Florida is now the second state in which Data Trace has complete title plant database coverage. Data Trace announced in March that it had finalized its title plant expansion into every county in California. Florida is a strategic market for Data Trace and, according to a study posted on Realtor.com, Florida was home to five of the 20 most active U.S. real estate markets in the month of February 2012. Settlement services companies rely on timely and accurate information from Data Trace’s title plant databases to assist in conducting real estate transactions, such as housing sales and refinances.

“We entered Florida more than 30 years ago with our first title plant in Hillsborough County,” said Robert Karraa, president of Data Trace. “We have always had a strong commitment to the Florida market and are proud to have achieved this important milestone in our geographic expansion plan.”

About Data Trace
Data Trace Information Services LLC provides technology that enables settlement services companies to connect to regional title databases and access them using a standardized interface. The Data Trace system is the largest and most advanced of its kind and delivers title history information, property tax assessment and payment data, document images and property profiles in major metropolitan areas across the United States. With its significant geographical coverage, Data Trace’s title plant and tax database of nearly 1 billion records is the broadest and most comprehensive title information system available and is used by the largest national title insurance underwriters in the U.S. For additional information, visit Data Trace’s website at www.eDataTrace.com.

Media Contact:
Amanda Price
Vice President Marketing and Product Management
Data Trace Information Services LLC
(714) 250-6599

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In addition to providing property information indexed by a property owner’s name, Data Trace specializes in title plant data indexed geographically by parcel number. This geographic index reduces search time, especially in densely populated counties where there is a higher likelihood of property owners having identical or similar names.

“Over the years, we’ve proven ourselves as a leading data provider in the settlement services industry,” said Robert Karraa, president of Data Trace. “Through our continued geographic expansion, we are the first to offer our customers data covering the entire state of California, and do so through a single platform.”

About Data Trace

Data Trace Information Services LLC provides technology that enables settlement services companies to connect to regional title databases and access them using a standardized interface. The Data Trace system is the largest and most advanced of its kind and delivers title history information, property tax assessment and payment data, document images and property profiles in major metropolitan areas across the United States. With its significant geographical coverage, Data Trace’s title plant and tax database of nearly 1 billion records is the broadest and most comprehensive title information system available and is used by the largest national title insurance underwriters in the U.S. For additional information, visit Data Trace’s website at www.eDataTrace.com.

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Media Contact:
Amanda Price
Vice President Marketing and Product Management
Data Trace Information Services LLC
(714) 250-6599

SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 13, 2011 – Data Trace Information Services LLC, the nation’s largest provider of data services to the settlement services industry, announced today that it has reached an agreement with the County of Riverside, Calif., to initiate a recording notification service as  part of a county-wide real estate fraud detection program.  The program is part of an effort to prevent property from being sold or refinanced fraudulently without an owner’s knowledge.

Through the program, homeowners are automatically issued a courtesy notice by the Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder’s office after a deed or similar instrument affecting property ownership is recorded. Property owners are also provided with instructions on how to notify the Riverside County District Attorney real estate fraud unit if fraud is suspected.

California state law currently requires that an original document be mailed to the address on the document after it is recorded.  However, the property owner’s address is not always listed as the mailing address. The new notice will be mailed to property owners regardless of the address on the document. By leveraging its geographically indexed title plants, Data Trace is able to provide the appropriate data to quickly notify rightful homeowners that a transaction has occurred involving their property.

“As a curator of property data, partnering with government agencies in the fight against fraudulent real estate transactions is a natural fit,” commented Robert Karraa, president of Data Trace.  “Our service allows a county clerk-recorder’s office to alert property owners of significant and potentially unknown transactions attached to their real estate.”

While these courtesy notices do not directly prevent real estate fraud, they are designed to empower individual homeowners to initiate an immediate investigation.  In the fiscal year of 2010, financial institutions filed over 70,000 Suspicious Activity Reports relating to mortgage fraud, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the 2010 Mortgage Fraud Report Year in Review.  The new notices can help homeowners detect fraudulent activity so that they can notify law enforcement agencies and financial institutions quickly, allowing those organizations to investigate the situations in a timely manner.

About Data Trace

Data Trace Information Services LLC provides technology that enables settlement services companies to connect to regional title databases and access them using a standardized interface. The Data Trace system is the largest and most advanced of its kind and delivers title history information, property tax assessment and payment data, document images and property profiles in major metropolitan areas across the United States. With its significant geographical coverage, Data Trace’s title plant and tax database of nearly 1 billion records is the broadest and most comprehensive title information system available and is used by the largest national title insurance underwriters in the U.S. For additional information, visit Data Trace’s website at www.eDataTrace.com.

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Media Contact:
Amanda Price
Vice President Marketing and Product Management
Data Trace Information Services LLC
(714) 250-6599

Real Estate Title Fraud – use of stolen identify or forged documents to transfer the property owner’s title to the perpetrator who then secures a mortgage on the property and leaves the true owner with the bill

Mortgage Fraud – taking advantage of mortgage financing under false pretenses including falsified information or deposits, identity theft, misrepresentation, or inflating the purchase price

The past turmoil in the economy has created a demand for fraud prevention departments in the title and settlement services industries.  Data Trace® is responding to that demand by providing customized fraud prevention solutions in the areas of real estate title fraud and mortgage frauds.

Because of our growing number of geographically-indexed title plants throughout the United States, Data Trace is able to track property rights based upon the actual piece of real property rather than by a past owner’s name.  This gives a complete chain of title on a specific property, a key component for fraud investigation and prevention.  Data Trace provides its clients in the title and settlement services industries with complete data solutions to verify property ownership.  Be on the lookout for anti-fraud products and services available through Data Trace.

SANTA ANA, Calif., Aug. 9, 2011 – Data Trace Information Services LLC, the nation’s largest provider of data services to the settlement services industry, announced today the addition of property data from 18 counties to its inventory of online title plants available through the new Nazca^® eVTP^™ platform.

Integrated with Data Trace in June 2011, NazcaeVTP.com is an enhanced platform that allows for searches of property data and title records based on the names of grantors and grantees involved in real estate transactions.  The additional plant data includes property information from counties in California, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.  The latest geographic expansion increases the total number of title plants owned by Data Trace to 342.  The Nazca eVTP platform now offers access to property information and tax data in more than 92 counties in the United States.

“Data Trace leverages its position as a leading title technology company to offer access to a continually growing geographic range of data in our title plants,” commented Robert Karraa, president of Data Trace.  “The strength of our property information is evident in both the geographic breadth and historic depth of our title plant databases.”

About Data Trace
Data Trace Information Services LLC provides technology that enables settlement services companies to connect to regional title databases and access them using a standardized interface. The Data Trace system is the largest and most advanced of its kind and delivers title history information, property tax assessment and payment data, document images and property profiles in major metropolitan areas across the United States. With coverage in 23 states, Data Trace’s title plant and tax database of nearly 1 billion records is the broadest and most comprehensive title information system available and is used by the largest national title insurance underwriters in the U.S. For additional information, visit Data Trace’s website at www.eDataTrace.com.

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Media Contact:
Amanda Price
Vice President Marketing and Product Management
Data Trace Information Services LLC
(714) 250-6599

What goes into bringing these products to life?  It is more than a development process; it is a management process throughout the lifespan of the product which continuously evolves to anticipate and meet its market’s demand.   Aside from time and financial resources, three elements are critical to successful product management: collaboration, communication, and customer feedback.

Collaboration
Gone are the days of individuals taking sole credit for their inventions, as we enter a world in which teamwork is a critical element in customizing and perfecting products for the masses.  Every person should bring a unique skill set into a project development group.  When several perspectives and minds meet, the result can be a highly advanced product with many features.  However, successful collaboration cannot exist without effective communication.

Communication
As product development and management teams need to discuss obvious specifications and technical jargon, they must also be open to receiving input and direction from outside entities which drive the direction of their product.  Team members must be open-minded to changing conditions which are communicated through the economic climate, technological advances and customer feedback.

Customer Feedback
Great product ideas are born out of conversations with their end users, but great products are born from continuously seeking feedback from them.  Feedback from customers who test and experience products on a routine basis is a crucial part of the collaboration element.

Successful consumer facing products cannot be created in a vacuum, especially in dynamic industries.   At Data Trace®, we implement this three-pronged cycle of collaboration, communication, and customer feedback into our suite of products.  As a result, we experience high levels of customer loyalty and satisfaction by continuously evolving our products.

For example, our Title IQ workflow tool provides the title services industry with customized levels of service to meet fluctuating demands for automated title reports and commitments.  For larger operations, our Data Trace Gateway offers data delivery and retrieval using XML technology, allowing clients to utilize their own production systems.  Our newest introduction to the title and settlement services market is Nazca® eVTP™, a user-friendly online portal for quickly accessing data from thin title plants in less populous counties.  At Data Trace, we take great pride in our ability to communicate and adapt to internal and external demands throughout the development, integration, and management of our products.

SANTA ANA, Calif., July 19, 2011 – Data Trace Information Services LLC, the nation’s largest provider of data services to the settlement services industry, announced today its addition of geographically indexed title plant databases representing 17 counties.  The additional counties are located in Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin.  These additions bring Data Trace’s current collection to 342 plants throughout the nation.

Data Trace^® gives real estate settlement services companies the ability to easily search for property and title-related information.  The company continues to expand its high-quality data offerings by integrating geographically indexed title plants in the most populous counties to its database. Unlike traditional title plants in which properties are indexed only by owners’ names, Data Trace’s geographically indexed title plants post transactional data by parcel, eliminating the time-consuming searches of common names in densely populated counties.  In addition to receiving valuable data associated with the chain of title on each property, users can also request supporting recorded documentation such as grant deeds, quitclaim deeds and trust deeds from Data Trace online.

“Our ability to offer services throughout the country continues to increase,” said Robert Karraa, president of Data Trace. “The rollout of title plants in these counties serves as further proof of our commitment to methodical geographic expansion.”

About Data Trace

Data Trace Information Services LLC provides technology that enables settlement services companies to connect to regional title databases and access them using a standardized interface. The Data Trace system is the largest and most advanced of its kind and delivers title history information, property tax assessment and payment data, document images and property profiles in major metropolitan areas across the United States. With its significant geographical coverage, Data Trace’s title plant and tax database of nearly 1 billion records is the broadest and most comprehensive title information system available and is used by the largest national title insurance underwriters in the U.S. For additional information, visit Data Trace’s website at www.eDataTrace.com.

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Media Contact:
Amanda Price
Vice President Marketing and Product Management
Data Trace Information Services LLC
(714) 250-6599

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Here are a few basic principles of customer service that hold true in any industry, and every once in a while, we need to revisit them in order to maintain the quality of our business.

1. Put your clients’ needs first. A selfless business is a lucrative business.  Take the time to understand your customers’ needs and wants.  Sometimes, this takes more time than we anticipate, but the rewards of appreciation and a well-run operation are sure to follow.
2. Invest in your clients and they will invest in you. Of course you need to be smart about your investments, but if you are able to allocate resources that can help another to succeed, you will reap the benefits down the road.
3. Invest in your service providers. If you can’t find the resources to do something right, when will you find the resources to do it over?  Your business may require outside providers to furnish information, products, or services which help your operations run smoothly.

Returns on client investments can come in the form of income, profit sharing, referrals, or goodwill.  All of these benefits contribute toward our bottom line, the reason we are in business.  It is important to remember that relationships are not merely a perk of good business; they are a necessity.

At Data Trace®, great relationships with our clients are instrumental to developing solutions that advance both our capabilities and those of our clients.  We have recently introduced a Customized Data Services department, where our goal is to tailor these solutions to the needs of our clients and expand their business operations.  When we are able to help our clients achieve high customer satisfaction ratings by providing high quality, customizable data, we all win!

SANTA ANA, Calif., June 14, 2011 – Data Trace Information Services LLC, the nation’s largest provider of data services to the settlement services industry, announced today the integration of Nazca Solutions’ eVTP platform into its suite of products.

Available on the Web, NazcaeVTP.com is an enhanced platform that allows for virtual searches of property data and title records in more than 72 counties. This addition increases Data Trace’s geographic coverage to more than 320 counties.

Nazca Solutions LLC, a property data technology company, was founded in 2003 and is known for the development of an innovative platform that connects real estate professionals with a variety of databases needed for property and title research. In 2010, Data Trace acquired Nazca Solutions and combined Data Trace’s existing title plant databases with Nazca Solutions’ technology to offer automated property searches through NazcaeVTP.com.

“At Data Trace, we are always looking for ways to build upon our core competencies,” stated Robert Karraa, president of Data Trace LLC. “As a leading provider of property data solutions, we have the ability to offer innovative search platforms such as Nazca eVTP to optimize the workflow of our valued clients.”

About Data Trace
Data Trace Information Services LLC provides technology that enables settlement service companies to connect to regional title databases and access them using a standardized interface. The Data Trace system is the largest and most advanced of its kind and delivers title history information, property tax assessment and payment data, document images and property profiles in major metropolitan areas across the United States. With coverage in 23 states, Data Trace’s title plant and tax database of nearly 1 billion records is the broadest and most comprehensive title information system available and is used by the largest national title insurance underwriters in the U.S. For additional information, visit Data Trace’s website at www.eDataTrace.com.

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Media Contact:
Amanda Price
Vice President Marketing and Product Management
Data Trace Information Services LLC
(714) 250-6599

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We have gone to great lengths to ensure that the look and feel of the title and tax searching platform is exactly the same as our existing client products in order to facilitate a seamless customer migration. Over the next year, we are releasing many new and innovative title information products on this platform, as well as working with our customers to define the next generation of title search products.

Behind the Scenes – Legacy Modernization

For an IT department to truly be successful, it must not only adapt and keep up-to-date but be the leader of all the technological advances in the industry. In order to quickly adapt business processes, it is essential to provide a separation between the interface and process definition and the supporting application. Maintaining the existing Legacy Data Trace Title Plant system is costly; new features and functionality are very challenging and time consuming to implement; and access to Legacy programmers is increasingly limited.

In an effort to provide our clients with the most modern platform, we are replacing our Legacy environment with a state-of-the-art distributed Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) environment. This new environment will allow us to bring new products and services to market faster while reducing IT complexity and costs of maintenance.

Data Trace has created a standardized, highly available data load and update environment using Informatica Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) technology. This environment replaces our Legacy environment.

Our advanced, streamlined environment includes a new multi-dimensional, homogeneous SQL database that completely maintains the relationship between land, people, and documents providing increased database performance and cross-reference functionality. The new SOA environment will modularize resources creating loosely coupled business processes (services) that integrate across business systems and maximize business agility.

What do these changes mean to the end user?

Title searches will be performed much faster; tax to title cross reference will be greatly improved allowing access to the geographic plant using APN or address; new services will be implemented to aid the user to reduce claims and fraud; and, most importantly we will be able to bring new plants and solutions to market much faster than before.

Our project is well under way and we look forward to completing it in 2012. Look for updates and exciting and unique new products and services as we move to this state-of-the-art technical environment.

- Mark Werner, Vice President Division Information Officer, Data Trace