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eMASON’s Clarifire Community Brings Mortgage Stakeholders Together

Florida-based eMASON, Inc., developer of the Clarifire business process automation software for the financial services industry, has unveiled the Clarifire Community. The Clarifire Community portal allows borrowers, servicers, investors, title agents, real estate agents, regulators, and other mortgage industry players to come together via a single platform to synchronize activities relating to mortgage loans, while ensuring compliance with federal regulations such as single point of contact and borrower communications.

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Supreme Court Declines to Review MERS Challenge

The United States Supreme Court has denied a writ of certiorari in a case involving MERS, refusing to reconsider a California court ruling, which upheld MERS' right to initiate foreclosures. The Supreme Court of the State of California previously refused to review the initial decision, leading San Diego foreclosure attorney Ehud Gersten to elevate his client's case to the U.S. Supreme Court. ""It is disappointing,"" Gersten told DSNews.com, adding that a Supreme Court ruling would have ended state-by-state discrepancies in MERS cases.

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Hunt Leibert Partner Recognized for Work in Foreclosure Law

Richard M. Leibert, partner at Hunt Leibert & Jacobson, P.C. has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of mortgage banking foreclosure law. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on a peer-review survey in which more than 39,000 attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas.

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Execs of TARP-Supported Bank Charged with Hiding Millions in Losses

A federal grand jury in San Francisco has indicted two former bank executives of the now-defunct United Commercial Bank for using fraudulent accounting maneuvers to misrepresent loan losses to federal agencies as the bank took money from taxpayers through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed separate civil charges accusing the same two executives and the former CEO of misleading investors about the bank's mounting loan losses, to the tune of $65 million.

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After Big Jump in August, Foreclosure Starts on West Coast Fall Again

New foreclosure actions in states along the country's West Coast returned to levels in line with prior months during September, according to ForeclosureRadar. The leveling off in September follows a surge in foreclosure starts during the month of August in the western states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. ForeclosureRadar continues to see strong investor interest on the courthouse steps, with purchases by third parties at or near peak levels in four of the five states.

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Code Violation Services Addresses HOA Demands

Code Violation Services (CVS) announced Tuesday a new technology platform built to address obstacles presented when homeowner association (HOA) obligations are not satisfied on a property. The new HOA Plus technology will help investors, lenders, servicers, asset managers, and title and closing companies avoid fines and delays due to unmet HOA requirements. While CVS is not the first to offer an HOA database, its database is unique in that it helps match HOAs with specific addresses.

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Wingspan To Launch Technology Affiliate

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors LLC, a special servicer based in Dallas, Texas, is launching an affiliate technology company to help servicers implement the single-point-of-contact requirement that is part of the GSEs' Servicing Alignment Initiative. The innovative technology that earned Wingspan a ""Servicer of the Year"" award will soon be available across the industry.

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Bank of America Launches ‘Test-and-Learn’ Short Sale Program in Florida

Bank of America has begun a pilot program in Florida offering extra incentive payouts to distressed homeowners who agree to and successfully close on a short sale. Incentive payments for relocation assistance range between $5,000 and $20,000. The program is being offered on a limited basis for investor-approved, pre-offer short sales. Bank of America is calling it a pilot ""test-and-learn"" program, and if successful in Florida, it could be expanded to other states.

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Zillow: Market Will Not See Bottom Until at Least 2012

With the release Tuesday of the Zillow Real Estate Market Report, which recorded a 0.1 percent increase in home values from July to August, the company's chief economist issued his forecast for home prices heading into next year. Dr. Stan Humphries says prices have yet to find their trough. He doesn't expect a definitive bottom to be reached until 2012 at the earliest. Zillow's report also showed that foreclosure liquidation rates are still lower than they were before the robo-signing controversy - now more than a year since the news broke.

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IMS Offers Solution to ‘Defective Drywall’

Integrated Mortgage Solutions (IMS) now offers a cost-effective, long-term solution to defective drywall, a problem that has plagued thousands of homes, particularly along the Gulf Coast. The term defective drywall refers to a type of drywall that releases sulfur compounds, especially in warm, moist climates. Salvaging a home with defective drywall required major reconstruction to replace all the drywall in the structure, but IMS now offers an on-location solution that requires about one-third of the time and about one-half of the cost of traditional methods.

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