DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1484257
49 One thing we've heard about is an ongoing demographic shift to a higher concentration of rural versus urban properties that go through the foreclosure sale process and are taken by the investors/insurers back into inventory. Have you seen this, and if so, what challenges are presented by this higher concentration of properties in "hard to serve" areas? It is true that the distance between properties has increased significantly over the past few years. e additional mileage increases windshield time, and thus, reduces the percentage of time spent completing tasks that directly generate income. When you take into account the surge in gas prices, that inactive time becomes even more expensive to the network; it costs more to get to fewer properties in a day. is has a huge impact on daily revenue and daily costs. Sam Ingber CEO, Brookstone Management Kerry Medel Client Relationship Manager, Brookstone Management What regulatory issues or impacts are most challenging for the property preservation sector? How are you navigating them? Regulatory changes are always expected whether at the municipal, state, or national level—in this industry, these are surely the nature of the beast. However, increased regulation expectations are not usually found to be commensurate at the same level of reimbursement costs. e truest and perhaps most talked about challenge remains the failure to increase allowable prices for the last 15 years. Static pricing combined with the ever-increasing compliance requirements for those servicing default properties remains an imbalance that is often supplemented by those who shouldn't be bearing that burden: those in the field actually completing the services. A recent National Organization of Mortgage Field Services survey identified a significant exodus of vendor partners that provide direct boot-on-the-ground services. Are you experiencing challenges maintaining necessary labor or vendor partnerships, and if so, how are you combatting this? ere is no secret that partners have certainly left the field service industry to go into other, more lucrative sectors. rough no fault of their own, servicers and field service providers alike work tirelessly to reinvent the ways in which they can better support their tenured boots-on-the-ground, while responding appropriately to advances in training, technology, and skill requirements for those just entering (or re-entering) the industry. Brookstone continues to be creative in identifying new ways to support the challenges our vendors face and work with them to ease transitional burdens. Brookstone tries to remain ahead of efforts to support vendors through many means, including splitting or even absorbing 'cost of doing business' price increases. For example, Brookstone works to bundle trips to rural areas to reduce travel efforts for our vendors. If bundling options aren't available, we focus on negotiating compensation for the trip outside of standard charges. Brookstone also works to support increased costs associated with technological changes and requirements, trying to take some inconveniences off the vendors with set-up, troubleshooting, costs, and mobile solution support so that the vendors can focus on what they do best. Brookstone has also worked to be creative in sourcing efforts. is year we successfully worked to bring vendors, contractors, tradesmen, and other professionals into the industry from other sectors. Leveraging providers of these services has helped Brookstone better respond to the changing needs of our existing network as well. How are you and your team working to improve efficiencies within the industry to attract and retain new talent and improve the economic model for those that have remained in this sector? "State licensing requirements are one of the most challenging issues that impact the property preservation space. They create barriers to hiring new personnel from outside of the industry and reduce our ability to drive competition within an existing vendor network." —Michael Greenbaum CIO, Safeguard Properties