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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 89 THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com. Affinity's management consultants will bring real world examples and sample work products to share with Symposium participants so that they return to their firms and make real differences in the way their law firms work. "In an industry of constants ups and downs, it is critical that firms learn to adapt and excel during these opportunities for growth and evolution," remarked Erica Fujimoto, Affinity Director of Default Services. "It is our honor to work together annually to create an atmosphere of cooperation, collaboration, and innovation to help the leaders in the Default Services industry develop the skills and tools that they need to delight their clients every day." NORTH CAROLINA OwnAmerica Initiates New Service for SFR Investors OwnAmerica is now providing an online service for institutional and retail investors to estimate the value of performing, tenanted rental houses, and analyze their asset quality, according to a recent announcement from the company. "is is part of a movement to create a market for investor-to-investor sales of rental homes, so buyer and seller have an economic gain, while tenants have the stability of being able to remain after the property sells," says Greg Rand, CEO and Founder of OwnA- merica. "Tens of thousands of renters are given notice every month that they have to vacate their house because the owner wants to sell. at makes no sense." e company reports that the new, free service, called Portfolio Visualizer provides investors institutional-level data and analysis including automated property valuations, rental data, yield and ROI calculations, wealth projec- tions and portfolio mapping. In addition, the service also provides localized, portfolio-spe- cific market information including population trends, migration patterns and employment statistics, according to the statement. OwnA- merica shares that to use the service, investors simply need to upload addresses of performing SFR properties to the Portfolio Visualizer. "ere are 16 million single family rental homes in the US sheltering 12.5% of the house- holds. is is a massive asset class," says Rand. "But the owners of these rental homes have been forgotten by the industries that would serve them. e residential brokerage compa- nies are focused exclusively on home buyers and sellers, not investors. It's the same with the big real estate web portals." e release notes that the service also offers unique listings for sale of performing, occupied rental homes in markets nationwide and inves- tors can locate performing rental properties. OwnAmerica states that this enables them to invest without the costs associated with rehab- bing empty houses and losing rental income while finding qualified tenants. e company says that the listings are gen- erally not available through MLS systems thus allowing investors to work directly with other professional investors. Additionally, it is noted that keeping the listings off of the MLS also keeps tenants from learning of potential sales and affecting a properties' performance. "As an example, when a rental property owner wants to sell his portfolio, the local real estate agents usually recommend vacating the homes and marketing them to home buyers. So a cash flowing investment property is vacated," says Rand. "e owner loses income, and the tenants have to find a new place to live. No one wins." e release says that the new site is hosted through OwnAmerica.com. TEXAS Academy Mortgage Welcomes New Southeast Regional Manager Academy Mortgage has announced the hir- ing of former NFL quarterback Eric Zeier as the company's Southeast Regional Manager, where his responsibilities will include directing the company's sales, recruiting, market expansion, and business development in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida. Zeier received a business degree from the University of Georgia, where he was a four-year starter for the Bulldogs football team; while playing for Georgia, he set several school and Southeastern Conference passing records, notably most career passing yards in SEC his- tory. He was a Heisman trophy finalist both his junior and senior years. Zeier went on to play in the NFL for three teams over the course of six years (1995-2000). Following his NFL career, Zeier started in the mortgage industry with Homebanc in 2002, advancing from Loan Officer to Branch Manager to Regional Manager. Prior to joining Academy Mortgage, Zeier had worked at Bank of America since 2009 in several senior leader- ship roles throughout the Southeast, including as a Regional Sales Executive and Senior VP responsible for Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. "Eric Zeier is a well-known name in the area, as he is a football Color Analyst for the Univer- sity of Georgia, where he was an All-American quarterback, and a former NFL quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers," said Academy's Eastern Divisional Manager Jerry Devlin. "Since leaving the NFL, he's enjoyed a successful career in mortgage banking, and his leadership and experience will be invaluable in taking our Southeast team to even higher levels." Texas completed 27,000 foreclosures during the past 12 months, according to CoreLogic. KNOW THIS

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