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The Delinquent Interview - Has it been forgotten? A Reminder of why it should
be the first response to an unreachable borrower |
8-28-06 |
We received a note from a National field service firm that specializes in
delinquent interviews:
We have been
handling foreclosure inspection's & insurance loss report's for several year's
for a lender in New Jersey. I received a random call from a supervisor in
their collection department last week regarding a delinquent borrower they had
not been able to reach. They were preparing to send the loan to foreclosure,
but someone told him that we might be able to help. I sent a request to my
inspector in that area to try to make contact, quickly, and ask the borrower,
politely, to contact the bank.
The lender advised me today that the borrower had not only called them, but,
came in and paid the full arrears'. We will now be receiving work from their
collection department as well! This is not a "big" bank, we won't get many
case's, but, I just wanted to remind all, that good field work is still "
worth it's weight in gold" to smart lender's.
Why do the "big" banks not want this type of service? And why have other
national firms stopped offering it?
Will SIRs publish this to help remind all lenders they can avoid having to
foreclose!
Sure we will publish! Field service representatives nationwide complete
delinquent interview requests frequently for credit cards, unsecure loans and
automobiles! For some reason the mortgage loan collection departments have
forgotten this aspect of field servicing and very rarely make these requests
anymore. Most mortgage inspections these days are "drive-by" inspections to
check occupancy. Lenders could save thousands of dollars in foreclosure costs by
reinstating the delinquent interview requests!
Mortgage Lender Collection Departments - Visit our Member
directory to find either SIRs Members or SIRs National Affiliates who can
assist you with scheduling delinquent interviews before you need to turn the
accounts to foreclosure!
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Convention 2006 If you did not attend You Missed It! |
8-5-06 |
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SIRs has been receiving a slew of e-mail and even a phone call or two.
Both attendees and speakers wanting to thank SIRs for the most informative
and best convention they have ever been to! It is plain to see, if you did
not attend - you missed it. We're not saying SIRs will not have a similarly
informative conventions in the future - but this was just jammed packed and
it was so beneficial to your business!
Our first speaker was Michael Buzulencia, Attorney at Law. Michael spoke at Friday night's dinner
reception. Michael is a Bankruptcy Trustee and provided contact information
on soliciting other Trustees to assist with their duties of assessing and
verifying assets of those who file bankruptcy.
Saturday's first speaker was Bob
Contois from HUD Philadelphia HOC. Presented on the current flow of HUD homes from foreclosure to
inventory and provided printed material which allows all to hope new and
improved HUD P&P guides sometime in the near future.
FEMA speaker Gene Romano was in Ohio handling the recent
Ohio floods in Lucas, Cuyahoga, Stark and several other counties, including
the flooding in Lake County. Gene provided a quick overview of
FEMA and provided a hand-out of how to market to FEMA.
Vicki Boser of Insurance-Tek reviewed the difference between a "Claims-Made" and a "Per Occurrence"
insurance policy, pointing out the benefits and set backs of each. Vicki's presentation regarded knowing
the difference between the two and pricing differences of each policy.
Insurance-Tek offers E&O to various approved organizations. SIRs is the
only Field Service Organization approved for Insurance-Tek's policy.
Randy Fearer's, focus was how to
calculate profitability. Overviews of the hidden costs of being a business owner.
What it
really costs to operate your vehicle. Randy provided attendees with a
hypothetical profitability analysis spreadsheet to assist in their own
company's calculations.
Guest Speaker Sherri Taylor of USIS provided
information regarding their services and a brochure
regarding the company. USIS offers a variety of background investigation
services nationwide. You can visit USIS website at
www.usis.com
Michael Davis of Savid Technologies, Inc presented on Identity Theft and
Fraud and what you can do about it. From spy ware to phishing, dummy ATM's
and websites, knowing your way around protection is vital these days.
East Point Systems, Inc. presented on their new dot net
system. The new system functions through a hub which connects all
contractors on the system with each other, allows transfer of requests and
results from field to provider, and has a Windows based platform for ease of
use.
Our Panel of Experts was comprised of Randy Fearer, Chuck Smith, Vicki
Boser, Sherri Taylor, Bob Contois, and Michael Davis. Panel participants
fended open questions from the attendees which ranged every where from
whether HUD M&M's approved of mileage surcharges on bids to what is the
point of a background investigation and how can that affect the cost of your
insurance premiums. Our thanks to our many
sponsors for this year's convention and
congratulations to Bob Benderman who won the grand-price of a brand new Dell
Inspiron Laptop computer. SIRs Members can
click here to access copies of speaker
handouts and detail regarding each presentation.
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Central and Southern NH is experiencing an unprecedented Flood. |
5-25-06 |
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Since all our villages, towns and cities are
located adjacent to a river and its tributaries we have flooding which has
washed out over 400 roads, some breached completely by 30 to 40 feet wide or
entire sections along the sides just washed away.
The Governor has declared a state of emergency
and has asked the population to stay home and not drive on the roads. Rain is
still falling today and more is expected next week. So far, we have had 5 to 11
inches of rain in the past two days!
The rain is expected to stop this afternoon,
but the road damage and water coming down from the White Mountains to the north
will keep traffic in difficulties.
For current information you can refer to
WMUR.com, NH state TV station. Take a look at their slide show of the flooding
to see the damage.
http://www.wmur.com/index.html
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Bedford Ohio - Police inspecting vacant foreclosures Weekly! |
5-25-06 |
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It has come to our attention that Bedford Ohio is scrutinizing vacant foreclosed
homes on a weekly basis. The Bedford Police Department confirms officers are
completing walk-around inspections on a weekly basis. Properties found unsecure,
overgrown lawns, exterior debris, and/or in unsafe conditions are reported to
the Bedford Building Department. The building department is then having a
building inspector verify the information. If the property is found to be
unsafe, unsecure or a nuisance, the property is issued a citation warning. The
warning is sent to the lender and/or last known address of the homeowner. If the
situation is not corrected within the specified days, the city is taking it upon
themselves to have a contractor remedy and a lien placed on the property.
Bedford Ohio zip code is 44146. Lenders having foreclosures in this zip code
should attend to properties regularly to avoid city intervention. |
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SIRs - Forging the future of the industry with Criminal Background Checks and
Certification Requirements of Members |
4-26-06 |
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The voting members of
SIRs approved changes to membership requirements to include the requirement that
all members be pre-screened with a Criminal Background Check and have no felony
arrests / convictions to become and remain a SIRs member. Additionally, those
offering property preservation services will be required to become Certified by
means of the SIRs Property Preservation Exam prior to applying for membership.
In recent years, the
field service industry has experienced an influx of a great many field
providers. There are numerous seeking their self-employment for various reasons
including but not limited to: the changing economic climate, a desire to cash in
on the rising foreclosure rates, and/or the inability to become otherwise employed
due to their drug addictions and/or felony criminal backgrounds. As end-clients
find additional needs for contracted field services, risk exposure has become
apparent. The criminal background clearance has been gradually entering the
industry as lenders and insurers become more selective in choosing providers
from the ever growing list.
SIRs has chosen to
implement the pre-screening of members to provide a readily available source of inspectors
and property preservationists of proven good character.
Beginning with 2007 all SIRs will be already proven as having a clear criminal
background. With a SIRs Member, clients will know the contractor hired to knock on a
primary clients door, is of good character.
Since inception, SIRs
had a goal of eventually requiring members to be proven capable through
certification programs. As with inspectors, the list of available preservation
contractors has been steadily growing. Three years ago, SIRs announced the
Property Preservation Exam as available to the entire industry at a cost of only
$40. To date, approximately 15 preservation contractors have taken and passed
the exam to become Certified. During the same time period, an appalling number
of properties have suffered damages resulting in part by preservation
contractors being hired that simply do not know how to provide the services they
offer. Lenders, insurance companies, and servicers have voiced their displeasure
by various means such as: quizzes being implemented to test basic concepts,
fines being imposed, and increased insurance claims.
SIRs is pleased the
members have chosen to implement the highest standards in the industry for their organization.
During the remainder of 2006, current members will be complying with their new
requirements. All new applicants, beginning with October 2006, must comply with
both property preservation certification and criminal background checks.
Beginning January 2007 all SIRs members will be required to be felony free and, if
offering property preservation, Certified.
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East Point Systems Field Comm User's Conference |
3-9-06 |
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East Point Systems
is having their annual Field Comm User Conference April 22 & 23 in Vernon
Connecticut. Attendance is open to all Field Comm users as well as those wishing
to learn about Field Comm software and how it can grow your business. This
year's conference is limited to 250 attendees and is already running out of
space so reservations should be placed as quickly as possible to guarantee your
attendance. Click here to download
registration.
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Two New Errors and Omissions Policies Available Provide Industry with Real
Choices! |
3-1-2006 |
As you know, SIRs has been diligently seeking out new choices for Mortgage Field
Service businesses when it comes to Errors and Omissions insurance.
Today, SIRs is happy to provide information about not one more choice but
two!!
On February 28, 2006, Chuck Smith and Mimi Norris had a several hour meeting
with Darren Faye, Certified Insurance Councilor, of Leonard Insurance Services
in Canton, Ohio. Darren can offer not only Errors and Omissions insurance but
any type of personal or business insurance including GL, health,
auto, tools, etc. With over 100 years of experience, Leonard Insurance Services
is licensed and admitted in all 50 states providing them the ability to provide
insurance to MFS businesses nationwide. Their E&O is highly
competitive and is from Lloyds of London. You can contact Darren at
1-800-451-1904 and you may visit Leonard Insurance Service on-line at
www.leonardinsurance.com
A second offering of E&O is the result of SIRs President, Dick Mason's, efforts.
Insurance-Tek offers General Liability with Professional E&O on an occurrence
for to Private Investigators and others offering similar field services. They
have expanded their offering to Mortgage Field Services and can offer a policy
which would include P&P services. Business Property, Cameras & Equipment, and
Business Auto policies are also available. You can visit Insurance-Tek Inc
on-line at
www.Insurance-Tek.com or contact Vicki Boser at
425-357-1555
SIRs is planning on having these and other insurance agents attend our upcoming
convention to personally meet and discuss insurance coverage issues and policy
terminology with attendees!Other E&O policies that have been availabe are
offered by York-Jersey or OREP. See SIRs "Industry Related
Links" page for contact information. |
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Beware of Mystery Shopper Scam |
2-3-06 |
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If you receive a telephone solicitation to be a mystery shopper, beware! There
is a scam being perpetrated by individuals soliciting for mystery shopping. Part
of the scam is sending what appears to be a cashiers check along with a starter
package to the victims. Yahoo reports the cashiers check is bogus and could lead
to criminal charges against anyone attempting to cash them. Read more at Yahoo
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060724/20060724005587.html?.v=1
Adobe PDF Version |
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Idaho Preservation Contractor Shot by Debris |
01-25-06 |
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A preservation contractor from Idaho was shot this weekend by
debris placed in his pocket while sweeping. The contractor picked up a shotgun
shell, some .22 caliber bullets and 9-volt batteries and placed them in his
pocket. During the course of the day, sweat absorbed by his pants caused the
battery to leak acid. The battery acid eroded the bullet casing and caused the
bullet to fire. Hospital employees had to report the shooting to police. When
the story was explained to the police, the police confirmed they had heard of
similar instances of battery acid causing bullets to fire. The contractor
suffered only minor injuries and was able to return to work. However, it was
discovered the acid had begun corroding the shot gun shell and the contractor
was lucky to escape more serious injury and/or possible death.
Contractors and crews should take warning from this freak
accident and avoid putting objects found into their pockets - a habit quite
likely practiced by all preservation crews while cleaning. |
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