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64 COVER FEATURE Cover Feature: 30 Top Executives Tell You The Future Cover Feature: 30 Top Executives Tell You The Future Cover Feature: 30 Top Executives Tell You The Future COVER FEATURE TECHNOLOGY TIMOTHY STERN President, VidVerify After of a year's worth of Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Disclosures (TRID) frenzy, I hope that the mortgage industry will use 2016 to take a step back and rethink how we communicate with our customers. As the industry solidifies compliance, I expect to see a pivot towards embracing innovation in communications to not only bridge gaps in compliance, but also maximize operational capacity. Despite a laser focus on disclosures and new rulemakings, we still see that the mortgage industry can fall short of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) expectations that lenders and servicers truly inform and empower their customers through their communications. As recently as November, the agency published its Supervisory Highlights for fall 2015. e report identified disclosure failings throughout the mortgage process and other areas of the larger financial services arena, from RESPA/ TILA disclosures, to loss mitigation and debt collection. We understand that this is still a critical shortcoming in the mortgage service offering, and we expect to see the industry begin to look to technology to modernize the communications process. Although there are only a handful of providers bringing video solutions to the mortgage space, the role of video communications in the lives of everyday consumers is growing rapidly. Video is expected to grow from 57 percent of consumer internet traffic to 69 percent over the next year. And already more than half of internet users watch a video online every day. When applied to the mortgage process, this technology offers promising results. For example, the majority of video viewers watch more than 75 percent of a video. at is a vast improvement for the customers who may quickly flip through the pages of a disclosure just to sign on the dotted line without fully understanding the information presented. In 2016 I expect to see the mortgage industry begin to catch on to the vast offering of technology tools available to them in the vendor marketplace. Once lenders and servicers adopt these kinds of innovative solutions, like video disclosures, they can look past simple compliance and leverage their ability to better communicate with customers to boost business operations. COVER FEATURE ASSET DISPOSITION ELSA LEWIS Executive Vice President, Williams & Williams Worldwide Real Estate Auction We believe 2016 will be a year of growth as evidenced by continued stabilization, diversification and increased opportunities as new markets evolve. Government regulation and oversight will continue to have a major impact in mortgage servicing as servicers and banks continue to implement trades and disposition strategies up the default timeline, i.e., short sales, NPL pool trades, deed-in-lieu confirmations, CWCOT and other government foreclosure auction programs and pre-marketing REO. 2015 has been a very busy year for us in honing these types of solutions for our banks, mortgage servicers, investors, government and other sellers. Providing a time-definite auction solution for occupied properties allows the bank or mortgage servicer to avoid the lengthy timeline of eviction, particularly in certain states. Also conveying properties by quitclaim deed for an occupied property shifts the costs to the buyer. Many of our buyers are looking specifically to purchase properties with the "hair" in order to leverage and maximize their cash positions. Banks and servicers are more in tune to the net present value of money and are looking for liquidity in the market, knowing that money is worth more today than six months from now. Also, selling earlier in the process helps sellers avoid headline risk. Short sale auctions provide a time-definite solution before time-definite event occurs. Foreclosure auctions and particularly second chance will continue to gain momentum, attracting new buyers who desire occupied and newly foreclosed properties. Additionally in 2016, we will continue to assist investors – large, medium and small – to find liquidity in the marketplace at auction. Unlike servicers, investors view their assets as investments rather than liabilities. e large investors will continue to sell pools and individual assets to the medium and small investors (offering financing to enhance the deal). ey will also sell continue to sell off assets that don't fit their management box or where they need liquidity for new investments. EXPERT OPINION I hope that the mortgage industry will use 2016 to take a step back and rethink how we communicate with our customers. –TIMOTHY STERN EXPERT OPINION Many of our buyers are looking specifically to purchase properties with the "hair" in order to leverage and maximize their cash positions. –ELSA LEWIS

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