DS News

4 is Month FROM OUR DESK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 DS JOURNAL Securing Foreclosure Protections for Veterans, e Pitfalls of HECM Loans, U.S. Falls Behind in Homeownership, Mortgage Offer APRs Trending Higher, Consumer Housing Sentiment Weakens, Builder Confidence on Solid Foundation, Are Homes More Affordable an We ought?, Gauging Home Valuations After a Disaster FIVE MINUTES WITH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 MOVERS AND SHAKERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ASK THE ECONOMIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 COUNSEL'S CORNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 STATE OF AFFAIRS Impactful local market information at your fingertips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 COVER STORY FRESH FACES, NEW IDEAS DS News explores the challenges and rewards of housing and mortgage's multigenerational workforce, and how the industry can attract younger workers as veterans age toward retirement.. . . . . . . . . . 60 By David Wharton INDUSTRY INSIGHT A FIRM HAND Does compliance mandated insurance protect small to mid-sized law firms, or present an unnecessary burden?. . . . . . . . . . 66 By Harrison Tropp KEEPING PACE e Property Assessed Clean Energy Program was created to address environmental concerns but exposed borrowers to higher-risks of default. Now, new changes to the law aim to solve these concerns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 By T. Robert Finlay and Sonia Plesset Edwards WHEN THE WATERS RECEDE Months after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, the National Mortgage Servicing Association is partnering with HOPE NOW to help affected homeowners continue working toward recovery.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 By David Wharton Contributors MOLLY BOESEL is a Principal Economist for CoreLogic in the Office of the Chief Economist and is responsible for analyzing and forecasting housing and mortgage market trends. SONIA PLESSET EDWARDS, Senior Associate with Wright, Finlay & Zak, has practiced in the Financial Services industry since 1989. Since being admitted to the California State Bar in December 1991, Edwards has focused her career on representing the interests of lenders, servicers, foreclosure trustees, and private investors on both the plaintiff and defense side. She has a broad range of experience in real estate-related and title matters, foreclosure law, collection law, receiverships, evictions, rent-control, and bankruptcy. T. ROBERT FINLAY is one of the three founding partners of Wright, Finlay & Zak. Since 1994, Finlay has focused his legal career on consumer credit, business, and real estate litigation and has extensive experience with trials, mediations, arbitrations, and appeals. Finlay is at the forefront of the mortgage banking industry, handling all aspects of the ever-changing default servicing and mortgage banking litigation arena, including compliance issues for servicers, lenders, investors, title companies, and foreclosure trustees. HARRISON TROPP graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Political Science. Following graduation, he began work as an advisor for a consulting group representing default law firms. While Harrison's primary responsibilities pertained to business development, he gained first-hand experience in default services, law firm operations, as well as audit and compliance requirement. He began his tenure at Shea Barclay Group towards the end of 2016 with the primary role of helping default firms with their insurance needs, particularly related to compliance mandated insurance. DAVID WHARTON, Online Editor at the Five Star Institute, has over 15 years of experience in journalism and previously worked at omson Reuters, a multinational mass media and information firm, as Associate Content Editor, focusing on producing media content related to tax and accounting principles and government rules and regulations for accounting professionals. Wharton has an extensive and diversified portfolio of freelance material, with published contributions in both online and print media publications. He can be reached at David.Wharton@DSNews.com. Join the Conversation Do you have a suggestion, story idea, or some feedback you'd like to share with DS News readers? Help shape our next issue by emailing Editor@DSNews.com. M A Y 2 0 1 8 C o n t e n t s D S N E W S . C O M 66 70 14 22 60 FRESH FACES, NEW IDEAS

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