DALLAS, Nov. 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The biggest conference in mortgage banking is expanding. The Five Star Conference and Expo has added core curriculum and educational sessions to its 2013 agenda that are tailored to address the specific business opportunities and challenges of four previously untapped verticals of mortgage banking: appraisers and valuation providers, investors, property preservation contractors, and default title professionals.

Set for September 8-10, 2013, the 10th Annual Five Star Conference and Expo will be held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. The Five Star Conference draws thousands of REO and mortgage default servicing professionals annually, and according to the Five Star Institute, the event organizer, expansion into these four new verticals opens the conference to all of mortgage servicing.

"Our roots are on the default servicing side of the business, but the innovation and progress that drive the Five Star Conference translate across the full spectrum of the mortgage industry," said Mark Hulme, chairman of the Five Star Institute. "By providing a distinct Five Star experience for these additional industry sectors, our flagship event is now totally inclusive of every professional connected to mortgage servicing and the distressed real estate market. It's real estate meets housing finance in one well-defined package."

Five Star has created customized coursework for professionals working in each of the newly targeted sectors, supplemented with focused, business-building networking events; the Five Star Conference is perhaps best known for its networking opportunities, which are unrivaled in the industry.

True to form, new opportunities on the schedule next year will connect appraisers and valuation providers with companies that have assignments to fill; put investors in front of potential industry partners with the means to increase their ROI; increase regional contractors' exposure to national property preservation firms; and facilitate connections between default title professionals and those who can help streamline transaction management for more efficient closings.

The Five Star Institute is a publishing, communications, marketing, event planning, and feature film production company. Among its many publications are DS News, the only professional journal in the country dedicated solely to default servicing, and MReport, a B2B trade publication serving the broader mortgage field. The Institute's professional membership associations include the Five Star FORCE (Federation of REO Certified Experts), an elite network of agents and brokers specially trained to handle REO properties; the Legal League 100, a national consortium of law firms specializing in default and foreclosure matters; and the Five Star Default Title Coalition, the first industry group dedicated to default title and closing professionals. Additional information about the Five Star Institute and its many business-building opportunities can be found at www.TheFiveStar.com.