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VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM likely is it to be an accurate estimate? Is the valuation supported by recent sales? Does the score demonstrate confidence? Is the property an outlier in its community, skewing automated results? All of these questions can cast doubt on a valuation, and risk managers need insight into these factors to ensure the best business decision." CMV-Portfolio bases its value estimates on input from four diverse sub-models and allows users to specify the desired accuracy level based on the requirements of individual portfolios. C.A.R. Voices Support for Bill Preventing Foreclosures with Approved Short Sales The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) announced its backing of a bill that will prevent California homeowners from going into foreclosure if they have negotiated a short sale with their lender or servicer. Assembly Bill 1745 (Torres, D-Pomona) prevents lenders and servicers from recording a notice of sale if a short sale has been approved in writing. The bill has passed the Assembly by unanimous vote and is currently under review by the Senate Rules Committee. STAT INSIGHT The bill would also allow the mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent to withdraw a short sale approval if a condition in which approval was granted has changed. It would require a written notice to the seller no less than three days before withdrawing approval, with an explanation of the decision change. California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris recently introduced her Homeowner Bill of Rights, one of which had a similar provision that prevents a lender from foreclosing on a homeowner who is also trying to negotiate a loan modification, often referred to as dual tracking. According to Assemblymember Norma Torres (D-Pomona), sponsor of the short sale bill, when a servicer records a notice of foreclosure sale on a home while the escrow is waiting to close on a short sale, it's usually because the foreclosure department isn't talking to the short sale department and is unaware that a resolution is in the works. "We want to help homeowners, who are trying to avoid a foreclosure through a short sale, by encouraging these bank departments to start communicating with each other," Torres said. "If one department has approved the short sale, then the bank must give a homeowner a reason in writing for withdrawing the short sale approval and must [it] provide a three days' notice before restarting the foreclosure." DocMagic Offers Compliance Solutions Throughout the Loan Process Rise in median home prices in California from March to April. Source: DataQuick With compliance issues becoming a growing concern in the mortgage industry, Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic, advises loan originators to integrate automated loan file audits in their workflow from the time an applicant makes a submission to the time documents are prepared to be sent to the secondary market. "The traditional approach has been to perform an audit at the conclusion of the loan, before closing, but that's not good enough anymore," Iannitti said, adding that meeting investor guidelines and compliance requirements are important so that lenders won't be plagued by repurchase demands. In February 2012, Fannie Mae, the largest purchaser of residential mortgages in the United States, reported that it issued a total of $23.8 billion in repurchase requests to lenders during 2011. That represents an increase from $13.1 billion in repurchase requests in 2010, according to a company release. As for technology that checks loan files for compliance, Iannitti said DocMagic's audit engine performs more than 1,000 compliance, regulatory, and investor guideline checks, and provides analytics to the user. DocMagic is able to check for compliance with Regulation Z (Truth-in-Lending) requirements, the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act, applicable federal and state audit tests, and Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Torrance, California, DocMagic develops software, processes, and web-based systems for the production and delivery of compliant loan document packages. ICM Announces New Fannie Mae Direct Product International City Mortgage (ICM) recently released ICM Fannie Mae Direct, a new conventional service-retained home loan product. ICM said it believes the release of its own service-retained Fannie Mae product will drive loan volume to new heights. Product highlights the company pointed out for ICM Fannie Mae Direct include a streamlined process, competitive pricing, acceptability of property flipping, up to 10 financed properties allowed, minimum 680 FICO, and a maximum 80 percent loan-tovalue (LTV) ratio. Headquartered in Orange, California, ICM is a privately held residential mortgage banking direct lender. California Sees Fewer Homes Going into and Getting Lost to Foreclosure California may have some rough patches in a few markets, but overall, with the worst part of the housing crises apparently in the rearview, the Golden State is seeing fewer delinquencies and losing a smaller number of homes to foreclosure, according to a San Diego-based real estate data provider. A total of 56,258 Notices of Default (NODs) were recorded at county recorders offices in California during the first quarter of 2012—the lowest level since the second 85

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