ProVest LLC, a national process server management company for the default servicing industry, announced on Tuesday the formation of the Ohio Professional Process Servers Association (Oppsa) by ProVest VP Paula Ashcraft.

On Wednesday, online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac announced the launch of RealtyTrac Renter Alerts. The new monitoring service gives tenants advance notice if their landlord defaults on the mortgage and the property they are renting is about to be foreclosed and repossessed by the lender.

Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Wolters Kluwer Financial Services announced last week that the company is expanding the reach of its CompliSource solution to the community banking marketplace. The tool, which was previously only available to larger lenders, now offers community banks a means for managing state and federal compliance law governing consumer finance, indirect lending, and mortgage lending.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 27, 2009, which shows that refinance activity is continuing to dominate home loan applications as struggling homeowners across the country take advantage of record-low interest rates.

Seattle-based Zillow announced on Wednesday plans to launch co-branded real estate Web sites with 180 newspapers nationwide. The Tampa Tribune and 100 newspapers published by Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) sent a proposal to House and Senate leaders last week calling for the establishment of a new federal regulatory framework for mortgage lending that the association says would better protect borrowers nationwide.

Over the past several weeks, New York’s JP Morgan Chase has opened the doors to 24 loan modification centers across the country, setting up shop in some of the cities hardest hit by the nation’s sweeping foreclosure crisis.

Fewer Bay State properties were foreclosed on in February compared to the prior month and a year earlier, according to a new report released Tuesday by Boston-based The Warren Group. Still, despite this flicker of positive news for the Massachusetts housing market, the number of foreclosures initiated by lenders climbed again for the fourth consecutive month.

Brookfield, Wisconsin-based Fiserv, Inc. announced today that Lance Drummond will join the company on April 6th as EVP. In this new role, Drummond will lead strategic growth initiatives to accelerate the development of certain business line extensions at Fiserv, including data analytics, consulting, and wealth management.

Freddie Mac is now offering Reverse REMIC Giant PC securities – a new mortgage-related security intended to provide additional liquidity to the U.S. residential mortgage market and give new options to investors.