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�� VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM FIVE MINUTES WITH GET TO KNOW INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES BEYOND THE BOARDROOM Cheryl Crawford EVP AT VRM MORTGAGE SERVICES Cheryl Crawford is an executive on a mission. The EVP at VRM Mortgage Services has her sights on making a dent in the REO space by honing laser sharp focus on eliminating the amount of vacant properties in the market by getting families into homes. Crawford has worked diligently in the REO space for more than a decade and has some ideas on how to keep Americans in their homes. Market reports today seem to point to conflicting indicators. What can be done to move the housing industry along a path of recovery? Much of the positive market indicators don���t truly reflect enough of what is going on at a microeconomic, neighborhood asset level. I think the best indicator of how the market is faring is to gauge the success we are having at reducing the number of vacant properties and increasing the number of owner-occupied properties with homeowners that are committed to the neighborhood they live in. We really need to explore the success we are having with pre-foreclosure solutions, including note sales, short sales, and modifications. Real stabilization will come when solutions provide a long-term stabilizing effect at the neighborhood level. What are you seeing in the REO-to-rental space, and where do you think this new REO initiative will end up? We have seen a lot of positive and negative in the space and the velocity is rapidly increasing. I firmly believe that in order for the REO-to-rental strategy to be effective in the long term, lease options and alternative disposition strategies are the most logical solutions for neighborhood and market balance. Giving former homeowners access to the distressed inventory, through rental agreements, provides a vehicle for rebuilding credit and keeping people in the neighborhoods where they live, where their kids can stay in their current schools, and where they have a vested interest in the community. Part of our strategy in providing solutions for this new direction is to use our national panels of vendors to provide localized services to the investors that purchase the homes. This infuses capital back into the area and spurs growth and reinvestment. More people are put back to work and the cycle perpetuates itself. The phrase is clich�� but the sentiment is not; it truly is a win-win-win for the market. The economic collapse in 2008 affected every industry, especially the housing sector. How has VRM���s role as an asset management company changed since the crisis?��As the industry has changed and continues to change, we find ourselves developing new solutions and expanding our lines of business to accommodate the new servicing reality that we work in. VRM is one of the largest REO outsourcers having listed, managed and sold over 400,000 assets since we entered the business in 2006. With requests from new and prospective clients, we found ourselves looking at the core competencies we have developed and the internal expertise we possess and leveraged that knowledge to develop solutions for Rental Management, property preservation, and subservicing. The VRM of today is about much more than REO, we have become a complete mortgage servicing solutions provider while staying true to the brand promise that we started with: unrivaled solutions, unequaled performance. 25