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116 Home Team of loan experts. Morias says the decision to offer additional mortgage services for consumers was an easy one. "Offering a variety of home loan products with our hallmark emphasis on superior cus- tomer service and innovation serves as a proof point that we work tirelessly to be a relentless Ally for our customers' financial well-being," Morais said. "e launch of Ally Home is the latest step to diversify our product offering to serve more of our customers' financial needs." OHIO Plywood Bill Passes in Ohio e property preservation industry has taken another huge step toward reducing com- munity blight with the passage of Ohio H.B. 463 in the Ohio State Senate. e bill, which would ban the use of plywood in securing vacant and abandoned properties, passed by a count of 26 to 5 in the Ohio Senate on December 8 after receiving a nearly unanimous favorable vote (95 to 1) in the Ohio House of Representatives on May 11. e bill now needs only the signature of Ohio Governor John Kasich to become law, after which it will take effect in 90 days. Division (A) of Section 2308.031 of Ohio H.B. 463 states, "No person shall use plywood to secure real property that is deemed vacant and abandoned under section 2308.02 of the Revised Code." Vacant and abandoned properties that contain windows boarded with plywood have often been found to attract vandalism, squat- ters, and in some cases, violent crime, in ad- dition to contributing to the spread of blight. Stakeholders both in the property-preservation industry and in the Ohio State Legislature who have fought for many years to reduce blight in neighborhoods celebrated the passage of H.B. 463. One of those industry stakeholders who has pushed for the passage of anti-blight legislation and worked to create solutions to the spreading of blight is Robert Klein, who founded Safe- guard Properties in Ohio in 1990 and currently serves as Chairman of SecureView. Klein has often said that "a vacant property is not like wine. It does not get better with age." Klein stated, "Ohio's ban on the use of plywood is the first legislation of its kind and a game-changing, bold statement that will modernize the fight against community blight. firms are industry leaders on a nationwide basis through their involvement in trade organizations, state bar associations, and other industry-related business partners." e Codilis family is currently a member in the Legal League 100 for the states of Illinois (Codilis & Associates, P.C.) and Missouri (Codilis, Moody and Circelli, P.C.). e Legal League 100 is a professional association membership group committed to supporting the mortgage servicing industry through edu- cation, communication, relationship develop- ment, and advisory services. e Legal League 100 supports its multifaceted membership by striving to be a leading force for industry stan- dards, education, and policy advocacy. MICHIGAN Ally Bank Introduces Direct-to-Consumer Mortgage System Ally Bank recently announced the launch of its direct-to-consumer mortgage offering, Ally Home, a digital suite that features mort- gage servicing products for customers. Ally will collaborate with LenderLive to provide compliant, mortgage fulfillment, settlement, and document services. e Ally Home suite features mortgage products with various term options for com- petitively priced, fixed-rate, and adjustable-rate loans to help customers seeking to purchase a new home or refinance an existing mortgage. Diane Morias, Ally Bank CEO and President, says Ally Home will provide further value for consumers. "At Ally, our goal is to 'Do It Right' for our customers, many of who have expressed a desire to deepen their relationships with us through additional products to meet their personal finance needs," Morias said. "Because a home loan is a cornerstone financial product and the largest market within the consumer lending space, this is a natural next step for Ally." Ally Home products are integrated with the Ally Bank website, where consumers can view information about buying or refinancing a home, including current rates, loan types, and three interactive calculators: affordabil- ity, refinance, and loan payment. Users can manage their loan-related documents from any device after applying for a loan. Custom- ers will be guided throughout the application, approval, and closing processes by the Ally INDIANA Codilis & Associates Expands to Indiana Unterberg & Associates, P.C., an Indiana- based legal practice, has joined the Codilis family of law firms, according to an announce- ment from Codilis. e addition expands Codilis' reach to four states–Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Texas. According to the announcement, Unter- berg & Associates, P.C. will continue as Codi- lis Law, LLC, and Ken Unterberg, the firm's President, will remain with Codilis Law. Joe Circelli, Greg Moody, and Adam Codilis will also be part of the Senior Management Team. "We look forward to welcoming the Un- terberg staff to our Codilis team," said Ernie Codilis, President and Founding Member of Codilis & Associates, P.C. "Our firms share the same set of values revolving around customer service, innovation, and compliance. We have known and worked with Ken over the past 28 years and are proud to work with him again." With this new addition, Codilis will continue providing lenders and servicers with a wider reach of default servicing legal offerings, according to the announcement. e firms— including Codilis & Associates of Illinois; Codilis, Moody & Circelli, P.C. of Missouri; and Codilis & Stawiarski, P.C. of Texas—fo- cus on foreclosure, bankruptcy, eviction, and other default-related practices including REO closing services, home equity, and forward- and reverse-mortgage loan products in both judicial and non-judicial states. "Combined, the firms exceed a century of legal practices dedicated to mortgage servic- ing—Illinois with 40 years, Texas with 28 years, Indiana with 28 years, and Missouri with 11 years," the announcement stated. "e Illinois Aaron Mighty Broker/Owner MIGHTY REALTY, INC. reo@mightyrealty.com 312-753-8366 www.MightyRealty.com REOs | REO Rentals | Property Management

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