Safeguard Properties hosted its Fifth Annual Vendor Conference in Cleveland, Ohio August 24-26. This conference brought together over 650 contractors and inspectors from all across the country as well as executives from a number of loan servicers, Fannie Mae (FNMA), the Veterans Administration (VA) and a number of our clients. The three-day conference highlighted the state of the industry, and focused on best practices in maintaining and preserving our clients’ properties and the nation’s housing stock.

Safeguard Properties hosts fifth annual Vendor Conference

The conference convened with a breakfast key note address presented by Robert Caire, FNMA Vice President. In his address, Mr. Caire touched upon the growing housing crisis and how it is impacting the industry and FNMA. Mr. Caire stressed the need for the contractors and inspectors who are in the field to complete their work orders as timely and accurately as possible, so that vacant properties do not fall into disrepair. He stressed the importance of ensuring that the lines of communication are open with all relevant parties and that we all work in partnership to ensure the quality and timeliness of our efforts. Specifically, he noted how important it is that contractors, inspectors, servicers, investors, and listing agents work together to ensure the marketability of properties in the currently oversaturated housing market.

Cuyahoga County, Ohio Treasurer James Rokakis provided the opening remarks welcoming the attendees to Cleveland. Averaging about 1,000 new foreclosure cases every month, Cuyahoga County has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. To tackle the root causes of the foreclosure epidemic, Treasurer Rokakis led the effort to create the county’s first Foreclosure Prevention Program. The Foreclosure Prevention Program confronts the real issues that cause foreclosure through a comprehensive approach -- leveraging educational programs and individualized borrower counseling to achieve its goals. Mr. Rokakis also reported some initial successes to the program; so far, over 4,000 people have called the hotline and more than 600 homes have been saved. Mr. Rokakis also provided thanks to Safeguard Properties, and CEO Robert Klein, for the generous donation to the program (County Recognizes Safeguard Properties for Helping to Combat Foreclosures)

The conference sessions opened with a welcome from Safeguard CEO Robert Klein. The conference theme, "Navigating the Crisis," represented the realization that our industry as a whole and the housing sector in particular are facing a new realty with which our industry has never dealt, and the need to face the challenging times with new ideas to safeguard our clients’ interests. Mr. Klein also commended our contractors for their diligence and perseverance in completing their assigned work orders comprehensively and timely.

Safeguard Vendor Conference 2008 - Day One REO

(Day One PowerPoint Presentation)

The conference opened with a humorous parody of Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s 1973 hit "Takin’ Care of Business," which used industry-specific terminology and scenarios to highlight many of the contractors’ daily challenges. Click the link below to listen to the song and watch the video.

Day One of the conference focused on issues surrounding Real Estate Owned (REO) properties. Moderated by Mr. Klein, key topics included the lifecycle of an REO loan, communication, curb appeal, and the implementation of Safeguard's new Good Neighbor program, whereby contractors are encouraged to reach out to neighbors and enlist their assistance in watching over the vacant properties and contacting Safeguard when problems arise. Particular attention was paid to communicating with code enforcement officials and to the recent proliferation and enforcement of vacant property ordinances across the country. Throughout the REO sessions, a number of common themes were continually reinforced. These included:

• The importance of completing all work timely and accurately
• The critical nature of ensuring the lines of communication remain open between the contractor in the field and the real estate agents who are assigned by the servicers to sell the properties
• The need to examine possible improvements to curb appeal and marketability enhancement, to improve the REO properties’ ability to compete with non-REO properties on the market

A number of loan servicing executives reinforced key issues that affect their offices directly, including the need for more vigilance in the field and more communication with their agents. Additional topics included Hazard Claims and Repairs work, communicating with local code enforcement officials, the importance of reporting code compliance issues, and the importance of the contractors and inspectors being familiar with the local city ordinances and guidelines.

Toward the end of the day, the discussion turned to the internal steps that Safeguard is taking to ensure high levels of quality. The Vendor Management team is dedicated to providing training to new vendors, as well as ensuring ongoing quality in the field. Safeguard has been adding Field Quality Control Representatives throughout the country, in an effort to create a stronger network of contractor support in the most populated areas of the country. These representatives conduct on-site training with contractors, as well as inspect properties in their areas and report back to Safeguard’s home office with their findings. These representatives are instrumental in Safeguard’s quest to continually improve the quality and response time of our vendors in the field. The contractors and inspectors enjoyed a rare opportunity to speak directly with the clients and hear firsthand how delays impact the overall process.

Safeguard Vendor Conference 2008 - Day Two Pre-Sale and FHA

(Day Two PowerPoint Presentation)

Day Two of the conference focused primarily on pre-sale issues, as well as post-sale FHA topics. Again moderated by Mr. Klein, a number of important issues were covered, including:

• Verifying occupancy status
• Pre-sale preservation requirements
• Proper bidding procedures
• Properly reporting damages
• Overview of the structures of HUD, the VA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
• Conveyance issues

As in the REO sessions, the contractors and inspectors enjoyed an invaluable opportunity to interact with the clients directly, and to hear firsthand how specific issues in the field impact the entire process. Members of the panel included a HUD M&M representative, representatives from the VA, Fannie Mae, as well as a number of individual servicers. Emphasis was placed on the servicers' ultimate goal of conveying the properties as quickly as possible. This requires that a number of components be managed and executed correctly and in unison to avoid delays and missed conveyances. Everything from properly identifying the occupancy status to verifying that the property is in convey condition is critical to the overall timeframes and standards to which the servicers are held. A great deal of emphasis was placed on the bidding process, as vendors asked for clarification on the types of bids that the clients do and do not want to see.

A number of topics were discussed in both sessions as they impacted both REO and pre-sale efforts. These included:

• Issues relating to high risk properties
• Policies and procedures surrounding pool securing and maintenance
• Hazard Claims policies, processes, and procedures
• Grass cuts and winterizations
• Photo documentation
• Internal quality control measures that Safeguard has implemented to improve our services

Safeguard announced the impending rollout of our new Vendor Web. The site is currently in beta production with approximately 50 contractors, and Safeguard anticipates that all contractors will be trained and migrated to the new system by November 2008. Initial feedback by those beta contractors has been extremely positive and the new Vendor Web is expected to provide a more user friendly, quality enhanced application for receiving and updating orders.

Safeguard also discussed its new media procedures, which were developed to assist contractors who are suddenly facing media inquiries while they are completing work in the field.

The conference was a huge success, and Mr. Klein repeatedly commented on the excellent work that our contractors and inspectors are doing each and every day. Though we are constantly looking for new and more efficient procedures to improve the process, Safeguard truly believes that we have the strongest contractor network in the industry, and we appreciate the excellent turnout for this conference. The clients and servicers who were present echoed Klein's sentiments that we are doing great work in the field, and that they look forward to further improvement.

Click here to view compliments regarding the conference from some of the attendees.