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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 85 Quicken responded to that tweet with one of its own, saying that "We agree. No better way than #RocketMortgage for full transparency into mortgage options & info needed to make the right decision." When the Rocket Mortgage program was launched in November 2015, Quicken CEO Bill Emerson stated, "Quicken Loans has been the clear leader in mortgage technol- ogy for almost two decades. We changed the mortgage industry when we created the first 50-state online retail lending platform that has since helped millions of Americans achieve their home financing goals, while experiencing the best client service in the nation, Today, we took another monumental leap forward with the launch of Rocket Mortgage, which brings simplicity and clarity to the home loan process like never before, while delivering solutions at unimaginable speed." Quicken states on its website that "More than 500 Detroit-based developers, designers, QA technicians and business analysts from QL Labs—Quicken Loans' technology innova- tion team—have worked for over three years to completely redesign the highly complex mortgage process." e Rocket Mortgage program did not just draw criticism, however. Several journalists from prominent publications came to Quick- en's defense on Monday. Wall Street Journal writer Nick Ti- miraos said on that publication's blog on Monday that Quicken is not advocating loose lending standards, but rather "Quicken is betting that its competitive advantage against other lenders comes from making what has become an invasive mortgage-screening process a little less intimidating, and it's rolling out a phone app to do it." Quicken's research suggests many qualified would-be homeown- ers "don't want to get engaged because they're afraid of the process," according to Emerson in Timiraos' blog post. "If we could give them an opportunity to interact with technology, understand the operation, maybe we could get some of these folks who qualify off the sidelines." Rena Foroohar, assistant managing editor and columnist with Time, does not believe the criticism of the Rocket Mortgage program is warranted. On Monday, she published a piece titled "No, the Rocket Mortgage Ad is Not the Sign of Another Financial Apocalypse." "ere is no consumer housing credit bubble brewing right now–quite the oppo- site," Foroohar wrote. "e housing recovery right now is being driven not by first-time homebuyers or people who want to trade up but by the wealthiest and investors." MINNESOTA Incenter Acquires Interactive Mortgage Advisors Incenter, a Blackstone portfolio company headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Interactive Mortgage Advisors, LLC(IMA). IMA's continued focus will be on mortgage servicing rights (MSR) broker- age and independent asset valuation, as part of Incenter's Secondary Market Platform. e platform provides advisory services to financial services companies; services pro- vided include hedge advisory services, best execution analysis, MSR valuation and sales, pricing model development and manage- ment, dynamic reporting and analysis, direct to investor whole loan trading, and securiti- zation and product development. "e union with Incenter is a game changer for our clients as it allows them to benefit from a broader array of service and product offerings, including additional sec- ondary markets services, world class analytics and access to capital," said omas M. Piercy, Managing Director for Interactive Mortgage Advisors. e acquisition is expected to close by March 31, 2016. "With the acquisition of Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Incenter adds a key set of services and capabilities that will enhance our ability to service the needs of our clients. We are delighted to add such a high caliber team that will continue to be led by Manag- ing Directors Tom Piercy and Chris John," said Nicholas Smith, Incenter's President. Minnesota www.MinnesotaREO.com 612-669-6324 952-829-2938 763-432-7640 612-821-7500 952-844-1511 763-533-9133 651-209-8444 507-424-6026 Bruce McAlpin Jeff Detloff Long H. Doan Maribel Garcia Garth Johnson Craig Murphy Michael Olsen Brian Rossow default servicing in print and online @ dsnews.com 08.2014 default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online .201 .201 .201 .201 .201 .201 .201 .201 .201 .2014 default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online default servicing in print and online @ dsnews.com dsnews.com dsnews.com dsnews.com dsnews.com dsnews.com dsnews.com 08 08 08 08 08 08.201 .201 Housing's Golden Investment or Fairy Tale? While data shows that the housing industry is making a signifi cant rebound, some housing market investors are fi nding that in the realm of purchasing of non-performing notes is a mere fantasy. 68 Q&A SESSIONS GOOD FOR BUSINESS Knowing which questions to ask is a critical piece to investor success in the changing marketplace. 72 PREYING FOR PAYOFF Troubled homeowners are easy prey for scammers, but steps can be taken by homeowners and servicers to make sure their investments are protected. 64 APPLES, ORANGES, AND LEMONS: EFFECTIVELY MEASURING HAZARD- CLAIMS MANAGEMENT If the devil is truly in the details, one of those details for mortgage servicers is managing the mortgagee-fi led hazard insurance claims process. THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com.

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