Archived Articles

How does 2002-10 Impact You?	7-4-02
SIRs has completed some calculations and pricing surveys to see how preservation contractors, national servicers, and plumbers compare with the implementation of HUD Mortgagee Letter 2002-10. National servicers will see a minimum increase from $4.50 per secure to at least $37.50 per secure work order at just a 15% discount given. Preservation contractors will be required to increase stock from one lock per property to a minimum of 4 locks for the same securing. Overhead will also increase for the preservation contractors almost 8 fold to accommodate the various demands of a full securing/tarping at each property. Plumbers will charge you anywhere from $250 to $650 to winterize a wet heat system - and will not insure or guarantee it. Some national servicers are asking for discount increases, even though most of the HUD prices have decreased and VA, Conventional, FNMA, and FMAC (as well as all other) prices are not impacted by 2002-10. The rest of the story is in SIRs Members Newsletter. Back to Archive list
"Make BIG Money" Promises Flooding Market with Hopefuls	6-16-02
It has come to our attention, in more ways than one, that there are a number of companies, either starting up or in existence, making wild promises of fortunes to be had in the Field Service Industry. They promise such things as "You too can make $2000 to $4000 your first day in business." Not that we are against free enterprise, training or new business start-ups. As with any business or business product, you must investigate before you offer. When looking at training, what certifications are held by the trainer? What licenses, what affiliations, what experience? For field services (in particular foreclosure inspections and property preservation) there is little to go on for licensing, accreditation, or affiliation. So the last issue is experience. Don't believe there is a quick fortune to be made in any aspect of field servicing. Researching your proposed business start-up is the only way to begin your business. Back to Archive list
Domain sirs4quality.com No Longer Re-directing Traffic to NAMFS	06-12-2002
UPDATE: June 12, 2002 6:45 PM - a "site watcher" who has been tracking sirs4quality.com paged S.I.R.s CEO/Business Consultant to inform him that the site now displays an "Under Construction" Page. As anticipated, the guilty party/parties would make a change/response to our publication within 24 to 48 hours of publication. Our CEO/Business Consultant has had this issue on his "Emergency" watch so that no misinformation would be published on SIRs website. Merely 28 hours after the publication of the below information, a person who has been unreachable for three weeks and still has a bad e-mail address listing under their domain ownership information, has managed to change their website from being an automatic re-direct to NAMFS' web site to an "Under Construction" page! Amazing, that person must be reading our web pages. Hopefully, soon, we will see a real web site and business on sirs4quality.com that is not related to field servicing organizational information - or at least a business site that is in compliance with trademark laws showing the goods or services of the parties are sufficiently dissimilar. S.I.R.s will keep you updated. For whomever it is that owns sirs4quality.com - your communications with us are welcome at if you need advice on how to avoid legal conflicts involving trademark, copyright or other patent laws. update 6/13/2002 5:00PM sirs4quality.com now displays "page cannot be displayed" update 11/10/2002 SIRs members unanimously voted to end the domain name game confusion by purchasing the domain name SIRs4Quality.COM. Visitors to our web site will now be able to reach Society of Independent Representatives with either address of SIRs4Quality.Org or SIRs4Quality.Com. It is hoped that no further domains will need to be purchased and that the name game will be laid to rest. Back to Archive list Read the Original Article*
HUD Statement On Interior Inspections for ALL Vacant Properties
An announcement spread across the field service industry on May 7, 2002 that HUD will "require" interior inspections on a monthly basis for all vacant properties. Since then, HUD has released their Mortgagee Letter 2002-10 which clarifies what HUD expects regarding an interior inspection for vacant properties. "At the time of the first inspection following verification that the property is vacant, the mortgagee must photograph the exterior and interior of the property. All photographs must be dated. A maximum of six photographs will be allowed for reimbursement. The photographs must be maintained in the mortgagee's claim review file. The cost schedule has been reformatted to show reimbursable limits for initial inspections, additional units and subsequent inspections. Subsequent inspections are to be performed 25-35 days following any prior inspection if the property is vacant or following the last contact with the mortgagor if the mortgage is in default. No more than twelve inspections per calendar year will be allowed to be claimed unless indicated otherwise under local variations, or when a reimbursable eviction inspection is performed. The cost of inspections is not included in the overall P&P maximum. Mortgagees may be surcharged for the cost of property damage if inspection reports are inaccurate, incomplete, or untimely." It is assumed that the new interior inspection request is a direct result of the current MOLD issues and that inspectors will be relied upon to report situations where mold is or could be occurring. Typical property inspectors are not qualified to distinguish discoloration from mold and should make this fact known to their clients. Likewise, property inspectors need to protect their health and physical safety while performing interior inspections. SIRs strongly recommends Mold be taken as a possible threat at all properties, masks should be purchased and available to use when performing all interior inspections. Property inspectors should be wary of entering unsecure vacant properties. SIRs members can read more on the subject in the SIRs Quarterly Newsletter and in the SIRs Field Manual Guide to Field Servicing. Back to Archive list
HUD Releases New Property Preservation Guide and Cost Allowables
On May 13, 2002 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the first substantial change with their 2002 Preservation and Protection Cost Schedule. Mortgagee Letter 2002-10 requires complete securing of vacant properties. In most areas, all locks are to be either changed or re-keyed to protect the property from vandalism. Another major change is the securing fee cap for "one-time lock change/ securing" guideline in most areas. Property preservation mechanics MUST have this important document to correctly perform preservation services on FHA guaranteed loan vacant homes. You can download this document FREE from HUD at http://www.HUD.gov SIRs members have direct access to this document. Back to Archive list
NAMFS Blessed with Gift Domain Name of sirs4quality.com - original article	Published June 11, 2002 10:00 a.m.
On May 16, 2002 a prospective SIRs member got a little lost on the Internet attempting to access Society of Independent Representatives (S.I.R.s) website. SIRs domain name is SIRs4Quality.Org the domain extension (last three letters after the dot) indicative of the fact that SIRs is an "Organization". The prospective SIRs member accidentally typed the domain extension as .Com (which is indicative of a "Company"). The prospective SIRs member was quite surprised to find himself on NAMFS website rather than SIRs website. Until August 2001, two months after SIRs went public as an organization, NAMFS’ dedicated domain name had always been NAMFS.Org. Well known as the "Industry Leader" and "oldest Association" for the Mortgage Field Services Industry, NAMFS now has two domain names http://namfs.org and http://www.sirs4quality.com. NAMFS’ Executive Director, John Ward, stated that he had no knowledge of this second domain name, which is identical to SIRs domain name with the exception of the domain extension. sirs4quality.com is an auto-redirect domain name whose sole purpose is to re-direct SIRs visitors to NAMFS’ website. Typically if a person entered an incorrect domain extension, they would receive notification of an error and be given the opportunity to correct the spelling (example sirs4quality.net) While SIRs is flattered the our domain name has become a well known name, SIRs is dismayed that our visitors are getting lost on the internet. This also explains why so many people have believed SIRs is a sub-division of NAMFS and have inquired of us regarding this relationship. This explains why SIRs has been asked "now once I join NAMFS, I automatically receive the SIRs benefits, right?" Such a confusing question! The answer of course is NO. SIRs and NAMFS are two entirely separate and unrelated organizations. But now SIRs understands these inquiries. How did all this confusion occur? SIRs investigation into this issue has produced the following information. No one seems to know. It certainly allows one to question why anyone would attempt to steer traffic away from one organization and re-direct it to another organization when both of the organizations supposedly serve to give positive direction to the industry. Why would anyone want to cause this confusion? Is there a troublemaker in the industry that wishes to see NAMFS and SIRs at odds with one another or who wishes SIRs and NAMFS to be related? Is there a philanthropist benefactor that somehow has mistakenly engaged in a form of industrial espionage, trademark infringement, and a host of other questionable unethical behaviors of internet/business protocols rather than making a positive contribution to NAMFS or the industry in general? The situation appears to be a mystery. Internic, the US Department of Commerce regulatory organization, which also provides public information regarding Internet domain-name registration services (http://www.internic.net/), lists sirs4quality.com registrar as Tucows, Inc. (http://tucows.com.) Tucows, Inc. states they are only the accredited registrar. Tucows, Inc. claims that Domain Direct http://domaindirect.com/ is the host of sirs4quality.com. Tucows, Inc. is in process of trying to locate the listed owner of sirs4quality.com. Web search "Name.Space", aka Smart Who Is, (http://swhois.net/) lists sirs4quality.com owner as Rosalie Meadows at PO Box 1000 Seattle, WA 98101 US. Her e-mail address being listed as at rosaliemeadows@yahoo.com and phone number as 1.2063297900. However, Yahoo http://members.yahoo.com/, has no record of that e-mail address. A reverse look-up on Excite http://www.infospace.com/_1_4PC5TKI043CK5ME__info.xcite/revphone.htm? shows the phone number as registered to eNIC Corporation out of Seattle, WA 98101 USA and Elliance, Inc. Rosalie Meadows is not listed as an employee at either companies. So there is certainly great mystery surrounding NAMFS’ most generous benefactor. In the meantime, if you'd like to visit NAMFS website, you may do so by using either of the two following domain names http://namfs.org or http://www.sirs4quality.com. SIRs hopes you enjoy this most interesting new way to visit NAMFS’ website. And if you happen to run across Rosalie Meadows or anyone claiming to be Rosalie Meadows, you might want to ask "why would you want to re-direct traffic from one organization to another?" SIRs would rather spend our time and funds on addressing the real industry problems such as poor quality work; industry wide table-topping; the current trend of vacant properties being condemned and demolished due to neglect; contract breaching; cut-throat tactics in pricing; inspectors and preservation mechanics being set-up for the fall on the mold issue; high discount demands; low costing allowables; demand fee caps; the latest concern of information companies selling how-to books claiming "you too can become a field inspector making thousands of dollars a week" and other such issues. We do not have any additional time to research this domain confusion mystery any further. All funds received from our membership are expended directly towards member benefits and serving our members. So, if there is a trouble maker in the industry, the industry will have to locate them, as SIRs is just too busy taking care of the real issues. And remember, when you want to visit SIRs - we are an Organization, not a company! update 10-02-02 - There are very few areas on the internet where the owner information for sirs4quality.com can be located. Back to Archive list
Choosing the Best Business Structure Can Save You Money and Headaches.
As an entrepreneur where do you turn for information? Even my personal attorney was not fully aware of the new filing status for L.L.C. or Ltd. of sole owner or as the IRS classifies it "Sole Member". A few choices are: Sole Proprietorship, L.L.C. or Ltd. (Limited Liability Company), S - Corporation, or C - Corporation. Talking to both your accountant and attorney or reading the article just published for SIRs members can help you decide. Back to Archive list
Mold Abatement and Inspection Issues
SIRs Business Consultant has been researching the many companies, organizations and associations that offer Mold Abatement and Mold Testing training. Numerous insurance companies, the EPA, OSHA, and local Health Departments have already been contacted to request additional information. Once all information is compiled, members will be informed of the various opportunities, costs and precautions. As a public service, SIRs will provide on these pages a listing of companies offering training. SIRs recommends investing in training only from established, qualified and experienced companies that can stand behind the certifications they offer. Presently there is no government required certifications or regulations for Mold Testing and Mold Abatement procedures. SIRs recommends that consumers, lenders, and servicers who hire contractors for Mold Testing and Mold Abatement services request information regarding the contractors' procedures, training, qualifications and insurance coverage prior to hiring the contractor. As this is an extremely litigious area that does not currently have any regulatory oversight, it is strongly recommended by all "experts" that a third party inspector be hired to complete all testing. This inspector should not have any affiliation with the abating contractor. Back to Archive list
Mold - A Threat to Property Inspectors and Preservation Crews
While only a small number of molds are considered toxic and allergenic, field reps need to be careful upon entering a property. SIRs has researched this topic and offers business consulting information to members so they can create their own company policy on remaining informed and protected. If you are a field rep, performing either inspections or preservation services, you will probably want to research this subject and develop a plan for approach and your own company policy. As various mold species can be differentiated only by laboratory testing, any mold should be considered hazardous. Treat all mold as if it were the deadliest specie to remain safe. The following web sites may help you research this subject. http://www.fema.gov http://www.epa.gov/appcdwww/crb/iemb/child.htm http://www.epa.gov/Region06/6xa/toxic_mold.htm http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/mold/stachy.htm http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hi97146.html Back to Archive list
Letter to President George W. Bush
The field servicing industry has been plagued with irresponsible management of Nationwide field service providers. Here is a download letter that you may print and forward to President George W. Bush, and/ or amend to send to your local Congressperson if you have been involved in any of the nonpayment situations of companies situated in the state of Texas. Letter to President George W. Bush This is in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download and print this. Back to Archive list
Independent Field Service Industry Directory
Now available. This on-line directory lists field service providers available both nationwide and locally, regardless of their affiliation with S.I.R.s. Each listing has a hyper-link to either e-mail the provider or to go directly to their website. The Directory currently lists over hundreds of providers conveniently divided by service offered. Sub-directories are: Inspectors, Preservation Mechanics, Licensed or Specialized, Nationwide, and Resources. Directory listings are completely free to all field service companies wishing to be included but requests must be submitted using our directory listing form. Directory Listing To access the directory click here: Independent Field Service Industry Directory Back to Archive list
Industry Impact
In the first eight months since S.I.R.s was announced, sixteen field service companies have chosen to set themselves apart - to be known as providing quality field services which meet or exceed recognized standards. S.I.R.s website receives hundreds of visitors daily. National Field Service companies are beginning to recognize that in order to receive quality field services, they must contract with companies that know how to provide them. S.I.R.s members recognize that to build their business, they must function as a business. Advertising, networking, and most of all, providing quality services that will help their customers project a top quality image. With hundreds of visitors daily, the field service industry is becoming a known. S.I.R.s is receiving a worldwide audience of Police, government agencies, banks, educators and private citizens. All of who want to know more about field servicing, S.I.R.s and current industry issues. Back to Archive list
Current Industry Issues
Presently the field service industry is in a crisis. Most field services are fee capped by government agencies. The most widely known of these is HUD. HUD has not substantially raised their "allowable" reimbursement rates in over TEN Years. HUD is also the most widely recognized standard for both inspection and preservation performance. With recent spikes in overhead costs, this performance is declining rapidly. Field service providers cannot perform at the standard level and also realize a profit. To profit, standards are being ignored and homes are not being preserved as they should be. S.I.R.s would like to see this change immediately. The ignoring of standards is detrimental to not only the property involved but also to cities and neighborhoods. This contributes to a decline in living standards and causes additional burdens on contractors, housing inspectors and police, as well as the banks that have interests in the properties. Back to Archive list