Mortgage Servicing Loss Mitigation Conference 2010

August 26th, 2010

The 2nd annual Best Practices in Loss Mitigation Conference was held on July 21-22,2010 in Dallas, Texas.

Mortgage Servicing News
2nd Annual Best Practices in Loss Mitigation Conference
Dallas, Texas
July 21-22, 2010

 Conference at-a-Glance

Mortgage Servicing News, providers of one of the nation’s leading media platforms, welcomed over 200 guests from various sectors of the industry to its Second Annual Loss Mitigation Conference last month in Dallas, Texas.  The Conference was coordinated under the primary objective of providing “support and space for meaningful participation to enable a broad spectrum of viewpoints and constructive dialogue.” Recognizing that ongoing discussions and full collaboration are critical to the development of formidable results to pressing issues within today's climate, Safeguard Properties was pleased to be both a sponsor of, and speaker at, this year’s event.    

The list of invited speakers presented an impressive catalog of the mortgage servicing industry’s leaders within the arenas of loan servicing, loss mitigation, litigation, technological platform development, valuations, asset management and recovery, and property preservation, including the insight and expertise from Safeguard’s Founder and Chairman, Robert Klein.   

The solid, two-day agenda offered attendees the much needed reviews and discussions centered on pertinent and timely issues in the face of the nation’s financial crisis that directly impact day-to-day operations and will influence future business decisions.  The overall tone of the Conference was clearly one of problem solving.  The messages tracing the origins and identifying the devastating effects of the problems created by foreclosures have been delivered and acknowledged over the course of the past two years.  Keeping in line with the industry’s proactive nature and desire to move forward through the application of new models for resolution, Conference sessions focused on the streamlining of shorts sales, forecasting upcoming conditions and activities based on current trends, creating solutions for emerging schemes, and innovative approaches for mitigating losses within growing portfolios.  Robert Klein was invited to contribute his street-level perspectives and findings as a panelist at the Mitigating REO Losses session; a summary of this discussion follows.   

Thursday’s sessions opened with a Keynote Address by Saxon’s CEO Tony Meola.  Of the critical topics that Mr. Meola presented, the multiple dimensions of reputational risk were of particularly familiarity to Robert.   The overwhelming power of the media has created a landscape of misunderstanding that has ultimately hurt the consumer and caused great damage to the industry.  The enactment of legislation aimed to keep borrowers in their homes has increased foreclosure timelines.  In addition, only 53% of troubled borrowers reach out to their servicer for assistance.  To face these challenges and reverse such perceptions of the industry, Robert has been directly involved with community outreach, creating collaborative relationships with municipal officials, implementing the use of door hangers, and working closely with non-profit organizations and governmental agencies to assist with the facilitation of foreclosure prevention programs.    

Mitigating REO Losses Session Summary
Thursday, July 22nd  

Moderator
Jay Loeb, NCCI

 Panelists

Robert Klein, Safeguard Properties
Alan Paylor, REO Leasing Solutions
Mike Wileman, ORION Financial Group   

Robert Klein, Founder and Chairman of Safeguard Properties, cited that roughly 20% of properties are identified as vacant during the foreclosure process, a time prior to the asset becoming REO.  Robert clearly explained pre-acquisition rights, indicating that the servicer has the full legal authority and right to protect its collateral interest through various preservation measures.  Services conducted during this stage typically include the securing the property, the abatement of immediate health hazards, cutting of lawns, and management of vegetation/overgrowth, all of which are in place to ensure that the property complies with community standards, is free of code violations, and that damages are detected and addressed.   

Alan Paylor added to the session’s agenda by reviewing the model of renting properties as a cash-flow generator and a tool to minimize losses within a distressed housing market.  Proper management of the property is critical to avoiding problematic impacts.      

Mike Wileman agreed that preserving a property minimizes losses incurred by the servicer during REO.  Dwindling conditions, due to insufficient maintenance or improper securing, lowers market values and can require significant investments for repairs.  Discussion during this Session focused on the principal that losses can be significantly minimized through the execution of the industry’s adopted best practices, during both pre and post sale.

 About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with approximately 800 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.