Magazine

It seems entirely possible that before joining Alacrity Services, one might be asked to define “alacrity.” While actively expanding its property restoration services to insurance, REO, and consumer customers nationwide, the company is determined to continue embodying the true meaning of its moniker: moving nimbly and with good spirit.

There are multiple levels of regulation in the financial services industry with federal, state, and even local officials supervising companies within the industry. These regulators often cooperate, but also sometimes act in conflict with one another in their pursuit of consumer protection and enforcement of laws. This select print feature originally appeared in the February 2015 issue of DS News magazine.

The year ahead is shaping up to be one of great change in housing with uncertainty lurking around every corner. Brian Montgomery, industry expert and veteran of both the Bush and Obama Administrations, gives his insight on what to expect.

With so many legal stipulations to bear in mind, deserted dwellings are anything but an open-and-shut case. As foreclosure resolution time frames swell, servicers and investors must maintain property preservation standards for longer periods of time. Properties at the highest risk of loss or damage are vacant properties. Vacancy presents a host of problems to servicers and investors in managing their foreclosure inventory. Paramount among those concerns is vandalism.

In light of their ineffectiveness in preventing another downturn in housing and their possible contribution to the slowness of the housing recovery, the question then becomes whether the imposition of penalties by the federal government, while "not insurmountable," is really in the best interest of the American consumer. Are they prudent or just petty?

The Compliance Group has announced that its list of clients expanded by 20% in the second quarter of 2014, evidencing the fact that demand for compliance services grew.

Connecticut's housing market headed into summer with a promising gain in home sales, reflecting the spoils of an active spring season.

The Texas economy grew during the first half of 2014. From January 1 through the end of June, Texas employment has grown 3.3 percent, which is better than the national average.

The housing market in San Jose, California, has been cooling over time and prices have recently flattened. The trends imply a weakening market, according to Kristen Evans, an analyst for Altos Research LLC. “Despite the consistent decrease in the Market Action Index (MAI), we're in a ‘Seller's Market’ where significant demand leaves little inventory available.”

The office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program announced that Jesse Litvak, a registered broker-dealer and former managing director at New York investment bank Jefferies & Co., Inc. was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $1.75 million dollar fine in connection to his conviction for defrauding consumers trading in residential mortgage backed securities.