource at the click of a button—saving up-to five clicks per order," said Shannon Cobb, EVP at SLK Global Solutions. "is reduces the required time and data cost needed to complete an order while increasing accuracy." VIRGINIA Fitch Affirms Servicer Ratings Fitch Ratings has affirmed its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) Servicer Ratings for LoanCare, a ServiceLink com- pany. For the second consecutive year, LoanCare has received "RPS2" ratings in the primary servicer and specialty subservicer categories, both with a stable outlook. ese favorable rankings, according to Fitch, reflect continued systems and facility upgrades, strengthened enterprise risk management control, upgrades to customer self-service functions, and effec- tively managed growth. "We are proud to receive such high marks from Fitch," said Dave Worrall, President of LoanCare. "We strive every day to provide a best-in-class and compliant customer experi- ence. It is exciting to see our investment in technology, risk management and operations pay off." With nearly $300 billion in subservicing on its platform, LoanCare continues to seek measured expansion of its subservicing and component subservicing businesses through new and existing clients. LoanCare is a national provider of full- service subservicing, component subservicing and interim subservicing to the mortgage industry. e company's engineering agile technology solutions are customized to provide a superior customer experience. Presently, LoanCare subservices more than 1.5 million loans in all 50 states, approximating $300 bil- lion in loan balances. LoanCare has a seasoned loan subservicing team with senior managers averaging nearly 30 years of experience in the mortgage and financial services industry. "I would really like to see more compelling evidence that (vertical mixed-use) will actually curb displacement or prevent displacement in these areas," Llanes-Pulido said in Austin Monitor. "Because I can personally attest to blanket (vertical mixed-use) decisions causing and accelerating extreme displacement of both residents and small businesses." Across the country, after being designated as "opportunity zones," low-income and high- poverty areas have seen a surge in sale prices. According to Ben Carson, Director of the Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment (HUD), "Opportunity Zones present tremendous promise for America's distressed communities." Earlier this year, HUD announced that it is seeking public input on how the department can use its existing authorities to maximize the beneficial impact of Opportunity Zones for residents and their communities. Inves- tors, keen to receive a discount on capital gains taxes for investing within these areas, flock to these opportunity zones, according to an analysis by Zillow. According to Zillow, sale prices in all eligible areas "grew faster than prices in places that weren't, but after opportunity zones were selected, price-growth trends diverged among eligible tracts." A Fintech Platform for Title Professionals Fintech company, FirstClose has an- nounced the release of its SMART Select platform for Title Search Reports and O&E Reports. SMART Select uses intelligence logic to automatically select the title vendor with the best service, best price, and best turn-time for each financial institution's unique lending footprint. is new technology chooses from six approved and vetted national title vendors to deliver title search reports. Giving an overview of the need for this technology for lenders, FirstClose said that in today's ever-changing mortgage market, lenders are faced with rising costs to originate loans, which is impacting their bottom line. is is especially true when trying to handle vendor due diligence and select the right title vendor for your business. Many factors need to be taken into consideration, such as service levels, pricing, and turn times. FirstClose's SMART Select instantly eliminates lenders' title vendor selection headaches. "ink of SMART Select like cellular coverage," said Corey Smith, Chief Product Portsmouth, Virginia, had the highest foreclosure rate, according to a recent survey by GOBankingRates, as one in every 730 homes are under foreclosure. KNOW THIS

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