• Provide long-term solutions for borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgage loans (ARMs). Mortgage companies should consider converting adjustable-rate loans into fixed-rate products. 
• Engage homeowners before sending a case to collections by reviewing each case in a non-confrontational setting and exploring solutions. 
• Create an in-house resolution committee to address borrower complaints received by the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and report promptly to the OAG on the status of those complaints.
• Improve communication with borrowers including contacting borrowers well before ARMs reset to higher interest rates so that fixed-rate options can be explored.
• Waive applicable penalties and fees associated with loans at risk of foreclosure while the companies work with troubled borrowers to preserve their loans.

Attorney General Abbott also requested that participants follow up with the OAG within 30 days on their implementation of these five measures. Specifically, he wants to know the percentage of ARMs that were converted to fixed-rate loans and the number of service fees that were waived.

To view the Attorney General's Press Release in its entirety, please click here.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, OH  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 over 425 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.