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VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM Watsonville and Redlands," said Steve Vivanco, president of Stewart Title of California. "These office openings come out on the heels of a remarkable quarter for Stewart. We are pleased to expand our operations to better serve our customers." A subsidiary of Stewart Information "We are glad to be opening offices in market." He then went on to ask, "Is this really where the JPA wants to focus its time and attention?" While SIFMA's argument reflects Services Corp., Stewart Title Co. is a global title insurance and real estate services company. It is headquartered in Houston, Texas. SIFMA Expresses Opposition to Eminent Domain at County Meeting Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Tim Cameron prepared remarks for a meet- ing in San Bernardino County to once again express his organization's opposition to the area's proposed use of eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages. San Bernardino County and the cit- On behalf of the Securities Industry and the viewpoint of many who are against the proposal, Reuters reported California Lieutenant Gov. Gavin Newsom asked SIFMA to "cease making threats to the local officials of San Bernardino County." According to the news agency, Newsom stated, "This may be an aggressive idea, but communities such as San Bernardino, Chicago, and others have no choice in these desperate times." In August, a meeting was held in Chicago CoreLogic Releases OnSite Plus After Consumer Feedback ies of Fontana and Ontario created a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to explore propos- als to assist underwater homeowners. The proposal that has been at the center of debate in the housing industry is the one involving eminent domain authority to take possession of underwater mortgages from lenders and investors in exchange for the properties' cur- rent fair market values. While it is clear that San Bernardino County, like many other hard-hit areas across the country, is in need of a solution to address the problem of negative equity, the idea employing eminent domain has faced strong opposition. In his prepared remarks, Cameron stated, "We believe that the use of eminent domain would significantly harm mortgage finance markets, reduce access to credit for borrowers, and negatively impact average investors' portfolios." He also said "the use of eminent domain announced an enhanced version of its OnSite report. The new OnSite Plus provides an overall condition rating based on two things: a patent-pending algorithm and an inspec- tion by a licensed real estate professional. The latest version of the company's solution is the result of consumer feedback regarding the use of a licensed real estate professional to perform inspections. OnSite Plus was also designed to be used Santa Ana, California-based CoreLogic with an automated valuation model (AVM) report to create an evaluation consistent with the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines issued in December 2010, accord- ing to CoreLogic. "We have had over 50 top lenders and Bradford Technologies Announces Upgrades to Appraisal Software of the next generation of its Collateral Valuation Report (CVR), a product that introduced statisti- cal analysis into the appraisal process. The company's CVR 2.0 combines four in which the proposed use of eminent domain was also discussed. Bradford Technologies announced the release analyses—market analysis, regression analysis, the sales comparison approach, and the listing comparison approach—to come to a reliable value conclusion. The updated technology also introduces value ranges to help summarize results visually and identity theft as well as ap- praisal fraud technology to thwart scammers and schemers. Together, the enhancements are designed to provide greater clarity and trans- parency of the appraiser's valuation process. "Lenders have seen the benefits of statisti- cally enhanced appraisals," said Jeff Bradford, CEO of Bradford Technologies. "The future is about valuation analytics, scatter plots, and regression models. CVR 2.0 has all this today." Headquartered in San Jose, California, Bradford Technologies produces software to assist with such initiatives as residential appraisals, property history reports, and UAD compliance. raises serious legal and constitutional issues" and added that "short-term benefits to a small group of performing homeowners" would not outweigh the "long-term costs and liability risks of an eminent domain proposal." Cameron further urged the JPA to continue exploring the problem, pointing out that the proposal "targets a few thousand people who have good credit, are current on their mortgage payments, and most importantly, happen to have mortgages that have been sold in the private-label securities servicers adopt and now rely on OnSite from CoreLogic to create an evaluation that supports decision-making on home equity loans, refinancings, and loan modifications," said Susan Allen, VP of strategic relations at CoreLogic. "While our customers tell us they save millions of dollars by using OnSite- based evaluations performed by credentialed inspectors, some expressed a preference for inspections performed by licensed real estate professionals." KNOW THIS Government data indicate major servicers completed 25,844 short sales in California to satisfy terms of the AG settlement. Be confident that the industry is hearing your message. Advertise with DS News today. 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