DS News

» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 87 IN THE NEWS VRM Mortgage Services Honored by DiversityBusiness for Second Straight Year VRM Mortgage Services (VRM) was re- cently named to DiversityBusiness' 15th annual "Top Businesses in America" list and received multiple awards as an African-American, diversity-owned, and privately held company. According to a recent DiversityBusiness press release, this is the second year in a row VRM has received such honors. DiversityBusiness recognized VRM in five of its surveys, including ranking 158th of the top 500 diversity-owned businesses in the U.S. and 47th out of 100 top African-Amer- ican-owned businesses, the release says. e company was also recognized locally as the 17th-ranked diversity-owned business in Texas and was listed 21st out of 100 privately held Texas businesses. "It's an honor to be recognized again by DiversityBusiness," said Keith Murray, presi- dent and CEO of VRM Mortgage Services. "We are committed to diversity in our daily business operations and appreciate the recogni- tion we've received with this national award." DiversityBusiness produces annual lists, provides business news information, conducts research and data collection services, and pro- vides other services to advance best practices through diversity. e "Top Businesses in America" program was started by Diversity- Business in 1999 and recognizes and honors diverse companies that are industry leaders who push our economy forward. More than 1.3 million companies in the U.S. participated in this annual business survey, and honorees were selected based on an expansive set of criteria. VRM supports many of the industry's major ethnic, minority, and diverse real estate organizations and even holds leadership roles with a variety of diversity initiatives, including the Mortgage Bankers Association's Strategic Diversity Committee. VRM's founder, Murray, believes a com- mitment to diversity strengthens a com- pany's recruiting, purchasing, and partner- ship decisions, the release notes. Under his leadership, the company was able to develop a sourcing solution to help ensure small and minority-owned businesses were included in its offerings. is included providing its clients a diverse network of real estate and mortgage brokers, repair contractors, closing/HED agents, and appraisers. "As a minority-owned company, VRM embraces diversity as a significant driver of our performance excellence," Murray said. "We look for every opportunity to promote diversity and inclusion with our clients and throughout our industry. ese awards are recognition of those efforts and our industry achievements." West Virginia RANK: 30 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate APRIL 2015 2.15% 1.07% 7 YEAR AGO 2.37% 1.12% 6.8 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -9.5% -4.7% 0.2 Top County WYOMING COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate APRIL 2015 3.18% 2.35% YEAR AGO 4.16% 1.69% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -23.5% 39.0% Top Core-Based Statistical Area LOGAN, WV 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate APRIL 2015 2.99% 1.85% YEAR AGO 3.40% 1.28% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -12.0% 43.9% 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 March 2015 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary March 2015 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. Virginia RANK: 46 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate APRIL 2015 1.55% 0.58% 4.8 YEAR AGO 1.85% 0.64% 5.3 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -15.9% -9.1% -0.5 Top County ALLEGHANY COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate APRIL 2015 0.18% 2.41% YEAR AGO 2.51% 1.06% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -93.0% 126.6% Top Core-Based Statistical Area BIG STONE GAP, VA 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate APRIL 2015 3.00% 1.86% YEAR AGO 2.62% 2.05% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 14.5% -9.1% 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 March 2015 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary March 2015 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. Alaska RANK: 51 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate APRIL 2015 0.90% 0.43% 6.7 YEAR AGO 1.10% 0.50% 6.9 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -18.6% -12.9% -0.2 Top County NOME CENSUS AREA 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate APRIL 2015 0.65% 2.06% YEAR AGO 0.81% 0.69% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -19.5% 199.4% Top Core-Based Statistical Area FAIRBANKS, AK 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate APRIL 2015 1.44% 1.27% YEAR AGO 2.07% 0.99% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -30.8% 28.2% 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 March 2015 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary March 2015 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. Tennessee's foreclosure inventory rate for April 2015, which was exactly half the national average (1.4 percent) for the month. Tennessee's serious delinquency rate for April (3.5 percent) nearly matched the national average (3.6 percent) for April, however. Source: CoreLogic STAT INSIGHT 0.7%

• Cover