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» MOVERS & SHAKERS KEEP UP WITH WHO'S DOING WHAT AND WHO WENT WHERE Got something to share with us? Send it to Editor@DSNews.com. Chase Selects Former Treasury Official as Mortgage Co-General Counsel JPMorgan Chase appointed former senior Treasury official Darius Kingsley as co-general counsel of mortgage banking. Kingsley held various roles at the U.S. Department of the Treasury; most recently he was chief of the Homeownership Preservation Office, which oversees the Making Home Affordable program. Mortgage Contracting Services Announces Two Promotions Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS) recently announced the promotion of Wade Petty to VP of finance and Marie Walters to controller and assistant VP. Petty and Walters are both based out of the company's Tampa, Florida, office. Petty has been with MCS since 2009 and manages the company's revenue cycle and accounts receivable function, among other duties. He joined MCS after serving as regional controller and assistant treasurer at Stewart Title Guaranty Company. Walters has been with MCS since 2007. Initially, she served as an accounting manager, and now she leads the company's general accounting and financial control functions, including financial statement reporting, maintenance of the accounting system, coordinating and managing of annual financial audits, and oversight of the accounts payable and payroll functions. Pacific Union Financial Appoints EVP and Chief Legal Officer Pacific Union Financial, LLC, named Ron Fountain EVP and chief legal officer. Fountain joined the company from JPMorgan Chase, where he was SVP and managing director. He has 12 years' industry experience, having previously served as SVP and associate general counsel at Nationstar Mortgage and as an associate with Patton Boggs and Andrews Kurth. First Title & Escrow Taps Government Auction Expert for Executive Role Government auction expert Douglas Dennison joined First Title & Escrow, Inc., as national business development executive, focusing on government clients, auction firms, commercial real estate, and Florida-based businesses. As an auction project manager, Dennison presided over more than 12,000 closed sales for various government agencies. Bendett & McHugh Congratulates New Partner Bendett & McHugh, P.C., promoted attorney Andrew S. Cannella to partner and VP. Cannella will maintain his duties as co-managing bankruptcy attorney and will take on additional responsibilities related to the overall management and oversight of the firm. He first joined Bendett & McHugh as an associate in 2008 and was named co-managing bankruptcy attorney in 2010. New President Appointed to Lead Wetzel Trott Wetzel Trott has selected Brian R. Ludtke, CPA, to serve as its president. Ludtke held the position of COO at Wetzel Trott since joining the quality control service provider as a shareholder in 1993. Prior to that, he held various senior management positions—including controller, servicing manager, and CFO—with national mortgage lenders. DataQuick Title Announces SVP Promotion DataQuick promoted Rich Kuegler to SVP of branch production for DataQuick Title. With more than 17 years' experience in real estate lending, Kuegler is responsible for distributed local branch operational performance and the development of growth strategy for DataQuick Title's local offices nationwide. He was previously DataQuick's VP of product development. Kozeny & McCubbin Appoints Two Firm Members Kozeny & McCubbin, L.C., has named Sara Fievet Knittel a member of the firm. Knittel serves as the firm's compliance attorney and manages its legal compliance processes. She received her license to practice law in 2002 and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of MissouriColumbia School of Law. She is admitted to practice in the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Illinois. Martin W. Blanchard was also made a member of the firm and appointed head of the litigation department for the Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska offices. He has been licensed as an attorney since 1995 and specializes in the areas of title insurance, construction, real estate, and commercial litigation. He received his Juris Doctor from St. Louis University School of Law and is admitted to practice in Missouri and Illinois. CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM DISTRESSED PROPERTY SALES DECLINE IN Q1 Over the last year, sales for distressed properties showed steep declines amid a backdrop of slower foreclosure activity and rising prices, according RealtyTrac's foreclosure and short sale report. During the first three months of this year, 190,121 properties that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank-owned were sold. The first-quarter total represents a quarterly and yearly decrease of 18 percent and 22 percent, respectively. At the same time, the share of foreclosure-related sales represented 21 percent of all sales in Q1, down from 25 percent a year ago. At its peak in Q1 2009, foreclosure-related sales accounted for 45 percent of all sales. According to RealtyTrac, Georgia led as the state with the largest share of foreclosurerelated sales in Q1, at 35 percent. In addition, the share of properties that were not in foreclosure but sold as a short sale fell to 15 percent, down 10 percent from Q 4 2012 and down 35 percent from a year ago. However, in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, the share of non-foreclosure short sales ranged between 40 and 44 percent. "We expected foreclosurerelated sales to be lower given the downward trend in new foreclosure activity nationwide over the past two-and-a-half years, but the decrease in non-foreclosure short sales was a bit of surprise given the 11 million homeowners nationwide still underwater," said Daren Blomquist, VP at RealtyTrac. Though, in some markets, Blomquist explained rising home prices could be the reason for the slowdown in short sales. "Underwater homeowners may be willing to stick it out a few more months or even years CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 31

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