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84 ILLINOIS Default Servicing Technologies Rebrands as Exceleras Default Servicing Technologies, Illinois- based creators of a suite of critical software for banks, servicers, subservicers, capital market groups, and other mortgage and real estate industry professionals, has changed its name to Exceleras. e name change was made to better reflect the nature of Exceleras' business and the industry sectors it serves, according to the announcement. "Automation allows our clients to ac- celerate the pace of business, which is vital to success," said Amy Bergseth, VP of Operations for Exceleras. "At the same time, operating in a highly regulated environment requires every technology buyer to seek outexcellent partners, especially when it comes to mission critical technology. Expanding beyond the default sector required us to rebrand. Exceleras is now the most excellent solution for accelerating your business with technology." e company's suite of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions includes DispoSolutions real estate disposition platform and the ValueSolu- tions enterprise collateral valuation manage- ment technology, which can both be used together or a la carte. When Exceleras clients use the tools together, they can manage assets both pre- and post-foreclosure. ey can also manage the process of providing due diligence solutions, such as obtaining valuations and inspections for real estate assets, for portfolio acquisition. Exceleras systems capture communication and documents to assist in creating transpar- ency and provide a pre-packaged workflow of automated tasks and notices for the default and short sale processes in a manner that is fully compliant. "For many years, Default Servicing Tech- nologies has played a crucial role in helping its clients deal with valuing and selling real estate," said Michael Harris, an industry veteran who has been consulting with the company throughout the rebranding process. "e com- pany is unmatched in its ability to meet these demands, but in doing so it has gained valuable experience that has allowed the company to create software that meets a broader set of industry needs. Starting now, the company will meet those needs as Exceleras." Likewise, the fewer the lease expirations during a month, the lower the vacancy rate. Out of the 23 transactions covered in Morningstar's report, 16 of them had fewer lease expirations in December than they had in November. e highest delinquency rate during December went to AH4R 2015-SFR1 (American Homes 4 Rent) with 8.0 percent, which was still an improvement of a full percentage point from December's rate of 9.0 percent. PRD 2015- SFR2 reversed five consecutive months of steady increases by declining to 6.6 percent in December. MICHIGAN Quicken Loans Super Bowl Ad Draws Praise, Criticism Detroit-based Quicken Loans, the third-largest mortgage lender in the country, drew some strong reactions for a commercial promoting its Rocket Mortgage program—a phone app that allows users to qualify for a mortgage loan in as little as eight minutes— that aired during the Super Bowl. Quicken bills the Rocket Mortgage program as a "a fast, powerful, and completely online way to get a mortgage" with a slogan that says simply, "Push button. Get mortgage." Critics of the program, who came out in droves on Twitter under #RocketMortgage after the commercial's airing on Sunday, say this pro- gram is a return back to the same loose under- writing standards that led to massive mortgage defaults and eventually caused the housing crash and subsequently the Great Recession. e narrator in the ad poses the ques- tion, "What if we did for mortgages what the Internet did for buying music and plane tickets and shoes?" A tweet from Quicken states that the Rocket Mortgage program is "making the mortgage screening program look a little less intimidating." e airing of the ad during the Super Bowl triggered a barrage of criticism on Twitter, much of which came from journalists. Hous- ing experts, economists, and analysts were notably absent from the Twitter firestorm on the Rocket Mortgage program, which begs the question: Is any of the criticism warranted, or are all the Rocket Mortgage critics in a panic over nothing? One notable tweet came from the Consum- er Financial Protection Bureau which tweeted, "When it comes to mortgages, take your time, ask questions, and know before you owe." SFR Vacancy, Turnover Rates Drop in Winter Months Fewer properties with lease expirations in the winter months resulted in a general decline in vacancy rates along with strong retention rates for the month of November, according to data reported by Morningstar Credit Ratings in its December 2015 Single-Family Research: Performance Summary Covering All Morn- ingstar Rated Securitizations. e lower percentage of lease expirations for the winter months could also be the cause of a general decline in turnover rates, according to Morningstar. Overall, delinquency rate re- mained low and cash flows remained sufficient to cover bond obligations despite an uptick in delinquency rate for 12 out of the 23 securitiza- tions covered in Morningstar's report. Morningstar publishes its performance summary in order to provide property-level data for each securitization monthly for market participants, since historical data for SFR securitizations is relatively limited. e first SFR securitization, IH 2013-SFR1 (Invitation Homes), in October 2013. Since then, issu- ance for SFR securitizations has surpassed $13 billion for about 100,000 homes, according to Morningstar. "e December property-level data shows performance of the single-borrower, single- family rental asset class has remained strong," Morningstar stated in the report. "Vacancy and turnover rates have been improving and delinquency rates continue to be low and in line with Morningstar's expectations. Monitoring the monthly performance of key metrics in both the single-borrower and multiborrower areas of the single-family rental asset class is important as more historical data becomes available, par- ticularly as issuers employ different strategies in managing their securitized pools." Delinquency rates generally ticked up among the 23 securitaztions, yet they remained low; the highest delinquency percentage for any transaction in December was 1.7 percent, for both ARP 2014-SFR1 (American Residential Properties) and PRD 2015-SFR2 (Progress Residential). Even though the ARP transac- tion tied for the highest delinquency rate in December, the rate of 1.7 percent was still way down from its peak of 3.0 percent reached in June 2015. Since the number of lease expirations heavily influences the vacancy rate during a given month, the vacancy rate tends to be higher when there are more lease expirations.

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