Issue link: http://dsnews.uberflip.com/i/749391
80 MARYLAND Aspen Grove Solutions and NAMFS Gain a New Partner Aspen Grove Solutions and the Na- tional Association of Mortgage Field Services (NAMFS) recently announced the addition of Quick Search to the industrywide background screening solution Aspen iRecord, according to a recent release from the companies. Quick Search is a family-owned background screening and drug testing provider in North America. ey have been in business for over 25 years, are a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screen- ers, and have delivered more than 5,000,000 background screening reports to thousands of clients. Quick Search is licensed and bonded through the Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau. e partnership between Aspen Grove Solutions, NAMFS, and Quick Search al- lows mortgage field service companies to use and re-use a single annual background check, eliminating the needless cost and wasted time of repeated background checks for multiple clients, while still meeting the highest consumer protec- tion standards. "Quick Search is excited about our new partnership with Aspen Grove Solutions and extending our Background Screening services to the mortgage field services marketplace" said John V. Page, VP of Sales for Quick Search. ere are in excess of 100,000 contractors in the United States who are under increased pressure due to mounting federal and state regulations, tightening profit margins, a shrink- ing roster of active contractors and renewed demand on services for default properties due to a revitalized real estate market. By eliminating the need for repeated background screenings, mortgage field service providers can save time and money while still meeting regulatory and safety requirements. "Aspen Grove Solutions is delighted to add Quick Search to our list of background check providers. is new partner will help provide even greater choice, flexibility, and efficiency to our Aspen iRecord customers, while helping them stay compliant with industry and client standards," said Ed Buckley, President of Aspen Grove Solutions. Maryland Appeals Case Upholds FDCPA A recent case ruled that law firms retained to pursue foreclosure against homeowners are "debt collectors" under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In the case Renee L. McCray v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the opin- ion from the court notes that for reasons not clear from the record McCray stopped making payments on her mortgage and subsequently went into default, and Wells Fargo retained the White Firm to pursue foreclosure. e White Firm then informed McCray that the firm had "been instructed to initiate foreclo- sure proceedings to foreclose on the mortgage on [her] property." After, several members of the White Firm were substituted as trustees on the deed of trust to facilitate foreclosure, and the Substi- tute Trustees filed an order to docket a foreclo- sure action in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, which McCray has resisted. McCray challenged the amount of her debt and the manner in which the defendants administered the loan. Particularly, she alleged that the defendants "continu[ed] to collect on an alleged debt without proper validation"; that the defendants did not respond to written requests for information and follow-up re- quests in a timely manner; that the defendants refused to provide her with all the information that she requested; that she was never given notice of the assignment of her deed of trust to Wells Fargo for purposes of servicing the loan; and that she never received notice of the alleged sale of the loan to Freddie Mac, all with the consequence that the defendants "at- tempted to collect an alleged debt under false, deceptive, and misleading means and stated an inaccurate character, amount and status of said debt." Wells Fargo and Freddie Mac filed a mo- tion to dismiss McCray's complaint and the White Firm and the Substitute Trustees filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. e district court granted the motions to dismiss McCray's FDCPA and TILA claims and, with respect to her RESPA claim, granted summary judgment. e district court concluded that Mc- Cray had failed to allege sufficiently that they were "debt collectors" under the FDCPA. In dismissing McCray's FDCPA claim against Wells Fargo and Freddie Mac, the district court concluded that those defendants were not subject to liability under the FDCPA be- cause they were "creditors, not debt collectors." is decision was overturned in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, though, with the conclusion that McCray adequately al- leged that the White Firm and the Substitute Trustees were "debt collectors," as that term is used in the FDCPA. Accordingly, the court reversed the order of dismissal of her FDCPA claims against them and remand for further proceedings, without suggesting whether or not those defendants violated the FDCPA. Court decisions like this particular case do not eliminate the original foreclosure proceeds, though, but instead just delay the inevitability of the foreclosure unless the borrower becomes current in their delinquent payments. Connecticut Planet Realty, LLC Sales@CTREOTEAM.com 203-982-4985 cell www.CTREOTEAM.com Security • Preservation • Disposition Steve Rivkin New Jersey Lisa G Lopez Broker of Record Home Alliance Realty 142 E. Bay Ave Manahawkin, NJ 08050 609-978-9009 (o) 609-384-5109 (c) lglopez@verizon.net www.HomeAllianceRealty.com www.LisaLopezProperties.com New York Todd Yovino Broker/Owner Island Advantage Realty, LLC Metropolitan New York and Long Island's Default Specialist for Over 27 Years Todd@iarny.com | 631-820-3400 www.islandadvantage.com