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81 "Similar to buying time to 'flatten the curve' of the pandemic, our industry will be buying time to 'flatten the curve' of the coming foreclosure crisis. By engaging experienced default servicing law firms we will be buying time to flatten the curve of the rapidly coming liquidity crisis for servicers." —Mike Sullivan, Director of Marketing and Client Relations, Codilis and Associates, P.C. on foreclosures will "hit every area of our industry" and suggested that something needed to be done to alleviate these concerns. "You can stop the foreclosure, but you can't stop the clock from ticking regarding interest accruals or the payment of real estate taxes and insurance," Sullivan said. "In considering loss mitigation alternatives, at some point all of this needs to reconcile into a resolution that makes sense. Simply suspending payments and picking up after the moratorium ends raises questions about escrow analysis for instance. You don't want to just resume payments and have borrowers get a doubling of their escrow portion after the forbearance period." FLATTENING THE CURVE Sullivan said that loss mitigation efforts are currently underway, and there are task forces working with the GSEs, HUD, and other agencies to ensure borrowers are supported. "e industry will be hampered by the virus long after the moratorium ends. Loss mitigation will continue, bankruptcies will grow, foreclosure referrals will likely increase," he said. "Similar to buying time to 'flatten the curve' of the pandemic, our industry will be buying time to 'flatten the curve' of the coming foreclosure crisis. By engaging experienced default servicing law firms we will also be buying time to 'flatten the curve' of the rapidly coming liquidity crises for servicers." Castle said the length of the impact will vary throughout the country. "I believe our industry will be much slower to recover some sense of normalcy than many others," Castle said. "I believe we are looking at least a year to 18 months." She added that there may be a need for repayment plans or modifications to allow those missed payments to be paid over time or tacked onto the end of the loan. However, Castle noted that the future remains uncertain, and a possible second round of COVID-19 infections could increase the recovery times across the nation. She noted that it could take the legal industry more than a year to recover from the impact of the coronavirus and understand "what the new normal is." "I am certainly concerned over the survival of both servicers and the law firms, and we need to work together to serve the needs of the borrower," she said. "Hopefully, we all end up on the other side of this—if not intact, ready to rebuild." Mike Albanese A graduate of the University of Alabama, Mike Albanese has worked for news publications since 2011 in Texas and Colorado. He has built a portfolio of more than 1,000 articles, covering city government, police and crime, business, and sports, and is experienced in crafting engaging features and enterprise pieces. He spent time as the sports editor for the Pilot Point Post-Signal, and has covered the DFW Metroplex for several years. He has also assisted with sports coverage and editing duties with the Dallas Morning News and the Denton Record-Chronicle over the past several years.