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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 91 IN THE NEWS Colorado Housing Rates 'Better Off' in 33 of 35 Counties According to RealtyTrac's 2014 Election Housing Market Scorecard, 33 out of 35 counties in Colorado with sufficient housing data to score ranked in the "better off" category, meaning that the housing market in those counties is better off than it was two years ago. e total population of the better off counties was 4.8 million, which accounted for 99 percent of the population in Colorado with sufficient housing data to score. None of the 35 counties in the state ranked in the "worse off" category. Two counties with a population totaling 40,385 ranked in the toss- up category, according to RealtyTrac. One reason for the overwhelming "bet- ter off" rating in Colorado is the fact that unemployment is way down in the state's most populated housing counties, which are El Paso, Denver, and Arapahoe, compared which came to nearly $160,000. e judge acknowledged in his ruling that PHH made "inconsistent demands for payment, argu- ably repudiating the modification contract," and that aside from threatening Linza with foreclosure, the company "refused to return his many calls or to apologize for or correct its errors, refused to enter into a new agreement, and even ridiculed his plight." Despite this, the judge said there was no evidence to sup- port Linza's claims that PHH was negligent or guilty of fraud. "e trial court has confirmed our belief that the previous verdict was not supported by the facts presented in this case or by appli- cable law," PHH spokesman Dico Akserayl- ian said in a prepared statement. "We take our responsibilities to borrowers seriously and remain committed to meeting all of our obligations as a servicer." Linza, who is from Plumas Lake, Califor- nia, had entered into a loan modification con- tact with third-party servicer PHH in 2010 to reduce his monthly mortgage payment on the Sacramento-area home he bought four years earlier. Linza claims PHH kept raising the amount of his monthly payment, and when efforts to resolve the discrepancies were not successful, Linza refused to pay. PHH then began foreclosure proceedings on Linza's home in 2012, and he sued to block the procedure. Despite the judge's dismissal of punitive and compensatory damages, Linza's attorney, Stephen Foondos of United Law Center, was pleased with the outcome and that Linza was awarded $160,000. "is is the first case of its kind," Foondos said. "California homeowners in general need to look at this as an absolute victory. is sets a precedent for homeowners, and many of them have much worse cases than Mr. Linza. He wasn't foreclosed on, and many of them have been foreclosed on. is is a wonder- ful victory for homeowners who might look at this $160,000 verdict as something that is attainable to them." Foondos said he plans to appeal the dismissal of the compensatory and punitive damages because he believes the judge committed an "abuse of discretion" by "taking it out of the jury's hands and mischaracterizing testimony" heard in the court. One of the main points of the case revolves around defining exactly what "severe" is, Foondos said. "He's teed this up as high as possible for us to hit and we're going to slam it down the fairway," Foondos said. DocMagic Acquires eSignSystems Torrance, California-based DocMagic, Inc., a provider of compliant loan document preparation and eSign and eDelivery solu- tions, announced its acquisition of electronic software solutions firm eSignSystems from WAVE Systems Corp. e acquisition adds a new set of offerings to DocMagic's suite of products, including eSignSystems' SmartSAFE, a solution that enables the eDelivery, eSigning, and life- cycle management of electronic records. Also included are SmartIDENTITY, a solution for validating signers in real-time; SmartFORMS, a solution for generating proper and personal- ized forms; and SmartCLOSE, a solution for simplifying the MERS eRegistry Integration. As part of the deal, DocMagic will bring on eSignSystems' entire management team, including Kelly Purcell, co-founder and EVP of sales and marketing, and Jonathan Kearns, SVP of technology solutions. With the addition, DocMagic said it is now the "undisputed leader in eSign and eVaulting solutions." "e acquisition of eSignSystems by Doc- Magic is a marriage of extraordinary talented and visionary people with incredible SaaS and on-premise products and services," said Domi- nic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMag- ic. "By combining the best of eSignSystems' on-premise software with DocMagic's SaaS solutions, eSignature patent, compliance, and enterprise infrastructure, there is no question that this acquisition was meant to be. Simply put, we are just better together." For her part, Purcell said she is "elated about the DocMagic acquisition of eSign- Systems." "Combining the in-depth industry experi- ence of both DocMagic and eSignSystems gives our collective customers and partners business model choices with enterprise-level expertise in both on-premise and SaaS electronic solutions," she said. "During the acquisition process, we experienced firsthand the commitment from DocMagic, ensuring the success and prosperity of our customers through its continued support of innovative 'first-to-market' robust technolo- gies and excellence in customer service." Colorado RANK: 51 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate SEPTEMBER 2014 1.08% 0.54% 4.7 YEAR AGO 1.39% 0.73% 6.6 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -22.7% -25.7% -1.9 Top County LAS ANIMAS COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate SEPTEMBER 2014 1.77% 2.44% YEAR AGO 3.10% 2.33% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -42.7% 4.9% Top Core-Based Statistical Area FORT MORGAN, CO 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate SEPTEMBER 2014 1.86% 1.26% YEAR AGO 2.27% 1.30% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -18.2% -3.1% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the September 2014 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary September 2014 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. In California, scheduled foreclosure auctions increased by 19 percent year-over-year in October 2014, according to RealtyTrac, KNOW THIS

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