Interthinx was awarded a Federal Supply Schedule contract by the General Services Administration (GSA) to sell its products and services directly to federal government organizations. The contract streamlines the government procurement process and allows government customers to buy offerings at pre-negotiated rates. Interthinx will offer government customers access to mortgage risk mitigation tools.

According to Showhomes, a nationally franchised network of home stagers, staging a vacant home can keep squatters from moving in, a rising problem in the struggling housing market. A total of 19 million homes were vacant in the first quarter of 2010, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. Squatters are even occupying million-dollar homes in what has been called ""mansion squatting."" Actor Randy Quaid and his wife were recently caught squatting inside a $1 million property they previously owned in Southern California.

MDA DataQuick, one of the nation's largest independent providers of property data to real estate and mortgage professionals, recently updated PropertyFinder 2G, the company's property research tool. Changes include expanded property details on distressed sales transactions and more accurate tracking. The technology gives users access to a nationwide database of detailed property and ownership information, including property profiles, sales comparables, demographic information, and property history.

Headquartered in California, KBS Realty Advisors is expanding its Dallas office with the addition of a new SVP of asset management, Ken Robertson. A real estate investment and management executive with 20 years' experience, Robertson will oversee the Dallas/Fort Worth portfolio. Prior to joining KBS, Robertson was president and founder of TR Realty Partners in California, and VP of the Staubach Company.

Pegasystems Inc, a provider of customer relationship management solutions, has launched a new pre-foreclosure solution that allows mortgage servicers to implement regulatory quality controls before foreclosure. The timing of the product roll-out couldn't be more apt, considering the uncertainty now surrounding foreclosure documentation and servicing procedures due to the recent robo-signing fiasco.

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF), a provider of real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry, announced the addition of Holden Lim as its new managing director in San Francisco. With more than 20 years' experience in the hospitality sector, Lim will focus on institutional grade hotel and resort property transactions throughout North America.

According to a survey of 3,000 consumers conducted by Fiserv, Inc. 11 percent of online consumers are currently connected with their banks or credit unions through social media. The survey also revealed that 36 percent of those not connected are interested in doing so. consumers who connect to their financial institution via social media and consumers who are interested in connecting are already devoted to their bank or credit union and use an average of 5.4 banking services.

The Realtors Property Resource, a new tool from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), will soon include school boundary data from Maponics. Realtors Property Resource (RPR) is an online real estate library that includes assessor and recorder data, active and off-market listing data, mortgage information, foreclosure and pre-foreclosure stats, demographics, schools, and geographic information.

Sirote & Permutt's mortgage banking group recently hosted its sixth annual REO Real Estate Legal Issues seminar for Alabama real estate agents who represent the firm's mortgage servicing clients. Topics included Alabama law as it relates to REO closings, title issues, manufactured housing, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and evictions.

IndiSoft, a technology development firm that focuses on systems for the default servicing industry, recently hired Atul Shinde as customer support manager. He will provide technical and project support to IndiSoft's RxOffice clients. Shinde has a dual background in the development of technological domains as well as client communications and problem resolution.