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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 93 Ownership APIs, leveraging a nationwide search for properties owned by the borrow- ers, and any potential unidentified addresses, foreclosures, and pre-foreclosures; liens and Judgements API, both FCRA and non-FCRA compliant; and fraud, verifications and compli- ance API and datasets. "We're committed to investing in data and digital solutions across our business to assist customers in achieving their goals," Wall added. "Digital Gateway is our latest technol- ogy innovation designed to support their vision to accelerate mortgage lending and improve the consumer experience." Guild Mortgage is a Fannie Mae STAR Performer e San Diego headquartered independent mortgage lender, Guild Mortgage, earned a Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) Performer recognition from Fannie Mae for 2017. e STAR Program, which was initiated by Fannie Mae in 2011, is a performance man- agement and recognition program designed to define industry standards and leading practices and seeks to provide a consistent methodology for measuring servicer performance, as well as identifying and recognizing Fannie Mae's highest-performing servicers. Guild Mortgage received the recognition for General Servicing and marks the first time that the mortgage company received a STAR award. "Guild continues to grow its servicing business at record rates while maintaining our personal touch and commitment to customer service," said Mary Ann McGarry, President, and CEO of Guild Mortgage. "Everyone at Guild can be proud to be honored among Fan- nie Mae's leading servicers." Guild recorded $38.6 billion in servicing volume and 190,672 loans serviced in 2017, up 28.6 percent from $29.9 billion and 155,129 loans serviced at the end of 2016. e portfolio in- cluded FHA loans, $10.4 billion, or 27 percent; VA, $4.7 billion, or 12.3 percent; and conven- tional, $23.4 billion, or 60.7 percent. Guild also achieved a record in purchase loan volume in 2017, gaining 19.2 percent to $12.7 billion, up from $10.7 billion in 2016. e company reached near-record overall loan volume of $15.94 billion for the year. "Our partnership with Fannie Mae allows us to continue to offer different loan options and help more customers achieve their dream in a published foreclosure decision affecting title after a foreclosure sale was deemed void, entitled Dimock v. Emerald Properties LLC, et al, (2000) 81 Cal. App. 4th 868. She has also briefed and argued many other various appeals involving judicial and non-judicial foreclosure issues. Spaeder-Younkin is licensed to practice in all courts in the State of California, includ- ing all of the U.S. District Courts within the State of California and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. First American Mortgage Solutions Expands Digital Product Access Santa Ana, California-based mortgage lender, First American Mortgage Solutions, has announced the expansion of the applica- tion programming interfaces (APIs) available through its Digital Gateway, giving users greater flexibility to create modern, consumer- friendly applications and workflows. First American Mortgage Solutions' digital gateway serves as a single platform for mort- gage lenders and servicers, Loan Origination System (LOS) providers, fintech companies and Point-of-Sale (POS) solution providers to access data and services across the First Ameri- can enterprise. e APIs and flexible architecture can be used to create digital mortgage applications focused on borrower experience. e benefits of this expanded line include loan applica- tion efficiencies via auto-population and data validation, as well as simplifying complex tasks and improving overall efficiency. "Since the initial launch, customer feedback has been extremely positive, and we expect increased engagement as more digital solutions emerge," said Kevin Wall, President of First American Mortgage Solutions. "Our strong set of APIs, with more coming soon, allows unparalleled flexibility and workflow configu- ration. We're also continuing to streamline the integration of our data, products, and services to speed up digital transformation across the mortgage spectrum." First American APIs and datasets available through Digital Gateway include the follow- ing--multiple Identity APIs for comprehensive searches of applicants' Social Security numbers with identity and occupancy validation; mul- tiple Property APIs for nationwide property or owner searches, including hundreds of prop- erty data points and listing history; proprietary a challenge for loan servicers and lenders. To ease this challenge, title companies suggest that any exception must be described on the face of the document or a cover sheet when presented for recording. Regarding the $225 fee cap, documents in a single transaction are those presented together and related to the same parties and property. e Legislature's imposition of the cap "per each single transaction per parcel of real property" suggests that the $225 fee limit is not intended to be for the life of a loan, but is a cap for all documents submitted simultaneously in one transaction. Trailing documents recorded days or weeks after other documents would not be included in the calculation of the $225 cap. Unfortunately, County Recorders also cannot agree on how the $225 limit should be applied, creating additional challenges for lenders. Practically, lenders and servicers may want to consider including in payoff demand state- ments an additional $150 in recording fees for a Substitution of Trustee and Full Reconveyance ($75.00 for each document "title"), necessary for the release of the loan. It is advised that such multipurpose documents will be assessed the fee for a document. e same applies to any foreclosure-related documents. In other words, the Act intended to help build low-income homes is doing so on the back of borrower's facing foreclosure. Michelle A. Mierzwa joined Wright, Finlay & Zak's Compliance Division in 2015, providing loan originators, lenders, servicers, trustees and others in the mortgage industry with state and federal compliance and regula- tory counsel. Since 1998, Her accomplishments include creating the legal department for one of the largest non-judicial foreclosure trustees in the Western U.S., the management and resolution of litigated matters through jury and bench trials and appellate practice, the coordi- nation of compliance audits, and managing the California branch of a national law firm. Mier- zwa served two three-year terms on the Board of Directors of the United Trustees Association (UTA) and is a member of the Legislative Committees of the California Mortgage Bank- ers Association and the UTA. She is licensed to practice in California and Washington. Joan C. Spaeder-Younkin is a senior as- sociate with Wright, Finlay & Zak. Since 1997 and has focused her legal career on consumer credit, business, and real estate litigation. As a seasoned litigator, she provides clients with efficient case management, guidance through the complexities of litigation, and creative solutions in a wide range of real estate disputes, while addressing the unique needs of each client. Spaeder-Younkin authored briefs

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