itle: Outsourcing Reconveyance Work Helps Lenders …€¦ · Web viewLow and sliding mortgage rates made it just that more tempting, and there was certainly a lot of equity to be

itle: Outsourcing Reconveyance Work Helps Lenders Manage Loan Payoffs Author(s): Rhonda Lipschutz and Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 4.6 (June 2000): p24. From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article Full Text:

Nationwide Title Clearing Inc. says most servicers outsource their assignment processing and reconveyances because the workload tends to exceed the capacity of their core staff. By outsourcing this part of the business, servicers don't have to worry about training new staff and can focus on other projects that need to be completed, according to Nationwide. "A lot of times servicers do not have the staff to handle the influx of work," said Karen Roland, marketing director of Nationwide. "There is no adequate staff to handle the work." Outsourcing assignment projects is advantageous for many servicers, since it costs less to do than in-house processing, said John Hillman, vice president of administration for Nationwide. Mr. Hillman said a servicer can spend as much as $100 to record a document in-house, which includes shipping and recording fees. It costs Nationwide $15 to record a document typically. About 85% of all servicing customers send their packages of loans for assignment processing through an electronic exchange to Nationwide. The loans are automatically transferred into Nationwide's system where they are downloaded and entered. The firm has a technology called NTC Tracking-Link that allows servicers to see the status of any loan through the entire process. Documents can also be viewed on Nationwide's website. "Showing the recorded document on the website gives them the ability to print it," Mr. Hillman said. The company also plans to install document imaging for the use of viewing reconveyances and expects to roll it out during the next six months. "If a document comes back not recorded there are penalty costs, which are costly and is one reason it is often cheaper to outsource assignment processing," Mr. Hillman said. Ms. Roland said, "We can handle customer inquiries rapidly and smoothly. In the last six months, we have been training reps who are able to handle any inquiry."

Copyright c 2000 Thomson Financial Media. All Rights Reserved.

Source Citation Lipschutz, Rhonda. "Outsourcing Reconveyance Work Helps Lenders Manage Loan Payoffs." Mortgage Servicing News June 2000: 24. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA62200116&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

Gale Document Number: GALE|A62200116

Title: Cross Country Move Adds Capacity at Nationwide Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 7.2 (Mar. 2003): p28. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Nationwide Title Clearing Inc., has moved from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast of Florida.

While the big move hasn't changed the company's mission, it has allowed for significant expansion.

Senior vice president Jim Stewart said the increasing workload associated with all the refinancing activity during the past two years was one factor in the move.

"One of the things that brought about our move at this particular time was the ever increasing demands of our clients for more and more releases and more and more problem files that they need research on so they can do a release," he said.

Nationwide, simply, had outgrown its office facility in Glendale, Calif. It already had a site in Palm Harbor that was better suited to expansion, so the company decided to close shop in California and move its headquarters along with its primary servicing site to Florida.

In Glendale, Nationwide had roughly 15,000 square feet of space. In the Florida location, the company now has in excess of 40,000 square feet.

1

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/aboutJournal.do?pubDate=120030301&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C0DMA


http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/advancedSearch.do?inputFieldName(0)=AU&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&method=doSearch&inputFieldValue(0)=%22Rhonda+Lipschutz%22&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm

To minimize any disruption associated with the move, the company began hiring and training staff in Florida even before the primary servicing site was moved. The company's senior executives have all been retained and a few new ones have been added, he said.

Even before the move, Nationwide had an office in Palm Harbor that housed research and development and some of the company's information technology staff. It also served as a backup servicing site. The company has added a new backup site in another part of Florida, he said.

The company now employs about 300 staff people. In Florida, the most it ever had was about 185, which was about the Glendale facility's upper limit, Mr. Stewart said.

Mr. Stewart said that the business climate is better in Florida than it had been in California, and that was one factor in the move. But a perhaps more important factor was the labor pool available in the Tampa area.

"There was an abundance of personnel here who have a mortgage background who could go rapidly through training and be productive in a week or two," Mr. Stewart said. "That's been real good for us."

And that's helpful in the title clearing business, because the nation's 3,700 counties each have slightly different rules and procedures for releasing a lien. Mr. Stewart said that a knowledgeable staff helps reduce the number of "rejects" that are sent back to a lender.

Because most of Nationwide's mortgage industry clients have a presence throughout the country, the location of Nationwide's processing facility was not a major concern. The work could be done virtually anywhere.

The move has also coincided with a major technology initiative for the firm. While the company was not prepared to announce anything at MSN's press time, Mr. Stewart said the company was testing some new technology and would be making an announcement in the coming weeks.

In addition to lien release work, which has been continually hectic due to refinancing volume, Nationwide also performs services associated with portfolio acquisitions.

While buying and selling of mortgage servicing portfolios has been slow because of the refi boom, when rates rise that business is expected to pick up.

"We work both sides of the cycle," Mr. Stewart said.

The company's staff is cross-trained so that personnel can do lien release work, assignments and research. That way, the company allocates staff to meet pressing demands at any given time.

For the past year and a half, releases have been the dominant service needed by clients.

The duration of the current refinancing boom has contributed to demand for outsourcing of those services. Mr. Stewart said companies that do release work in house are finding they just can't wait for activity to slow down anymore. In part, that's because state and local laws can levy stiff fines and penalties against lenders that fail to meet lien release deadlines.

"You cannot afford to let this backlog grow and just work it as you can. Its like you have little time bombs in there, and they are ticking," he said.

Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source Citation "Cross Country Move Adds Capacity at Nationwide." Mortgage Servicing News Mar. 2003: 28. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA97617774&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

2


Title: Reconveyance Burden Not Letting Up Author(s): Jim Stewart Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 7.4 (May 2003): p4. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Mr. Stewart is senior vice president of Nationwide Title Clearing.

2002 was yet another record year for mortgage lending, closing out with nearly $2.5 trillion in new mortgages on the books. The record volume stretched the system to the limit, swamping county recorders and servicers reconveyance staffs with record volumes of newly recorded releases.

Most industry forecasters, however, believe that demand may have finally peaked and a turn in the long-term rate trend is at hand. In order to understand what to expect in 2003's mortgage and refinancing trends - and the reconveyance demand that goes with them - let's take a look at the anatomy of some previous years.

First of all, let's look at how different homeowner needs motivated previous refinancing booms, notably the 1993 and 1998 refinancing booms. According to Doug Duncan, the MBAA's chief economist, 1993's refi boom was driven by a desire to improve household cash flow. In other words, homeowners were refinancing existing mortgages not to pull out equity, but to reduce the amount of interest paid and thus lowering their monthly payments. The evidence, Duncan points out, lies in the Federal Reserve's debt burden ratio, which, after the '93 wave of refinancings, dropped to its lowest level in almost 20 years. (The household debt- service burden is the ratio of household debt payments to disposable income, and it is easy to see how lower interest costs would drop the ratio.)

1998 (previously the biggest mortgage year on record with $1.5 trillion in new originations) differs from '93 in terms of homeowner motivation. As mortgage rates fluctuated between '93 and '98, homeowners had turned to ARMs and 5-year balloon notes in the belief that rates would turn downward again. So, when long-term rates capitulated in '98, those same homeowners seized the moment and converted to fixed-rate loans, locking out the risk associated with their mortgage ARMs. Duncan calls the '98 refi boom a "product rearrangement" period - a time when homeowners, rather than just hunting for better cash flow or equity, wanted to change the type of mortgage product on their balance sheet. He points out that there was also a pretty strong move to 15- year loans in '98 as well.

The seemingly endless refi boom that started in 2001 is different yet again. Understanding it can help us see what the future holds for the industry. In 2001, the theme of refinancing changed to "cash out." The meltdown of the dot-coms and the recession in general convinced homeowners that it was time to tap their equity in a big way. Low and sliding mortgage rates made it just that more tempting, and there was certainly a lot of equity to be tapped. In fact, single-family home values across the nation had increased by nearly 30% in five years, so the amount of available cash through refinancing was more than double what it was in '93. Then, in November of 2001, rates moved as low as 6.4% for a 30-year fixed mortgage and homeowners lined up to take advantage. Duncan points out that about $80 billion in equity was tapped, of which $30 billion was used to restructure debt. Homeowners consolidated credit cards and second mortgages into new loans or generally pulled out cash to "rearrange their balance sheet."

With single-family home values moving up another 7% in 2002, the same trend continued with an additional $75 billion in equity converted through refinancing into consumer spending last year. Many economists believe that the liquidity generated by these refinancings was a key ingredient in keeping the economy afloat and preventing a more serious recession. Rates continued to slide through last year as well, dropping mortgage interest to 40-year lows and helping to bring more new buyers into the housing market.

Servicer reconveyance departments all over the country were on high alert to control release backlogs and avoid statutory penalties. Major servicers turned to outsourcing to solve the crisis, with many adopting outsourcing as a permanent solution to their release processing. Their reasoning is reflected in the simple economies of scale of document preparation and recording. The largest and most competent outsourcers process many times the number of releases than any one servicer. Thus, they can reduce the cost of release processing to a level servicers can't match internally. Furthermore, a few of these larger vendors guarantee to remove lender's statutory risks and indemnify them against actions by homeowners. It's a practical solution.

3


http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/advancedSearch.do?inputFieldName(0)=AU&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&method=doSearch&inputFieldValue(0)=%22Jim+Stewart%22&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm

Servicers that are still struggling with in-house release processing should look to outsourcing as a permanent solution. According to the MBAA's worldview of 2003, mortgage rates should rise slightly this year, but remain low. With a more even pace of home sales, there should be a better balance between buyers and sellers in 2003. As a result, the increase in home prices - although slowing to historic norms - will continue to provide additional equity that consumers can "cash out." Thus, the refi share of total mortgage production will remain strong and significant though the year.

Reconveyance demand is driven as much by new financings as it is refis. Since the MBAA's housing demand forecast is for this year to be the second largest on record in terms of mortgage originations - only 2% less than last year's record pace - the industry can expect another year of intense document processing and recording.

There's another element to take into consideration in predicting the demand for releases, however. Duncan believes that we are seeing an underlying change in the way homeowners manage their balance sheet. In the beginning of the '90s, Duncan points out, the annual refinancing rate was around 15%. Now, he thinks that rate is closer to 20 or 25%.

Homeowners, armed with new technology and the Internet, are more informed about their choices - and thus more likely to refinance if it is in their interest to do so. Who can blame them? "When you come into some sort of a stressful environment and you have some equity sitting in your home," Duncan says, "you can go out and access that equity by restructuring your household balance sheet. And then you go and pay off some credit cards and put that in your mortgage and get a tax deduction."

For servicers, each time a homeowner has this realization, it means one or two more releases will need to be processed and recorded. Duncan feels that the housing supply and demand factors support long-term real price appreciation in homes. "Growth and sprawl control combined with the environmental cost of development will retard the growth of supply." Since there's such a huge backlog of 35- to 44-year-olds who want to become homeowners, he sees 1% real price appreciation for the next 10 or 15 years. All this means that unless lenders change the fundamental way that they handle mortgage lending, the demand for reconveyance is not going to go away anytime soon.

Should you consider adding the horsepower of a large experienced outsourcer to your reconveyance solution? If history is any judge, the answer is "Yes."

Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com, http://www.mortgageservicingnews.com

by Jim Stewart

Source Citation Stewart, Jim. "Reconveyance Burden Not Letting Up." Mortgage Servicing News May 2003: 4. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA100240191&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: Nationwide Title Clearing Teams Up with Ingeo Source: National Mortgage News. 30.5 (Oct. 24, 2005): p36. From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article Full Text:

Palm Harbor, FL -- Nationwide Title Clearing here, a provider of lien release outsourcing, has completed its alliance with Ingeo Systems, a provider of electronic document recording technology.

"Adding the alliance with Ingeo to our existing eRecording partnerships increases the counties available for eRecording through NTC by over 50%," said Jim Stewart, president of Nationwide Title Clearing.

4

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/aboutJournal.do?pubDate=120051024&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C0BPP

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-ASC-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&tabID=T003&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=7&contentSet=GALE%7CA100240191&&docId=GALE%7CA100240191&docType=GALE&role=ITOF#contentcontainer

"This represents a significant benefit to our clients as they will see a direct cost savings and a more streamlined process for a larger geographical area." Mr. Stewart said in a news release that electronic recording of mortgage documents is a reality in many jurisdictions today.

"And the full acceptance of electronic recording of real estate mortgages is on target for the future." Karl Klessig, Ingeo's CEO, said that NTC is one of the top servicing vendors in the country.

"Integrating their capabilities into the Ingeo system allows them to add a new level of automated servicing for their clients," Mr. Klessig said.

(c) 2005 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing Teams Up with Ingeo." National Mortgage News 24 Oct. 2005: 36. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA137868666&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Title: Nationwide Title Clearing Launches 'Express Retrieval' Service Source: National Mortgage News. 30.24 (Mar. 20, 2006): p18. From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article Full Text:

PALM HARBOR, FL -- Nationwide Title Clearing, an outsource provider for lien release, assignment, document retrieval and final document services, has released Express Retrieval, an enhanced document retrieval service. Express Retrieval will enable mortgage lenders to get copies of recorded documents and title policies nationwide at a much faster rate than available through any other provider, the company said.

Express Retrieval is a nationwide recording office and title company research service to obtain information, copies or clerk-certified copies of recorded documents and title policies. Service improvements include a faster turnaround time, improved website reporting and images of documents retrieved are now available on the website.

"A primary reason that speed is so important to this service is because of the needs of our clients to obtain copies of original documents to satisfy investor requirements," said Jim Stewart, president of Nationwide Title Clearing, in a news release. "When a lender is at the point of needing to obtain a copy/clerk-certified copy from the recording office, it usually is because they are very close to or have even exceeded the allowable investor timeframe and thus speed is a critical issue.

"With mortgage rates going up and refinancing activity slowing down, many mortgage lenders are also looking to improve efficiency and create a more cost effective process," he said. "Express Retrieval achieves both; not only do our clients get the documents they need at a much faster rate than any other provider, the cost has been made very affordable.

"Why chase down documents for even a small percent of your loans when these can drive up the cost of each loan and take away from your bottom line? Express Retrieval is the most cost-effective way to get those difficult documents you need, fast."

Nationwide Title Clearing is the leading outsource provider for the processing of lien releases, assignments, document retrieval and final documents to the mortgage servicing industry.

(c) 2006 National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Source Citation

5


"Nationwide Title Clearing Launches 'Express Retrieval' Service." National Mortgage News 20 Mar. 2006: 18. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA143444316&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page

Results for Basic Search ke (Nationwide Title Clearing) LIMITS: With Full Text (Y)

Title: Nationwide Title Clearing Expedites Retrieval Process Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 10.6 (July 2006): p16. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

PALM HARBOR, FL -- With mortgage lending volume starting to taper off from its recent highs, lenders are desperately seeking ways to trim costs and make their operations more productive.

Nationwide Title Clearing recently rolled out a service designed to help make lien release, assignment and document retrieval processes a little less painful for lenders.

Jim Stewart, president of Nationwide Title Clearing, said that the Express Retrieval service, which the company officially rolled out in April, has been in development for quite some time. Express Retrieval allows mortgage lenders to get copies of recorded documents and title policies with faster turnaround time than in the past. It also includes improved website reporting and images of documents.

"It allows us to really decrease the amount of time it takes to retrieve recorded documents and title policies while also decreasing the cost of doing it," Mr. Stewart told MSN. "This is really critical when the bottom line is leaner than it used to be."

In addition, NTC's clients face increased pressure from investors to send documents to them, with some investors threatening financial repercussions if documents are not sent on time. That in part reflects heightened regulatory scrutiny of the mortgage industry. Recently enacted laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Gramm-Leach-Bliley have added to the data security requirements and information requirements imposed upon lenders, increasing their compliance burden.

When a lender or servicer needs to obtain a clerk-certified copy of a document, it is usually because they are very close to or have exceeded the allowable investor timeframe, so turnaround time is a key issue for NTC's clients, Mr. Stewart said.

NTC has established a national network of title abstractors who can interface with recording officials in each recording jurisdiction in the country - some 3,700 counties in all - each of which has different rules and procedures for filing and retrieving recorded property records.

"This becomes a cost center for you if you are a servicer," Mr. Stewart said.

Express Retrieval is designed as a "best of breed" automated retrieval and reporting system, he said. The automation means that in instances where counties are enabled for e-commerce, documents can sometimes be retrieved in minutes. Already, NTC makes substantial use of electronic recording in counties that can facilitate that. "We e-record in every jurisdiction that allows e-recording throughout the United States," Mr. Stewart said. He estimates that at least 11% of counties are already doing electronic recording, with more counties preparing to come on line.

"We are all pushing and hoping that it is going to increase more and more, because it does bring down costs and it does increase speed and efficiency for everyone involved in the process," Mr. Stewart said.

6


http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/redirectSearch.do?page=breadCrumb.do%3Ftype%3DreviseSearch%26src%3Dbcrumb%26form%3DBasicSearchForm%26inPS%3Dtrue%26searchId%3DR1%26searchQueryId%3D%26inPS%3Dtrue%26userGroupName%3Duphoenix%26prodId%3DGPS%26searchType%3DBasicSearchForm&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix


Separately, Nationwide Title Clearing also received recognition from its local chamber of commerce for contributions the company made to the community in the wake of Hurricane Katrina last year.

The Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce awarded NTC its "Large Business of the Year 2006" title, commending NTC's executives and employees for positive business practices, growth and profitability, and employee policies and training. The chamber also recognized the significant contributions made by the company to assist people in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina last year.

Mr. Stewart said NTC's donations to Katrina victims included over 2,000 pounds of clothing, bedding, food and toiletries. In addition, the company and its workers donated more than $12,000 in cash to relief efforts.

(c) 2006 Mortgage Servicing News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.mortgageservicingnews.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing Expedites Retrieval Process." Mortgage Servicing News July 2006: 16. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA148152895&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Title: Roundtable: Time To Prepare? Author(s): Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 11.7 (Aug. 2007): p15. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

David Van Ess, EVP, LOGS Network

Mary Hunter, president & CEO, Artemis Enterprises

Joe Dombrowski, Fiserv, executive consultant

Jeremy Pomerantz, SVP, Nationwide Title Clearing

Joe Lanzillotta, VP, DST Output

These executives participated in a roundtable discussion at the SourceMedia Mortgage Servicing Conference in Dallas in June. Below is an excerpt from the discussion. The roundtable was hosted by Mark Fogarty, Ted Cornwell and Jennifer Harmon, editors of SourceMedia mortgage publications.

Ted: There have been a lot of challenges in the subprime end of the lending industry and I'm wondering how servicers and their business partners are responding to concern about increasing delinquencies and payment resets.

Jeremy: What we are noticing if the servicers are still around, they are preparing for an avalanche of ARM resets in the near future by auditing what is on their systems making sure the correct index rates are being used, the correct reset dates are there and the correct terms are there. I'm not necessarily seeing servicers preparing for mitigating inability to pay at this point, which would be interesting to see how that unfolds. In terms of the subprime fallout, it really depends on who the servicer is. Some are really reeling from not having prepared, and some are well diversified, so they are mitigating risks without having been too heavily impacted.

Joe Dombrowski: Some of our folks are rapidly ramping up from an employee standpoint, anticipating that there is going to be that avalanche of resets and the inability to continue in those products for some people. They (servicers) are really struggling to

7


find people with sufficient loss mitigation backgrounds to deploy readily. Also, they are really struggling to find people with a sales background. Why they can't reuse originators, I'm not certain. But that's more of an editorial comment on my part. Trying to get the warm bodies in front of the phones is a real challenge. Just having enough people and justifying the cost ahead of the event is a real challenge. How do I calculate an ROI for something where I don't know the dimensions? In servicing, as you all know, margins are thin. And I don't want to overstaff if it's not necessary. So how can I staff or re-educate existing staffing to get that done is a big challenge.

David: I can tell you that from the law firm perspective, we are cranking up, hiring new employees to really focus on loss mitigation as a service to the servicers and to really focus on being true partners with the servicers. We understand and always have that ultimately the servicers and their partners don't want the property back anyway. So if we can help them along with that path and ensure that property is preserved in the hands of the homeowner, we surely want to assist in that regard. So we are hiring more employees. As a result, it's calling for a lot more training. It used to be just "what's the reinstatement or payoff?" Somebody would ask another question only upon their solicitation, and then we'd send them over to the client. Now, we take a much more proactive position and do some prescreening depending upon what the clients allow or ask us to do and actually assist, and hopefully we are bringing some value to the lenders. Secondly, it has actually allowed us to interact with the clients a lot more. For a number of years it has become such that technology - and technology is good - effectively limited the personal contact we would have with both mortgagors and mortgagees. And because a lot of times the client's directive was to "just put it on our system, send us an e-mail," we really didn't get a chance to speak with clients. And I know the reverse is true as well. "We can't get a hold of anybody at the attorney's office." So sometimes it's difficult to get a response back from the client because they were waiting to get the input from the system. And I think it has been positive in that regard that we are able to work closely and on a more personal level with the servicer.

Mary: One of the challenges, I think, with this big flood and influx and focus on loss mitigation in this part of the industry, has been a communication challenge, because what we've been talking about from a technology standpoint over the last several years is how do our systems communicate with each other, so we've kind of solved that problem with middleware where there is various things out there that can translate through XML data so they can report data to the servicers so the servicers can pass data back and forth between their business partners. One area that really hasn't been addressed effectively, and the focus used to be on just the B2B transactions on contacts - who does what where, who handles what specific loans and how do we keep that up to date - its ancillary to the loans but yet it is important and crucial in loss mitigation or from the attorneys perspective in foreclosure or when they are trying to get judgment, that kind of thing. What we've realized recently in all these conferences is now we are pulling in the C, the customer, into that triangle, so we are crossing B2B info and getting that important information, depending upon the stage of default, who do they need to talk with to resolve their indebtedness. We can target that information to the consumer in kind of a subtle way depending upon the parameters a servicer sets. We can put a little message into their mortgage statement that says we are here to help, here is our home retention phone number and that phone number is up today because we are online 24/7 and control the information that you are putting out to your business partners and pushing to the consumer. We can educate the consumer at our fingertips and make it accessible to them. It's really kind of low tech, but that kind of information is going to get out their to the consumer.

Joe Dombrowski: The information is out there but it is often not poised in the same sense that I would do it from a marketing perspective. It gets thrown out there and God help me if I don't have first-year law under my belt I'm really not going to understand it and I'm going to be more confused generating more customer service phone calls and I'm going to see things that may not pertain to my particular situation. So I see people throwing things out without giving a thought to marketing position or even making it a game. Take a look at investment websites, I see this with many different servicers, they'll put this out there but its dense and its very legalese. Its not, "hey, you're having problems," you know, walk Suzie through this little scenario. The real focus would be to really engage and make people think about rather than just dumping information out there.

Joe Lanzillotta: We are looking at this whole idea of messaging through the electronic statement or a paper statement to literally be a campaign. And what we are building, and have pretty much cleared with Mary (DST Output and Artemis Enterprises have an alliance) is a campaigning tool that the servicer can then use, and use that capability as the touch point every single month and not wait until the loan is a problem.

Mary: You start off with subliminal messaging. You don't have to tell them this is their second late payment. They know that. You don't have to beat them over the head with it. So you can start early intervention before they progress any further, you can give these subtle messages so you can do this campaign to click them in quickly and you keep passing this information through to them. That's the idea behind it, to engage them. Now the trend is toward integration with other systems, so you can have your servicing platform and then you can have an ancillary that does that one thing that you want them to do that hooks into your servicing platform.

8

David: I think one thing that we can't lose perspective of - and technology is great and technology allows us to numerous things at one time - but one of the points I was making was that when you finally do get a mortgagor on the phone, you have to start building a relationship with them right away. Obviously, this is a very embarrassing or emotional moment for many people who are about to lose their house or on the verge of it. They are reluctant to talk, so you have to build that relationship. We don't have the communication even though we may have sent them 100 letters, left them 200 voice mails. Obviously, it hasn't worked. What do we do now? Well, we try to finally get a hold of them, and start building that personal relationship. I think that's where the law firms can really step up here, because again, even though the servicers are going to be sending or making numerous contacts, ultimately the reality sets in when they do get the notes from the lawyer, "Oh, my gosh I really am going to possibly lose my home." So we can step in and take a proactive position in this and not wait for them to say, "Well is there anything I can do?" We can step up and say are you interested in saving your house? That's what we are trying to do at LOGS.

Joe Dombrowski: There was a Federal Reserve study done just last year, and the invitees to that study, about 250 banks, all to an institution found that there was a 20% increase in promises kept when technology was applied, whether it was over the Web or over an VRU. Technology used in the right way can really improve upon that. Used in the wrong way can make that really hard.

David: None of this is novel. If a $5,000 reinstatement came in and was a hundred dollars short, we were instructed to send it back to the mortgagor and say "no" and now that whole perception has changed.

Mary: The role of us as technologists is to facilitate communication with your consumers, creating it so it's more efficient in your operation so that your people can get to their core job, which is communicating with your borrowers. We need to do the technology to facilitate that. We can do that over the Internet, if they can pre-screen themselves. They're already surfing the Internet. If we don't get them on the Internet, they are finding the bankruptcy attorneys. They are out all over there. They are desperate. They are looking for answers. Our information can be deemed on a PDA so they can find out who is in loss mitigation at their shop, who handles their loan and get that information right on the spot. They don't want to tell their story over and over again. So if that information isn't correct, how many times are they going to tell their story before they drop off the radar?

Joe Dombrowski: The challenge in technology is "how do I take legacy software and how do I enable it so it is more what I need ten years from today?" We are taking the initiative to move everything to business rules, so in essence you'll have a gigantic rules engine that can be anything you want it to be. Then I also have the layering of all the other technology vendors who bring in other disciplines and quite intriguing new technology, all the disparate communication needs, and how do I juggle all of that? So from a technologist's perspective, there is that challenge that we push down the stream to the servicers as well. Here's the menu of choices, and we'll help you, but trying to get everything all in one spot, check box A and check box B and you're done, is really difficult.

Jeremy: I know we've been focusing on the REO side and the dealing with the customer aspect, but from a larger scale perspective, in terms of how servicers are responding to the subprime situation, on the flip side I'm seeing servicers as well viewing this as an opportunity, especially those that are strong on default servicing and special servicing, to acquire servicing from companies that are not performing as well or are selling servicing cheaply.

Ted: How are companies responding to the need for increased default management and loss mitigation expertise? Is it tough to hire in today's market?

David: We are seeing higher turnover with the college graduates, so we are just not getting the duration out of them that we were getting out of the other employees. We had an uncanny amount of contractors that have joined us over the last year who decided that rather than working for a law firm, they wanted to go become lawyers. Now I don't know why they decided to do that, but they did.

Jennifer Harmon: When homes are all boarded up, what do you do? Is it important to have a local presence? How do asset managers choose the right technology to deal with foreclosures and REO? Because there are so many systems out there, some have said there should be just one system in place?

Joe Dombrowski: There shouldn't be one system in place. Where MISMO has really pushed in originating, we don't find the same alacrity in the default arena to have the same kind of definitions. So even something as simple as "first legal" - first legal operation, first legal step, whatever you want to call it, in various states is called something different. But even different servicers will call it something different. So even to agree on something like that is monumental. There have been quite a number of MISMO type discussions that have gone basically nowhere because there doesn't seem to be any benefit to anybody by trying to push it even though there would be a lift to the entire default arena, both vendors and servicers, if there were to be some sort of standardization of data terminology and communication. The standardization of communication is pretty simple. Go with XML.

9

Publish a schema and be done with it. But it's the defining of what do I call this particular thing that is the true challenge that we need to rise to.

Mary: I'm going to play somewhat the devils advocate here. In terms of standardization, we've been talking about that in the default servicing side for a long time. It works very well on the origination side because the processes are so much more standardized. I think what has happened though is with technology, we can do anything with XML and we have the middleware now that translates between systems. So what we probably should do is get beyond that whole idea of standardizing and do what we need to do as technologists and respond to the needs of our clients and the industry as a whole and kind of collaborate between the business partners in terms of what is needed to make everybody more efficient. We can keep data updated and refreshed and get it to your business partners or to the consumer as needed on demand, so we are going to cut down on inefficiencies and loss just by doing that.

Ted: There is also going to be all this portfolio churning if all these people with ARM resets start refinancing. What impact do people think that is going to have on the industry?

Joe Dombrowski: With the whole FHA modernization - if that ever really takes off - are we going to go back to government products, affordability products really, that address the needs of the subprime industry? Are we going to see more government products fill the bill because of political pressure? So there is another element in that whole mix that is kind of a wild card.


Source Citation "Roundtable: Time To Prepare?" Mortgage Servicing News Aug. 2007: 15. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA167529894&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: Peelle and Nationwide Title Form Alliance Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 11.7 (Aug. 2007): p28. From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article Full Text:

PALM HARBOR, FL -- Nationwide Title Clearing is teaming up with Peelle Technologies following the closure of Peelle Management Corp., NTC said last month.

The decision to close Peelle Management was made recently after the death of the company's founder. Remaining Peelle board members decided to focus efforts on the sister company, Peelle Technologies, which provides imaging and document management systems to vertical markets and industries.

Formerly a competitor with Peelle Management, NTC now finds itself in an alliance with Peelle Technologies.

NTC and Peelle Technologies have teamed up to transition former clients and remaining workflow to NTC at the discretion of clients. Debbie Lastoria, a long-time industry executive, has been hired by NTC to serve as vice president of business development as result of the agreement.

"Since Nationwide Title Clearing is the leading outsource provider for the processing of lien releases, assignments and document retrieval in the mortgage servicing industry, it was an obvious choice to take on former Peelle Management Corp. clients and workflow and we are looking forward to the new business relationships," said Jim Stewart, president of NTC, in a news release. "Future collaborations with Peelle Technologies looks promising as well for all concerned as both of our companies have natural synergies that are conducive to long term success."

10



Dayn Pefferle, president of Peelle Technologies, said the company wants to focus its efforts on its highly successful technologies group.

"Since 1996, Peelle Technologies is the single, most dependable source for document management systems and services for multiple industries including government, manufacturing, financial services, education, health care and transportation. We provide only best-of-breed software and hardware solutions and with our successful, long-term client relationships from virtually every industry segment, we are the leader in our field," Mr. Pefferle said.


Source Citation "Peelle and Nationwide Title Form Alliance." Mortgage Servicing News Aug. 2007: 28. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA167529908&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: Compliance Tops Concerns for Servicing Executives Author(s): Source: National Mortgage News. 33.49 (Sept. 14, 2009): p10. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Byline: Amilda Dymi

NEW YORK-The list of mortgage servicer worries during this crisis is long and growing but at the same time affected to a large extent by specific needs deriving from size - probably with only one exception: compliance.

It is old news that one of the biggest challenges for servicers today is regulatory pressure. It comes from the Home Affordable Modification Program as much as from other programs currently in high demand.

A new survey from document and services provider Nationwide Title Clearing, Palm Harbor, Fla., confirms what the industry has been saying in conferences and to the media: Over half of the survey participants say regulatory compliance is their top worry.

The industry survey - available at no cost on the company's website - reveals key characteristics of large and small mortgage servicing industry companies and its management. It was conducted earlier this year "to provide a better view into the lien release processes servicers are employing to deal with the volatility in the marketplace during a time when mortgage assets are changing hands frequently" either due to foreclosures and refinancing, Nationwide Title Clearing said.

According to NTC senior vice president for marketing and sales, Jeremy Pomerantz, "servicers are under a great deal of pressure right now." And in part higher than ever costs of noncompliance are to blame.

"The regulatory environment has become so complicated," he says, that it is becoming "very difficult for servicers to get everything right."

More specifically, the "Effective Lien Release Management" reports that of the many tasks a mortgage loan servicer must complete in the course of the workday, "perhaps lien release management offers the fewest tangible rewards for the effort."

Executives tend to always stay focused on the core, revenue-generating portions of their businesses, the report notes. "Unfortunately, lien release management is among the tasks that does not contribute directly to bottom line success." Furthermore, while it is not a profit generator, "if improperly handled, can lead to significant costs."

11



In times when the industry is becoming more borrower oriented, including national measures by regulators and legislators to assist borrowers in distress, this aspect of the mortgage servicing market gains even more importance.

Plus, every county in the nation has its own set of rules, required document types and processes.

Today's successful servicer is expected to distinguish itself in the marketplace in the ability to smoothly conduct consumer relations.

While it is not a profit center for the servicer, failure to perform in this area can lead to significant dissatisfaction on the part of borrowers. Therefore, most companies hope to complete this work in a timely manner to avoid or keep penalties for noncompliance at the lowest possible cost.

The e-survey asked: In today's marketplace, which of these issues do you think are the most serious to the mortgage lender/servicer regarding managing the lien release process?

The No. 1 concern for 51.6% of the respondents was risks associated with compliance; for 38.7%, the ability to handle a volume spike; for 35.5%, unpredictability of lien release volume; for 32.3%, disaster recovery/business; for 22.6%, training/managing staff; and for 13%, fraud protection.

Over half of the NTC survey respondents indicate they are "very concerned" with the risks associated with noncompliance, and with good reason, the report notes.

For example, in Pennsylvania, assessed noncompliance penalty cases could reach the amount of the unpaid mortgage, costing the servicer hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even though penalties this severe are not the norm in most jurisdictions, which as a rule have penalties ranging from $500 to $25,000 per occurrence, these types of fees "can destroy a company if applied to an entire pool of loans of average loan balance."

Overall the combined effect of the magnitude of the crisis associated with the ever-growing default and foreclosure rates make it quite easy to imagine the monetary pressure servicers face here.

Arguably, an immediate solution can be third-party outsourcing.

Loan servicing vendors represent one effective way to outsource since it provides specialized expertise. The challenge is in tracking the right partner and establishing the right relationship.

By Amilda Dymi

Source Citation "Compliance Tops Concerns for Servicing Executives." National Mortgage News 14 Sept. 2009: 10. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA207772310&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Title: Keeping the Right Technology-Manpower Balance Author(s): Amilda Dymi and Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 13.10 (Nov. 2, 2009): p24. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Byline: Amilda Dymi

12


http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/advancedSearch.do?inputFieldName(0)=AU&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&method=doSearch&inputFieldValue(0)=%22Amilda+Dymi%22&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm

Palm Harbor, FL-A renewed industry focus on front-end loan data processing to ensure information is properly reviewed and recorded has highlighted the need to keep a better balance between technology and human intervention in mortgage document imaging.

"Imaging a loan is not enough, in terms of the collateral and the documents you need so you know you have them, or to know whether a loan is serviceable, should be assigned, or foreclosed upon," says Jeremy Pomerantz, senior vice president for marketing and sales for Nationwide Title Clearing, serving both the residential and the commercial market.

Typically the firm offers these services to investors, hedge funds and other private investors buying properties, as well as banks originating or servicing loans, which includes processing lien releases, assignments, MERS services, final document, document retrieval and imaging.

Minimizing loan risk and securing sustainable loan modifications remains a priority for servicers and investors.

Unless thorough reviews are performed, Mr. Pomerantz says, just imaging can give a false sense of security when, for example, the servicer does not have an original note or other documents that allow the bank to work with that loan. "It is important to track down the original documents and create a complete file before it is shipped out."

Judging from experience, he says, having an accurate inventory of the documents in a mortgage file before imaging them is the most important step. "Make sure originals are included, that the endorsement chain on the note is perfected ... that the mortgage is recorded and notarized. ... List any exceptions and then image the file."

Currently, market demand for sustainable loan modifications and government requirements that expect servicers to take on services that traditionally have been an originator's responsibility also demand servicers create accurate and complete document files. And the best way to face that challenge is by combining human and technology resources. Sophisticated imaging technology helps, Mr. Pomerantz says, but data indexing has to be correct.

"You cannot automate that first step where original data turns into a computer image and is indexed into the data system. People can easily overlook that first step of validating what information you have before it even goes to the custodian. Validating if the document you have is an original or not. You cannot rely on just images. Banks sometimes don't know what information is missing. Also, documents often are indexed wrong. Technology allows easy access to those documents."

The most common mistakes servicers should avoid?

"One is relying on your document imaging indexes as a reliable source of information of documents on file. Then when the time comes to actually sell that loan, or securitize it, and then realize that's not the case. And with today's number of properties in default and foreclosure, real estate-owned inventory and sales, this is very important."

Servicers tend to overlook document validity. For example, he says, they may think they have an original or recorded mortgage document in the file, but they only have a photocopy of a nonrecorded mortgage. Also, they may think they have all the assignment images they need but there may be a certified copy missing.

While servicers are different, many rely too much on what the index shows and fail to do a really thorough review. But also, Mr. Pomerantz notes, "if you're not imaged and you rely only on the custodial report, you will find they are not necessarily accurate either."

The industry has been challenged by legislators and the public to provide more loan data transparency from origination to securitization.

Since his firm deals with residential and commercial investors that purchase nonperforming loans, the executive says they are more scrupulous about having that second look at the collateral and imaging of loan data to ensure data inventory is accurate and complete.

Usually the best time to review data at the time of origination, but most of what banks are dealing with now is trailing documents after its origination and through the actual file of the note. It is why, he says, "it's an easy mistake, because it's not reviewed by an underwriter."

13

Right now, outside of loss mitigation things are slow for servicers and that's why they need to perfect their loan processing and not rely on imaging only. Make sure you perfect the process and make sure the indexes you have are accurate, that you know what you have.

The challenge is even bigger in the commercial marketplace.

"One of the big differences between residential and commercial loans is that a lot of the commercials are not cookie cutter, they are handled by attorneys, and so on, so when you try to make a process that is made for cookie cutters and apply it does not work.

"It is imperative to the cost of the loan, the cost of getting that collateral, to really put that human quality control when it comes to documents coming into the imaging and into the files. Even more so in a commercial loan."

By Amilda Dymi

Source Citation Dymi, Amilda. "Keeping the Right Technology-Manpower Balance." Mortgage Servicing News 2 Nov. 2009: 24. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA210983913&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Title: Cost of Data Gaps Shows Up in Court Source: National Mortgage News. 34.36 (June 7, 2010): p13. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Byline: Amilda Dymi

Servicers are facing the effects ofassignment data gaps often created by capacity issues, processing and the recession in court while facing another related challenge: costly litigation.

It seems so simple, but the biggest issue for the reconveyance market today is to ensure that each time a loan changes hands all the information about the loan is included in the assignment and then recorded into the database, says market veteran Jeremy Pomerantz, SVP of Nationwide Title Clearing, Palm Harbor, Fla.

If the right chain of title is not maintained accurately when assets (live loans/foreclosed debt/seized portfolios) change hands, he says, it clouds information to the detriment of lenders and investors. Yet these days title data gaps are more probable because of the lenders who went out of business making it difficult and costly for new owners to track down missing information.

He calls it "dealing with the sins of the past."

Plus, processes have changed becoming "much more" automated and complex since it is no longer the traditional way of Bank A selling assets to Bank B, or transfers of large portfolios of 20,000 loans for servicing. It is more the case of certain agents seizing and processing a large number of portfolios.

Many of today's transfers consist of seized portfolios that have to go through the FDIC, he says, which represents another stumbling block because of changing and often bureaucratic procedures and new requirements and the much higher presence of litigation actions.

"This was not the norm. It is all new for everybody including the FDIC which never before had to seize such large portfolios. And every deal is different."

14


The unprecedented volume of loans changing owners is making it painfully clear that one lost assignment here and some missing data there can lead to very costly litigation. The amount of litigation is on the rise, he says, opening up "a big market for attorneys." And that is a side effect of another problem, lack of due diligence prior to loan closing. Servicers need to ensure loan documents "are in a row properly" and pay attention to data gaps sooner rather than later when loans go into default.

Another way the re-assignment market has changed, according to Pomerantz, is the unavoidable effect of time and how it has changed due diligence from one bank to the next. Internal dissimilarities between banks make all the difference between "clean and messy portfolios." Unless the chain of information from the originator to the lender, servicer and investor is maintained transparently and accurately, there is no guarantee the industry can prevent large scale data gaps in the future.

Today data recording mistakes cost more than ever before. Pomerantz recalled one example where a subservicer servicing a defaulting loan registered under its name because the primary servicer was hoping to avoid losses if the loan went into foreclosure was challenged in a court of law. The subservicer had sold the loan even though it was not the holder of the note and consequently had no legal right to foreclose. "They shouldn't have sold the loan, but the subservicer did not foresee it." The primary servicer simply tried to discharge toxic assets.

These case scenarios represent a new national problem for banks that face very expensive litigation that could have been avoided if servicers and subservicers had made sure loan documents and the chain of information were preserved.

These developments have changed the market as banks, especially the large ones take specific measures to control it.

A big topic when it comes to assignments is their role in investment repurchase reviews, or quality assurance reviews, which require upfront due diligence "especially when Fannie and Freddie is involved." The agencies are more than ever trying to get some money back, he says, in times when firms that have not done repeat business with the FDIC are "not prepared for the amount of bureaucracy involved and hurdles that have to be gone through to get approvals." It takes time, he says, because it is a very large government institution and also because these types of transactions are quite new for everyone.

The U.S. mortgage industry is under intense pressure from the federal government to modify existing home loans. At the same time, historically low interest rates and falling property values are starting to bring some buyers back into the market. These two forces make it very difficult to predict future workflow volume, Pomerantz says. His firm processes annually "well over $11 million" in assignments for various U.S. banks, mostly bulk transfers and ongoing perfection of the chain title services. It is no longer "plain vanilla" with Bank A selling Bank B servicing rights or the full rights over a loan. "There are new complexities injected in and on top of that we have to be very diligent about reviewing the chain of title to make sure we get it right much, much more than in the past."

Now it is a business necessity to scrutinize data upfront and before transfers rather than during the process since loopholes can cost a lot to title holders.

In cases when such loopholes are detected the title holder has to make an effort to fix what can be fixed. "As a rule FDIC or Freddie Mac seizures are not the cleanest portfolios. Sometimes they are, but it really depends on the state of the bank, business practices may not have been following the norm, so every deal is different."

Pomerantz says it is important to capture all the images, review the files to find out what is wrong with them, and with the FDIC deals there also is a limited window of time of about 60 days to closing to go back and correct mistakes or fill in data gaps. There are cases where the files are in bad shape and there are millions of pages to image since they do not exist in electronic form. Then there are the cases where the bank does not exist anymore.

By Amilda Dymi

Source Citation "Cost of Data Gaps Shows Up in Court." National Mortgage News 7 June 2010: 13. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA228124596&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


15

Top of page Title: Nationwide Title Clearing Unveils Mobile Imaging Offering Author(s): Source: Entertainment Close-up. (June 27, 2010): From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article Full Text:

Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC), a service provider to the mortgage and financial industry, has unveiled its mobile imaging offering to mortgage lenders and servicers.

In the event of an emergency seizure by the FDIC, GSEs or another investor because of concern over the solvency of the original institution, NTC's mobile imaging team has the capability to go where the loan files are located before the final settlement of a loan transfer occurs.

NTC's mobile imaging and inventory services are performed on a rush basis to ensure that the servicer that is assuming the loans would have a head start knowing what is in the files and be prepared the first day it takes over servicing the loan. Buyers of seized assets usually have a very short window of time to exclude assets or renegotiate any exceptions.

"Our mobile imaging unit sets up shop wherever the loan files are located, images the collateral files or servicing files, and transmits them back to our home office to be reviewed, inventoried and indexed to the client's standards. The images are then either hosted by NTC or quickly imported into the client's imaging system," said Jeremy Pomerantz, senior vice president of sales for NTC. "It provides the new servicer with an advance look at the loan files prior to the close of the loan sale."

"Without our mobile unit's efforts, the new servicer would not know what is in the loan files until it's too late to negotiate any exceptions," Pomerantz said. "Now they have all the documentation available to review the loans and handle all servicing requirements. The new servicer would also be notified in advance of any insufficient collateral, and with NTC's help, proactively resolve these issues. Our clients appreciate the convenience this service provides, and they understand that given the unusual circumstances surrounding transfers related to loan seizures it is a necessity."

More Information:

http://www.nwtc.com

((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected]))

Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing Unveils Mobile Imaging Offering." Entertainment Close-up 27 June 2010. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA23Title: Title Co. Forms Joint Venture Source: National Mortgage News. 34.41 (July 19, 2010): p16. From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article Full Text:

Nationwide Title Clearing, a Palm Harbor, Fla.-based firm which does most of its work on the servicing side of the transaction, has created a joint venture which provides a life-of-loan solution from closing through payoff and release.

Its partners in the venture, called Lenders Title Solutions, includes industry veterans. It will provide title and closing services in all 50 states.

Jeremy Pomerantz, senior vice president of NTC, said, "After researching and retrieving millions of missing title-related documents, we know our customers are feeling pain here. This new partnership will relieve that pain and expense at the root of the issue. Participating lenders who close loans with LTS are automatically provided NTC's industry leading final/trailing document services to track the mortgage and title policy after closing, and the lender will never have to pay for missing documents again."

16


http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/aboutJournal.do?pubDate=120100627&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C5CNC


NTC will provide LTS with document tracking, imaging, audits, corrections, retrieval and delivery. It added that documents associated with the title are most often lost or missing items in a loan file.

In some cases, the agent who ordered the title search never went beyond securing the commitment and as a result, the policy does not exist. Add in the fact that the agent may no longer be in business, it dramatically increases the costs to lenders to correct the situation.

NTC said the alliance provides competitive title services and solves missing problem document issues.

Source Citation "Title Co. Forms Joint Venture." National Mortgage News 19 July 2010: 16. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA231985361&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: Florida attorney retracts robo-signing allegations against Nationwide Title Clearing Source: Mortgage Banking. 71.5 (Feb. 2011): p20. From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article Full Text:

A Florida foreclosure attorney, Matthew Weidner, writing in his blog, incorrectly categorized Nationwide Title Clearing Inc. (NTC), Palm Harbor, Florida, as a robo-signer and perpetrator of foreclosure fraud. On Jan. 14, a press release issued by Nationwide said that Weidner "has retracted his comments" and that he wrote on his blog "that he regretted making statements that implied NTC was guilty of wrongdoing."

The press release noted that as a result of Weidner's retraction, NTC dropped a pending libel action it had filed against the attorney.

The release quotes from the following statement posted on the foreclosure attorney's blog: "After reviewing evidence furnished by Nationwide Title Clearing Inc., I have removed from my blog prior posts which stated that NTC was a foreclosure document company or that NTC was involved in something that was illegal or improper."

The release quoted Weidner further as writing, "My intent was to assist the general public and other attorneys by informing them of something that I believed to be true, but my assertions were based on reports in the press or blogs that, it turns out, did not provide full or correct information about NTC."

Weidner added, "In summary, I regret and retract any statement that implies that NTC has falsified any documents or that NTC is involved in foreclosures."

Speaking on behalf of Nationwide Title Clearing, Jeremy Pomerantz, senior vice president, said, "We will continue to cooperate with those who are attempting to protect consumers and uphold justice, but it is unethical to imply that long-standing industry practices, which have been found in court to be legal methods of preparing common mortgage-related documents, are somehow harmful to consumers."

Source Citation "Florida attorney retracts robo-signing allegations against Nationwide Title Clearing." Mortgage Banking Feb. 2011: 20+. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA250827290&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

17

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/aboutJournal.do?pubDate=120110201&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C3268



Top of page Title: Nationwide Title Clearing Introduces Verification Tool Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 16.3 (Feb. 15, 2012): p6. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Byline: Brad Finkelstein

Nationwide Title Clearing, Palm Harbor, Fla., will be using the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Mortgage Servicing Conference for the first public introduction of its newest product in that field, the PerfectChain Assignment Verification Process.

According to senior vice president Jeremy Palmer, Nationwide Title Clearance has been exhibiting at the trade show for almost 20 years.

Although Palmer will not be attending the show himself, the company will have four or five representatives on hand.

The show gives Nationwide Title Clearance "a great venue" to showcase its new product offerings on the servicing side to current and prospective customers, he said.

PerfectChain is the result of two years of work with many collaborators, including the major servicers and the government-sponsored enterprises, along with some of the regulators.

Its need, Palmer said, has been enhanced because of a recent decision by Fannie Mae that any loan needs to have its assignments validated before it can be placed into foreclosure.

The product helps to standardize, and create best practices around, the mortgage document assignment process.

As a result of a loan and/or its servicing rights being sold multiple times, it has become quite likely that the chain of title has become muddled, he explained. Liens get recorded out of order and the proper assignee is not the one in the property records. Sometimes there is erroneous information in the file which nobody knows about.

PerfectChain is a collaborative method to find a way to fix the breaks in the chain of title.

Palmer said typically banks do not understand the complexity of this process.

Nationwide Title Clearance searches the land records and chains together the results in the proper order. A certified title examiner looks the records to make certain everything is in the proper order, Palmer said, and determines if the title needs to be assigned to the proper party.

In the report all the supporting documentation is attached. On top of which all of this work is done in an affordable way for the servicer. It had been necessary to have this done in the past, but Fannie Mae's announcement made it even more necessary, he continued.

Besides PerfectChain, Nationwide Title Clearance is using the conference to market its lien release services. In the past few months, it has found its capabilities in securing lien releases to be in high demand, noted John Hillman, chief executive.

He attributes this to several factors, most notably to record-low interest rates that are spurring interest in refinancing.

"Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages are at an all-time low. And with the expansion of the Home Affordable Refinance Program lenders are able to offer refinancing to more homeowners," explained Hillman. "Short sales and short payoffs are also contributing to the increased demand for lien release services."

By Brad Finkelstein

Source Citation 18



"Nationwide Title Clearing Introduces Verification Tool." Mortgage Servicing News 15 Feb. 2012: 6. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA281698093&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) Successfully Completes SSAE-16 Audit Author(s): Source: PRWeb Newswire. (Apr. 9, 2012): From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Palm Harbor, Fla (PRWEB) April 09, 2012

Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) understands that organizational compliance is an important component to its daily operations. The company, which is a leading service provider to the mortgage and financial industry, announced that it successfully completed the SSAE 16 Type II audit with no exceptions noted.

This is one of numerous audits NTC has successfully completed in the past year. The SSAE-16 audit is a key qualification procedure that replaced the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 70 and now is guiding resource for performing the service auditor's examinations. The SSAE-16 audit was introduced in June 2011 to offer upgraded reporting to comply with the new international service organization reporting standard.

The SSAE-16 audit was conducted by Brightline, a third-party CPA company BrightLine, (formerly known as SAS 70 Solutions). Companies can opt for a Type I or a Type II audit. Type I indicates that the specific controls were examined to be in order throughout a minimum six-month audit period. Type II demonstrates that the specific controls were also tested and documented to be effective throughout the audit period. NTC regularly submits to a Type II audit.

The key operational components that were audited in the SSAE-16 audit included NTC's general management controls, risk management, information security and communications systems. The extensive audit also covered NTC's core practices related to integrity and ethical values, commitment to competence, management philosophy and style, organizational structure and responsibility, and human resources policies and practices. In the new SSAE-16 audit, the external auditors also included a complete review and validation of NTC's signing controls, practices and procedures.

In addition to completing third party audits, NTC may be audited by clients at any time. These audits are typically conducted for information security, personnel policies and procedures, data integrity, business controls and things of that nature. In 2011, NTC underwent 17 unique audits.

NTC believes that undergoing audits by multiple leading, national mortgage companies is beneficial for its clients because it helps maintain the company's rigorous standards as industry leaders.

"NTC has developed a favorable reputation in the industry and among clients because of our commitment to maintaining high standards of professionalism" said NTC CEO John Hillman. "Our continual successful completion of rigorous third party audits illustrates our credibility and reliability in the mortgage industry."

About Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC):

Headquartered in Palm Harbor, Fla., Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) was founded in 1991 and has since grown to become the nation's leading national post-closing services provider for the residential mortgage industry. In addition to supporting lenders, servicers and investors, including eight of the top 10 residential mortgage servicers in the country, the company's land records and document experts are able to track and fulfill county document requirements for close to 3,600 recording jurisdictions nationwide. NTC specializes in providing property reports, lien release and assignment services, final document tracking,

19

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/aboutJournal.do?pubDate=120120409&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C3BNR


document retrieval, imaging and other custom business solutions. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.nwtc.com.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/4/prweb9365923.htm

Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) Successfully Completes SSAE-16 Audit." PRWeb Newswire 9 Apr. 2012. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA285703340&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Title: MADIGAN FILES SUIT OVER FAULTY MORTGAGE ASSIGNMENTS FILED WITH COUNTY RECORDERS Source: States News Service. (Feb. 2, 2012): From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Chicago -- The following information was released by the office of the Illinois Attorney General:

Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed a lawsuit against Nationwide Title Clearing for filing faulty documents with Illinois county recorders. Nationwide Title Cleaning Inc. (NTC) is a Florida-based company that prepares documents for mortgage servicers to use against borrowers who are in default, foreclosure or bankruptcy.

"The practices that NTC used were a key contributor to the mortgage crisis by undermining the integrity and accuracy of the mortgage servicing and foreclosure process," Attorney General Madigan said.

NTC provides a range of mortgage loan services to eight of the top 10 lenders and mortgage servicers in the country. NTC specializes in creating, processing and recording mortgage assignments, which are often used for a lender to foreclose on a borrower.

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges numerous violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Madigan is asking the court to require NTC to review and correct all documents it unlawfully created and recorded in Illinois, and pay back all revenues, profits and gains achieved in whole or in part due to unlawful practices. The suit also asks the court to impose civil penalties against the company.

Attorney General Madigan is committed to holding all entities that contributed to the financial crisis accountable for their unlawful misconduct. As part of those efforts, Madigan sued the national credit ratings agency Standard and Poor's last week for its fraudulent role in assigning high ratings to risky mortgage-backed investments in the years leading up to the housing market crash. The Attorney General alleged that SandP compromised its independence as a ratings agency by doling out high ratings to unworthy, risky investments as a corporate strategy to increase its revenue and market share.

In December 2011, Madigan and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a $335 million settlement with Countrywide, a subsidiary of Bank of America, for discriminating against thousands of Illinois minority borrowers during the height of the subprime mortgage lending spree. The settlement will provide restitution to harmed Illinois borrowers and is the largest settlement of a fair lending lawsuit ever obtained by a state attorney general. The Attorney General is litigating a similar lawsuit against Wells Fargo alleging widespread discrimination against African American and Latino borrowers.

Madigan led an earlier lawsuit against Countrywide, which resulted in a nationwide $8.7 billion settlement in 2008 over the company's predatory lending practices. That agreement established the nation's first mandatory loan modification program. The Attorney General also reached a $39.5 million settlement with Wells Fargo over the bank's deceptive marketing of extremely risky loans called Pay Option ARMs in 2010.

Assistant Attorneys General Andrew Dougherty, Thomas P. James and Vaishali Rao are handling the case for Madigan's Consumer Fraud Bureau.

20

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/aboutJournal.do?pubDate=120120202&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C2VFH

-30-

Source Citation "MADIGAN FILES SUIT OVER FAULTY MORTGAGE ASSIGNMENTS FILED WITH COUNTY RECORDERS." States News Service 2 Feb. 2012. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA278802804&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Title: Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) Featured in Giants of Innovation Source: PRWeb Newswire. (Jan. 16, 2012): From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Palm Harbor, Fla. (PRWEB) January 16, 2012

Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC), the country's foremost post-closing services provider for residential mortgages, is among the industry leaders featured in the new Giants of Innovation book from HousingWire. The publication will be released during the upcoming American Securitization Forum conference, which is the largest capital markets conference in the world. ASF 2012 will be held at the ARIA in Las Vegas from January 22--25.

HousingWire publishes its Giants series annually. Giants of Innovation showcases leading mortgage technology companies, profiling select firms that exhibit strong business leadership, demonstrate a willingness to take risks, and create and implement cutting-edge products. "While each concept is completely unique, there is one commonality that each company possesses -- each is an industry leader dedicated to pushing the envelope and setting the standard," said Paul Jackson, publisher.

NTC has made a name for itself by reinventing the mortgage assignment document process for the betterment of borrowers, homeowners, land records and the industry at large. These ongoing efforts have contributed to NTC's reputation as a true innovator. "We collaborated with the nation's most respected mortgage lenders and servicers to revolutionize the way mortgage assignments are prepared," stated John Hillman, CEO of Nationwide Title Clearing. "Through our PerfectChain(SM) Assignment Verification Process, we have established best practices that set a new industry standard."

Hillman explained that NTC felt it was necessary to overhaul the assignment process to help mortgage lenders and servicers comply with government regulations as well as the standards mandated by their own legal departments. "The process needed to be improved in such a way to guarantee and provide evidence of document accuracy, while also being feasible for mortgage lenders/servicers to implement," he elaborated. "There are more than 3,600 county recording offices throughout the United States, and each one has its own rules and obligations. Our PerfectChain(SM) process makes it possible to meet the exacting requirements of every one of those offices."

NTC's land records/document experience and cutting-edge technology are described in greater detail within Giants of Innovation. ASF 2012 attendees may obtain a copy of the publication at the HousingWire booth in the conference exhibit hall. Additional copies will be mailed directly to an exclusive list of key mortgage servicers, lenders and investors, and an online version will be made available at a later date.

To learn more about Nationwide Title Clearing and its wide range of mortgage post-closing services, visit http://www.nwtc.com or call 727-771-4000.

About Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc.

Headquartered in Palm Harbor, Fla., Nationwide Title Clearing(NTC) was founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1992; and has since grown to become the nation's leading post-closing services provider for the residential mortgage industry. In addition to supporting lenders, servicers and investors -- including eight of the top 10 residential mortgage servicers in the country -- NTC also contracts directly with several federal government agencies. The company's land records and document experts are able to track and fulfill county document requirements for more than 3,600 recording jurisdictions nationwide, and have considerable

21


experience with state notary laws and valid execution practices. NTC specializes in processing lien releases, assignments, Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS(R)) services, final documents, document retrieval, title searches, title policy retrieval, title policy replacement, capital markets/hedge fund bundled services, imaging and other custom business solutions. For more information about Nationwide Title Clearing, visit the company's website at h http://www.nwtc.com.

###


Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) Featured in Giants of Innovation." PRWeb Newswire 16 Jan. 2012. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA277273288&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) Helps Homeowners and Borrowers by Identifying Cloud on Title of Properties Source: PRWeb Newswire. (Jan. 9, 2012): From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text:

Palm Harbor, Fla. (PRWEB) January 09, 2012

The stigma and general confusion surrounding clouded title have presented a challenge to owners and prospective buyers of real estate properties today -- a predicament that has been highlighted in a recent report by David Woolley of Harbinger Analytics Group*. This is a situation that Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC) is empowering affected parties to understand and resolve.

As the nation's leading post-closing services provider for the residential mortgage industry, NTC has united with top mortgage lenders, servicers, investors, GSE's and federal government agencies to reinvent and standardize the assignment process in order to provide clear and accurate land records -- for the benefit of property owners and potential buyers. (An assignment of mortgage is a document that evidences the transfer of a mortgage from one party to another.*)

A proper due diligence on the mortgage documentation is now being required by the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) and other federal regulators on all procedures concerning mortgage-related paperwork and signing. For several years, NTC had already been developing a unique system for finding and reporting all recorded documents pertaining to a mortgage and identifying any cloud on the assignment chains. The system, called PerfectChaina Assignment Verification, helps mortgage servicers maintain compliance with statutes that are designed to protect homeowners and borrowers -- thereby allowing the banks to clean up any prior erroneous documents and prepare accurate documents going forward.

John Hillman, CEO of NTC, noted that assignments prepared with incomplete loan documentation will almost certainly result in errors, which is what NTC's PerfectChaina Assignment Verification is designed to disclose and prevent.

"One of NTC's roles is to serve as an advisor regarding best-practices in the mortgage industry, ensuring that state and county statutes are complied with and ownership records are kept clean," Hillman says. "You can't always fix a broken assignment chain. Many times we are just reporting that it is broken so that we don't further complicate the assignment chain with an erroneous assignment."

Accordingly, complete assignment chains are now being verified as complete -- considered today as an industry best practice.

"We help [homeowners] by ensuring the chain of title is unclouded," Hillman went onto say. "Our PerfectChaina service straightens out the missing links in the chain that can cause problems when homeowners try to do anything related to ownership of a property, such as sell, buy, etc. Assignments help homeowners keep the paperwork straight -- and when properly done provide transparency as to who owns the mortgagea[bar] even though it's behind-the-scenes."

22


http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&tabID=T004&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=11&contentSet=GALE%7CA277273288&&docId=GALE%7CA277273288&docType=GALE&role=ITOF#contentcontainer

In addition to assignments, the majority of documents NTC prepares are lien releases-- also referred to as 'mortgage satisfactions' or 'reconveyances' -- which cancel a mortgage as an open lien, and is the final step in the payoff process. This process also helps ensure accurate land records by removing paid-in-full mortgages from public record. It facilitates home sales, refinancing and full payoff so that land records reflect paid-in-full mortgages.

Essentially, NTC is a service company established to help keep the banks compliant with the statutes that protect homeowners. Because of NTC's industry-best practices, NTC has become the preferred provider today for many of the top banking institutions and federal agencies.

NTC's services might directly assist the leading mortgage lenders and federal government agencies, but Hillman says that is not enough. Established several years ago, NTC instituted a service (http://www.expressretrieval.com) whereby homeowners, small title companies and many others can DIRECTLY obtain specific documents from any recording jurisdiction nationwide. NTC also takes the time to address the questions of homeowners who call in with confusions regarding mortgage documents. This happens every day.

"NTC's commitment to our industry, with our clients and others, has helped establish accurate and thorough processes to improve the validity of all assignments on a go-forward basis," says Hillman. "Having the accurate true data is the ripple effect that's helping to correct the document problems that plague the industry and consequently protect the homeowners, going forward."

About Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc.

Headquartered in Palm Harbor, Fla., Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) was founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1992; and has since grown to become the nation's leading post-closing services provider for the residential mortgage industry. In addition to supporting lenders, servicers and investors -- including eight of the top 10 residential mortgage servicers in the country -- NTC also contracts directly with several federal government agencies. The company's land records and document experts are able to track and fulfill county document requirements for more than 3,600 recording jurisdictions nationwide, and have considerable experience with state notary laws and valid execution practices. NTC specializes in processing lien releases, assignments, Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS(R)) services, final documents, document retrieval, title searches, title policy retrieval, title policy replacement, capital markets/hedge fund bundled services, imaging and other custom business solutions. For more information about Nationwide Title Clearing, visit the company's website at http://www.nwtc.com.

* Woolley, David E. and Lisa D. Herzog: White paper published by Harbinger Analytics Group; June 2011. harbingerag.com/Papers/MERS%20Report%20Exhibits%20Combined.pdf

*Mortgage Banking Terms, 10th Edition by the Mortgage Bankers Association

###


Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) Helps Homeowners and Borrowers by Identifying Cloud on Title of Properties." PRWeb Newswire 9 Jan. 2012. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA276639336&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: REMOVAL OF VIDEOS A DANGEROUS RULING Source: The St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, FL). (Dec. 12, 2010): News: p2P. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text: The St. Petersburg Times

23

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/aboutJournal.do?pubDate=120101212&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C0DMM


http://www.sptimes.com/

Full Text:

ASarasota judge in a foreclosure action who ordered the removal of video depositions from YouTube is violating the First Amendment and preventing the public from seeing how alleged "robo-signers" churned out mortgage-related paperwork without verifying the information. In the depositions, three employees of Nationwide Title Clearing, a Palm Harbor company, describe how each had signed hundreds of documents at a time - just the kind of potentially fraudulent conduct that state attorneys general are investigating across the country, including in Florida. But the judge found that the interests of these employees to be free from harassment and public scorn likely overrides the public's right to know. It's a dangerous ruling, given its implications for limits on public access to court records, and the 2nd District Court of Appeal should reverse it.

The issue arose after Sarasota lawyer Christopher Forrest posted the depositions of NTC employees Bryan Bly, Crystal Moore and Dhurata Doko on YouTube in early November. Forrest took the depositions to defend a foreclosure action against his clients, homeowners Peter and Barbara Morlon. The videos seem to demonstrate that NTC employees signed important mortgage-related documents in an assembly-line manner, prompting many nasty comments.

Soon after the depositions were posted on YouTube, they were filed with the court, making them part of the case's record. But on Nov. 19, at a hearing where only the NTC attorney was present, Sarasota Circuit Judge Rick De Furia issued a temporary injunction against the "posting, publishing, disseminating or maintaining" of the depositions by Forrest or anyone acting "in concert" with him. The judge gave a nod to the First Amendment and the public's access to information but said the NTC employees will suffer "irreparable harm" without the injunction.

What the judge missed is that the homeowners have a First Amendment right to make parts of their court case public, and that right far outweighs the privacy interests of a witness. The NTC employee depositions are about potential irregularities in processing mortgage-related documents, an issue of great public importance that has been the subject of news reports and law enforcement investigations, including in Florida.

In fact, what Forrest did is similar to what the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is doing in its foreclosure fraud investigation. The office is distributing through a website sworn statements of people allegedly involved in presenting fabricated documents to the courts in foreclosure actions.

Robo-signers became the subject of official scrutiny because attorneys such as Forrest began taking these kinds of depositions and publicizing them. The court's obligation is to advance the interests of openness and transparency, not deprive residents of their right to view public court records.

Source Citation "REMOVAL OF VIDEOS A DANGEROUS RULING." St. Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 12 Dec. 2010: 2P. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA244284429&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: Nationwide Title Clearing and Title Industry Veterans Form Lenders Title Solutions, a National Title Company Source: Business Wire. (July 14, 2010): From General OneFile. Document Type: Article

Full Text:

New Joint Venture Offers Life-of-Loan Services Solution from Closing to Payoff

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC), a leading document and services provider for the residential mortgage industry, and key title industry veterans and founders of TransContinental Title have formed a new national title company, Lenders Title Solutions (LTS). The new firm's core focus is on providing high quality/high service level title and

24

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/aboutJournal.do?pubDate=120100714&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C0EIN


closing services in all 50 states to lenders across the country. Together, LTS and NTC will offer the industry's first workable life-of-loan services solution from the moment the loan is closed until it is paid off and released. NTC clients who close loans through LTS are provided unique trailing document guarantees that don't exist elsewhere in the industry.

"This is the first time a service provider like NTC has joined forces with a title company in this way," said Jeremy Pomerantz, Senior Vice President of Nationwide Title Clearing. "After researching and retrieving millions of missing title-related documents, we know our customers are feeling pain here. This new partnership will relieve that pain and expense at the root of the issue. Participating lenders who close loans with LTS are automatically provided NTC's industry leading final/trailing document services to track the mortgage and title policy after closing, and the lender will never have to pay for missing documents again. The NTC bundled services with LTS include document tracking, imaging, audits, corrections, retrieval and delivery."

Title-related documents are the most often lost or missing documents in a loan file and when these assets change hands or fail an agency audit, the missing documents must be replaced, often at great expense. In some cases, a title agent never actually went beyond the commitment and the policy does not exist and the local agent may even be out of business, dramatically increasing the costs to NTC's clients. This new national alliance provides competitive title services and a practical long term solution at the same time. NTC and LTS clients that do business through this new alliance will never face this problem in the future, guaranteed.

"This type of cohesive national service is the first of its kind," said Pomerantz. "This offering is designed to provide substantial cost savings and easy delivery of the loan documents to buyers or investors, preventing costly buyback requests for lenders or the subsequent servicers. This will be much more attractive to the industry than hiring a separate company to go after missing documents that they have already paid for or to correct document errors years later. Lost mortgages or title policies just won't exist for lenders who work with LTS and NTC."

Pomerantz added that entering into the joint venture made sense for NTC and will allow the company to provide a value-added solution that will ensure the documents are right, imaged, and delivered to investors in a fully compliant manner. The two firms will work very closely together, providing affordable bundled services to customers to provide a complete solution.

"This integration brings substantial cost savings to our clients and a level of security that wasn't present in the industry before," said Chris Sketch, Executive Vice President at LTS. "We have a great partner in Nationwide Title Clearing and we look forward to releasing innovative new service offerings in the days ahead."

About Nationwide Title Clearing

Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc., Palm Harbor, Fla., was founded in 1992 and has grown into the nation's leading document and services provider for the residential mortgage industry. The firm provides a wide range of services to top lenders, servicers and investors, and currently serves 8 of the top 10 residential lenders/servicers in the country. NTC specializes in processing lien releases, assignments, MERS services, final documents, document retrieval, title searches, title policy retrieval and replacement, collateral management, capital markets/hedge fund bundled services, imaging and other custom business solutions. The company's management team collectively has more than a century of experience in Loan Servicing, Mortgage Lending, Data Processing and Real Estate Law. For more information about the company, visit the website at http://www.nwtc.com.

Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing and Title Industry Veterans Form Lenders Title Solutions, a National Title Company." Business Wire 14 July 2010. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA231513629&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: TITLE COMPANY'S NOTARY SAVES TIME, BREAKS LAW; A notary processes mortgage loans so fast that he scribbles initials instead signing his name Author(s): Susan Taylor Martin and

25

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/advancedSearch.do?inputFieldName(0)=AU&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&method=doSearch&inputFieldValue(0)=%22Susan+Taylor+Martin%22&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm


Source: The St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, FL). (June 20, 2010): Business News: p1D. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text: The St. Petersburg Times

Full Text:

Byline: SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN; Times Senior Correspondent

To thousands of homeowners whose loans have been shuttled from one company to another, the name "Bryan Bly'' is very familiar.

Over the past few years, Bly has signed countless mortgage assignments as either a notary public or "vice president'' of various lenders.

In reality, Bly works for Nationwide Title Clearing, a Palm Harbor company. And he was recently reprimanded by state regulators after acknowledging in a sworn statement that Nationwide Title had him notarizing so many documents that he scribbled his initial instead of signing his full name as required by law.

Such a pace, critics say, shows that Bly and other so-called "robo signers'' can't possibly be sure that what they're signing is accurate.

"Our entire system of real estate is founded upon the ability of courts to believe in the documents before them,'' says Matthew Weidner, a St. Petersburg lawyer who has a blog on foreclosure issues. "What this (Bly's statement) describes is assembly-line document production with no concern for the facts in front of them.''

Bly's name has become well known in the foreclosure defense field since the St. Petersburg Times reported last year that he and Crystal Moore signed thousands of mortgage assignments as officers of Option One and other lenders even though both work for Nationwide Title.

Assignments are key in determining who actually owns a mortgage, an all-important matter as banks foreclose on loans that were bundled into securities and sold to investors. To expedite the processing of mortgage assignments, many banks authorize Bly, Moore and others at Nationwide Titleto sign on their behalf.

In a statement Friday to the Times, Nationwide Title said it employs "many people'' in various departments "to make sure that each and every document is legal, compliant and complete'' when it reaches signers like Bly and Moore.

The company also said that it serves banks around the country and "is subject to their due diligence and quality control audits on a regular basis.''

The 2009 Times story caught the attention of Samuel Smart, a Naples homeowner whose loan has changed hands twice.

"The real concern I have, if I were to sell my house, who can legitimately sign off on my mortgage?'' Smart said.

Last year, when MoreEquity Inc. transferred his loan to another company, Smart noticed that the mortgage assignment was signed by Crystal Moore as vice president of MoreEquity and notarized by Bly. However, Bly signed with only a B and not as "Bryan J. Bly,'' the signature approved by the state.

Florida law says: "Once commissioned, the notary must sign precisely as commissioned by the state of Florida, in the exact name appearing on your notarial commission certificate.''

Smart complained to Gov. Charlie Crist's office, which regulates notaries. Asked to respond to the complaint, Bly submitted a sworn statement that gave a glimpse into the workings of Nationwide Title Clearing.

"Depending on the needs of NTC's customers, there were sometimes thousands of such documents to be notarized in a single day,'' Bly's statement said. "On those days, I would typically be notarizing documents for many hours.''

26



Bly said he noticed that other NTC employees whose names appeared on documents as vice presidents or witnesses were signing "only with their initials and sometimes squiggles that barely approximated initials.''

"Over time,'' Bly continued, "the notarial signature I affixed to those documents became progressively shorter and shorter until at last I was merely signing B. I was not, at the time, aware that this could be characterized as a violation of state law.''

Bly's statement said that on May 5, 2009 - two days after the Times story ran - Nationwide Title was told by its legal counsel that Florida law prohibits notaries from signing with anything but their commissioned signature. Bly said he tried to change his signature to the shorter B. Bly, but couldn't until his notary commission expires in 2011.

As a result, he said, he was reassigned to a job that doesn't involve notarizing documents.

This year, the governor's office notified Bly that it had put a "formal reprimand'' in his file that would be reviewed "if other complaints are filed against you for notary misconduct.''

Smart calls it a slap on the wrist.

"It's yet another example that government regulation is lax or totally lacking,'' said Smart, who owns a glass and mirror company. "The state kind of sanctioned him a little bit but didn't even pull his license.''

Weidner, the St. Petersburg lawyer, said it is unlikely that an improper notary signature on a mortgage assignment would be enough to void a final judgment of foreclosure.

But "I think that catching that fact before a judgment is issued is certainly enough to prevent them from getting a judgment,'' he said.

As the foreclosure rate soars, more and more judges are questioning documents put before them. According to the transcript of a recent hearing, Pinellas Circuit Judge Anthony Rondolino noted that the same individual alleged the same set of facts on affidavits filed in two different foreclosure cases. The only change was that the individual claimed to be a director of one company on one affidavit and director of another company on the second affidavit.

"That really increased my interest in this subject matter,'' Rondolino said, "because ... I don't have any confidence that any of the documents the court's receiving on these mass foreclosures are valid.''

(Rondolino was speaking in general, not referring to Nationwide Title Clearing or any specific company.)

In his new job with Nationwide Title, Bryan Bly has signed as "attorney in fact'' for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which took over IndyMac Bank last year and has been assigning its loans to other lenders. Some of Bly's notary duties have been assumed by colleague Crystal Moore, who got her notary commission in September.

Moore's state-approved signature assures that she can sign quickly but legally. It's just the initials CM.

Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at [email protected].

* * *

'Robo' signing?

Same notary, different signatures. Bryan J. Bly signed so many mortgage documents, he shortened his signature to save time. Critics ask: How could he possibly know what he was signing?

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN; Times Senior Correspondent

27

Source Citation Martin, Susan Taylor. "TITLE COMPANY'S NOTARY SAVES TIME, BREAKS LAW; A notary processes mortgage loans so fast that he scribbles initials instead signing his name." St. Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 20 June 2010: 1D. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA229541711&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Title: Largest Servicers Ink Deals with Nationwide Title Clearing Source: Business Wire. (Mar. 23, 2010): From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article

Full Text:

New Survey: 8 of the Top 10 Largest Servicers Now on NTC's Client List

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Nationwide Title Clearing, a leading document and services provider for the residential mortgage industry, announced today that a new ranking of the nation's mortgage loan servicers published by a national mortgage industry trade publication puts 8 of the top 10 servicers on the company's active client list.

"Our commitment to developing technology platforms, strategic alliances and expertise in the mortgage business has helped to distinguish our products," said Jeremy Pomerantz, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Sales at NTC. "Mortgage servicers rely on our products because we offer them leading technology designed to support lien release management, electronic document recording services, assignments, imaging services and document retrieval among others. All of these services are in high demand in the current environment."

The new data regarding servicing industry rankings was provided by SourceMedia and details the portfolio sizes for the nation's top 10 mortgage servicing companies.

"We're proud to be serving the nation's best servicers, helping them meet these demands," said Pomerantz. "They are being asked to keep borrowers in their homes, but they still have legal requirements to meet for these other servicing needs. NTC is glad it is able to alleviate some of this workload for servicers so they can focus on larger industry concerns."



Source Citation "Largest Servicers Ink Deals with Nationwide Title Clearing." Business Wire 23 Mar. 2010. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA221840628&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

Gale Document Number: GALE|A221840628 28


Top of page Title: Nationwide Title Clearing Releases ReleaseLINK 2.0 Source: Business Wire. (Jan. 26, 2010): From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article

Full Text:

Web Interface Now Provides Clients with Even More Control over Their Lien Releases

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC), a leading document and services provider for the residential mortgage industry, announced today that the new version of its ReleaseLINK web service has been working perfectly for NTC's lien release clients since its soft launch on January 4. The company is now making the new web feature available to all company clients.

"This is an important release that adds a lot of functionality to the software and convenience to our customers," said Jeremy Pomerantz, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Sales at NTC. "Our customers now have much more control over their processes and access to better automation. We're very glad we could enhance our services at no additional cost to our clients."

As expected, company clients have been most impressed with the newly enhanced Exception Queue feature, which allows NTC lien release clients to view additional types of exception loans mid-process and then allows them to resolve the issue online or flag the loan for various complex curative actions. Clients can also use the new tool to rush an order, place the order on hold or cancel it.

"At a time when firms that entered this space to garner other lucrative services are leaving the business, I'm proud that we're investing in technologies to help our customers be more efficient," Pomerantz said. "We've been in this line of business for almost 20 years. It takes investment and focus on core competencies like this to remain a market leader."



Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing Releases ReleaseLINK 2.0." Business Wire 26 Jan. 2010. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA217416748&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Title: SO, WHO OWNS YOUR HOME LOAN? Critics question companies that sign on behalf of lenders to transfer loans and ease the path to foreclosure Author(s): Susan Taylor Martin Source: The St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, FL). (May 3, 2009): Business News: p1D. From General OneFile. Document Type: Article Full Text: The St. Petersburg Times

Full Text:

Byline: SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN; Times Senior Correspondent 29


http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/advancedSearch.do?inputFieldName(0)=AU&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=uphoenix&method=doSearch&inputFieldValue(0)=%22Susan+Taylor+Martin%22&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm




PALM HARBOR -- Despite the turmoil in the lending industry, Bryan Bly seems to have no trouble finding a job.

On Aug. 3, 2007, Bly signed a document as vice president of Option One Mortgage.

On Feb. 13, 2009, Bly signed a document as vice president of Deutsche Bank.

And on Feb. 18, 2009, Bly initialed dozens of documents - this time as vice president of Citi Residential Lending.

In fact, Bly never worked for any of those. His real employer is Nationwide Title Clearing, a Pinellas County company that helps lenders clean up problems that can complicate efforts to foreclose.

Bly, who lives in a Clearwater trailer park, is one of several Nationwide employees authorized by lenders to sign as "vice president'' in assigning loans from one company to another. Assignments are key in determining who actually owns the loan, an issue that has become all-important as banks foreclose on millions of loans that were bundled into securities and sold to investors.

Nationwide says the assignments and other services it handles for lenders help ensure everything is legal and above board if they sell a loan or need to foreclose.

"We're pretty much sticklers that what we put in the record is legitimate,'' says Jeremy Pomerantz, a Nationwide spokesman.

Critics, though, say that Bryan Bly and "vice presidents'' like him at similar companies are part of an assembly-line process designed to resolve a big problem: In the rush to "flip'' loans as fast as possible in order to make more money, the new loan holders often failed to get the proper paperwork showing they owned the loan and had the right to foreclose.

"The problem is that when lenders foreclose, they have to have all their ducks in a row,'' says Rob Napolitano, a New Jersey mortgage expert. "They're trying to doctor up these assignments in order to create an ownership trail that didn't exist in the first place.''

Signatures challenged

At a time when one in every 159 American homes is in foreclosure, the seemingly slapdash way in which loans change hands is giving homeowners a tool to delay or even stop the foreclosure process. More and more judges are demanding that the party seeking to foreclose prove that it owns the loan "note'' - the borrower's promise to repay the debt.

In New York, a judge dismissed Deutsche Bank's motion to foreclose on a $408,000 loan last year because it had started foreclosure proceedings while the loan was still owned by IndyMac Bank.

The judge said he wouldn't reconsider the case unless Deutsche explained why one woman - Erica Johnson-Seck - had signed as vice president of two different companies. The judge also said he was "perplexed'' as to why both Deutsche and IndyMac had the same address, and why an affidavit by Johnson-Seck, who supposedly worked in California, was notarized in Texas.

In New Jersey, another foreclosure case was thrown out after the "vice president'' for Deutsche Bank acknowledged she was only an assistant secretary. "She said she was told to fill out the paperwork however it needed to be done in order to make the document look valid,'' Napolitano said.

To help homeowners protect themselves from questionable, even illegal foreclosures, Tampa attorney Chris Hoyer started the Consumer Warning Network last year. The Web site, which now gets as many as 80,000 hits a day, gives tips on challenging foreclosures - "Make 'em produce the note!'' - and sample letters for contacting lenders.

"The intent is not to get someone a free house, but to delay the foreclosure and put pressure on the lender to negotiate,'' said Hoyer, a former federal prosecutor.

Among those who have been helped by the site is Thomas Worthington, who lost his information technology job in November. Although he has yet to miss a payment on his Sarasota home, he decided in February to try to modify his loan terms.

30

That's when Worthington learned that the right to collect his payments had been sold to American Home Mortgage Servicing, AHMS. But public records showed that the loan itself had been assigned to Deutsche Bank on a document signed by Crystal Moore, a vice president of Citi Residential Lending.

"So I called AHMS and asked them who owned my mortgage,'' Worthington said. "I got a service rep in India, and he said, 'We own your mortgage.'"

Suspicious, Worthington sent the company a letter asking for the loan note, appraisal and other documents proving that it really did own his loan. The response he received might help him fight foreclosure if it ever comes to that.

"What I got back was a copy of the title report,'' Worthington said, "which leads me to believe they have squat.''

Nationwide steps in

Worthington's loan wasn't the only one assigned to Deutsche Bank in February. Records in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties show scores of assignments with Crystal Moore as vice president. Moore appears to have been in a big hurry - instead of signing her full name she scrawled a single loopy initial.

Like Bryan Bly, Moore is actually an employee of Nationwide Title Clearing. And the assignments she and Bly initialed in February were done under a contract with Citi Residential to make sure Deutsche Bank was shown as the owner of thousands of securitized loans.

Founded in 1992, Nationwide is a private company that occupies a swath of low, white buildings in Palm Harbor.

From 300 to 400 employees at the peak of the real estate boom, Nationwide now has about 115 who handle tax and title searches, lien releases and other services for dozens of lenders. It also updates information for MERS, the electronic mortgage tracking system created by the lending industry to reduce paperwork and recording fees as loans change hands.

To expedite transactions, Nationwide gets resolutions from lenders that authorize Bly, Moore and other employees of "proven reliability'' to sign as their vice presidents, said Pomerantz, the Nationwide spokesman. On a big project like the Citi-to-Deutsche loan assignments, "they may sit there all day for a week and sign.''

"We follow every little requirement, far better than most banks do,'' Pomerantz said, adding that "every one of our competitors uses the same methodology.''

But it is exactly that assembly-line process that makes critics wonder if "vice presidents'' can be certain that what they are signing is accurate and legal.

"Papering over a hole doesn't make the hole disappear,'' Hoyer said. "Using this device to present an air of legitimacy is an affront to the judicial system and a stain on society.''

Susan Taylor Martin can be reached at [email protected].

* * *

Assignments: Signatures count

Although he is really an employee of Nationwide Title Clearing in Palm Harbor, Bryan Bly signs or initials his name as "vice president" of various banks to expedite mortgage assignments and other transactions. Otherwise, a lender might "have to have their own vice presidents sign 180,000 documents," says Nationwide spokesman Jeremy Pomerantz. Assignments - which legally transfer a loan from one company to another - are key in establishing who actually owns the borrower's debt and has the right to foreclose on property. Critics say that having non-bank employees sign as bank "vice president" misleads the courts, homeowners and the public at large.

CAPTION(S):

31

PHOTO, Susan Taylor Martin, Times: Nationwide Title Clearing, based in Palm Harbor, describes itself as "the leading national service provider" for the home lending industry. Its 115 employees handle up to 2 million mortgage-related transactions a year for dozens of lenders.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN; Times Senior Correspondent

Source Citation Martin, Susan Taylor. "SO, WHO OWNS YOUR HOME LOAN? Critics question companies that sign on behalf of lenders to transfer loans and ease the path to foreclosure." St. Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 3 May 2009: 1D. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA198999804&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: Nationwide Title Clearing Unveils ReleaseLINK, Its Newest New Web Service Feature for Clients Author(s): Source: Business Wire. (Mar. 24, 2009): From General OneFile. Document Type: Article

Full Text:

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. unveils its newest web service feature for Lien Release clients, ReleaseLINK. This innovative new feature is in addition to existing web services and allows clients to be fully connected with NTC for lien release processing like never before. New features include advanced ability for data entry, quality control, exception file clearing and online order placement for releases and any needed county research.

ReleaseLINK is being offered to existing clients for no additional fee. New clients will also incorporate these new features as a standard value-added service for no additional cost beyond the standard lien release-processing fees.

Nationwide Title Clearing representative and Senior Vice President, Jeremy Pomerantz, had this to say about ReleaseLINK, "Nationwide Title Clearing has been working diligently for some time now to build several new web service features for our clients. ReleaseLINK is the first of many new web services to be released. Several other exciting new web services and features currently in development will be announced very soon. We are introducing ReleaseLINK during a time when the industry is in need of new ways to save money and improve business practices. We feel this new feature will be a welcome relief to our clients and the industry. We designed ReleaseLINK around a model to improve on our integrated client partnership approach and provide numerous cost saving opportunities for our clients."

ReleaseLINK enhances NTC's lien release processing and management service as well as TrackingLINK, NTC's pre-existing web service for reporting, loan lookup and document image repository. Clients simply access ReleaseLINK through the Secure Client Access portal on the Nationwide Title Clearing website. Once logged in clients have the option to place new orders to NTC, perform full Data Entry, Exception Clearing, Quality Control or administrative actions. There is no software to download or any complicated training procedures, because ReleaseLINK is a simple self-service web feature with content-sensitive help that requires no updates or downloads.

ReleaseLINK's Data Entry options include both complete full order entry and partial entry. ReleaseLINK is a user-friendly system for clients with built-in prompts to enter all the information necessary to prepare a release according to each unique county and state requirement. This advanced entry system was designed to remove the guesswork and difficulty from the process and includes online help content for every step of the way.

32



The ReleaseLINK Exception Queue feature allows clients to access loans that have been deemed an exception during the release process due to missing information required to prepare a recordable release or deemed an exception by the client. Clients now easily see all exceptions and the missing information fields are clearly visible. To resolve and clear the exceptions, clients simply enter in the information needed or request NTC to research and resolve the exception. Clients can more easily clear exceptions long before they go out of compliance. This is potentially the greatest area of cost savings and gained efficiencies for clients.

In today's industry many clients are utilizing off-shore/outsourcing arrangements for some or all of their data entry and research or they may simply already have paid subscriptions to research and retrieval sources and therefore keep that process in house. Through utilizing ReleaseLINK, clients can now fully leverage that internal cost savings by accessing a web tool to easily and quickly enter the information obtained from their own sources directly into the NTC system from anywhere in the world for immediate processing.

All of the ReleaseLINK features include extensive Quality Control options for clients to validate information entered by their employees in ReleaseLINK to ensure 100% accuracy and improve methods to track internal accountability before any orders are finalized on all aspects of the process.

As part of the Quality Control features of ReleaseLINK, clients also have the ability to assign varied rights to different users of the ReleaseLINK system at their own discretion. This is helpful so that access rights can be permitted for key managers to have the ability to manage all processes and perform Quality Control and restricted for employees or other outside service companies that only need limited access. This added feature provides very important information security and data integrity safeguards.

Nationwide Title Clearing's goal is to go beyond the service provider-client relationship and provide new innovative tools and excellent customer service to further the strategic partnerships with our clients for all services provided.

ABOUT NATIONWIDE TITLE CLEARING

Nationwide Title Clearing is the leading document and services provider for the residential mortgage industry's top lenders, servicers and investors. NTC specializes in processing lien releases, assignments, MERS services, final documents, document retrieval, title policy retrieval and replacement, foreclosure collateral management, capital markets/hedge fund bundled services, imaging and other custom business solutions.

Source Citation "Nationwide Title Clearing Unveils ReleaseLINK, Its Newest New Web Service Feature for Clients." Business Wire 24 Mar. 2009. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA196219067&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page Title: NTC's ExpressRetrieval.com Expands Title Access Author(s): Source: Mortgage Servicing News. 12.7 (Aug. 2008): p27. From General OneFile. Document Type: Brief article Full Text:

Palm Harbor, FL -- Nationwide Title Clearing has launched ExpressRetrieval.com, an online service that allows mortgage industry professionals to place orders for vital research and retrieval of recorded real estate documents nationwide.

The company said its online service is unique in that it gives users the ability to order hard to find documents for any recording jurisdiction, usually counties, nationwide, one at a time or in bulk.

Nationwide Title Clearing first released its Express Retrieval service in the spring of 2006. The company describes the new online site as "the next evolution of this service" and it is available to the public as well as to NTC clients. It covers all 3,500

33



property records jurisdictions nationwide. Users can order both certified and regular copies of documents, and there are no minimum volume requirements. The service is not limited to counties that offer clerk-certified public records online.

Jeremy Pomerantz, senior vice president for NTC, said ExpressRetrieval.com represents the company's continual effort to offer services that are relevant to the industry.

"We have developed this service for our clients and to open the door for new market segments that previously had no clear avenue to easily order documents. We welcome all mortgage industry professionals to use the site to help lower their internal costs and to be able to provide a better experience for their clients."

The search methods enabled by ExpressRetrieval.com include combinations of public and private subscription based database and image repository resources, the company said.

Those subscription-based servicers often make available electronically the records of counties that do not offer direct online access to property records. Through NTC, users can access those records without having their own subscription.

If the records are not available either online directly or through a subscription, NTC can access records through phone calls to the county and sending a person physically to the recording office if necessary.

ExpressRetrieval.com also offers the ability to track an order, view the history of all orders and access images of documents retrieved. NTC provides services such as the processing of document retrieval, title searches, lien releases, assignments, final documents, imaging and loan reviews to the mortgage servicing industry.

(c) 2008 Mortgage Servicing News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.mortgageservicingnews.com/ http://www.sourcemedia.com/

Source Citation "NTC's ExpressRetrieval.com Expands Title Access." Mortgage Servicing News Aug. 2008: 27. General OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.Document URLhttp://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA183863165&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


Top of page

34
