The StoneHill Group, Inc., announced this week that Paige Petta will join the company as business development manager. Petta will focus on the company's growth strategy in the Texas market and the outsourcing and fulfillment services group. Prior to joining the StoneHill Group, Petta was regional sales manager for Rapid Reporting, a provider of verification services for the mortgage industry.

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has instructed mortgage servicers to advance $1,500 to borrowers completing short sales or deeds-in-lieu (DIL) of foreclosure on VA loans in order to assist with relocation costs. The federal agency says it has a longstanding policy of encouraging servicers to work with veteran borrowers to help them retain their homes or, when that is not feasible, to mitigate losses by pursuing alternatives to foreclosure.

First Lenders Data, Inc. (FLDI) has announced the availability of FirstClose, a single-point dashboard that aggregates nationally recognized vendors and service providers online. The new solution assists mortgage lenders in complying with the new interagency regulatory appraisal and evaluation guidelines that became effective December 2010. FirstClose combines the company's existing automated valuation models (AVMs) with its Property Condition Report and AVM back-testing.

Wilson & Associates, P.L.L.C. has announced that Robert M. Wilson, Jr., managing attorney and chairman of the firm's executive committee, was honored with the USFN Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was given to Wilson in recognition and tribute to his 32 years of practice in the legal profession and 22 years as a founding member firm of USFN.

Homebuyers and sellers can now search for and find local real estate agents based on ratings and reviews via Zillow.com. The company launched the ability to review agents in December, and thousands of people have weighed in. Zillow, which attracts more than 13 million visitors each month, now allows consumers to search for local agents in the Zillow directory and compare ratings and reviews to find an agent that's best for them.

Free online software for the creation of personalized mortgage modification applications under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and other lender programs is now available from FreeMortgageFix.com. The company says paperwork is undeniably the No. 1 reason for the delays with the HAMP loan modification program and unnecessary denials, and it believes its online program is the answer.

Jones Lang LaSalle has hired Chris Casey as a managing director in Orange County. A 25-year veteran of the commercial real estate industry, Casey will facilitate financings throughout the western region of the country as part of the company's real estate investment banking team responsible for placing debt and equity for all property types.

FEI, a national provider of posting, publication, auction management, property preservation, and asset management services based in Washington, recently acquired RSVP, a national provider of similar services headquartered in California. Together, FEI and RSVP will offer foreclosure services including posting, service of process, and publication management that controls the production and placement of legal notices in 2,300 publications from coast to coast.

Pro Teck Valuation Services, a national provider of residential real estate valuations, recently partnered with Collateral Analytics to offer a suite of real estate analytic products and automated valuation models (AVMs) to Pro Teck customers. According to the two companies, the combination brings a strategic blend of data, analytics, and valuation expertise to today's mortgage and residential real estate markets.

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) recently added Michael Weinberg to its team in Miami as a senior real estate analyst. Weinberg will focus on equity and debt commercial real estate capital markets transactions in the hotel and retail sectors in Florida. Weinberg has more than five years' experience in the commercial real estate industry. Prior to joining HFF, he was director of real estate at Rida Development and an associate with Trammell Crow Company-CB Richard Ellis.