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50 said he hadn't come to ask for money, but he was going to change the practice because it was the right thing to do. Several months later, HUD issued new guidelines calling for the monthly full interior inspections, adding that if the inspectors did not go inside, their company would be responsible for any subsequent damage. Soon after, HUD ended up raising the amount it reimbursed for full interior inspections, changing the industry's field inspections practices completely. "e whole concept of looking out for the industry and not just Safeguard was my goal," Klein says. "It was the right thing to do." Emboldened, Klein chose to push harder to ensure that his company knew more about inspections and property preservation than his clients. He began to foster direct relationships with the federal agencies in charge of housing and mortgages in order to share a perspective from the field. Klein knew he wanted to position Safeguard as the eyes, ears and boots-on-the- ground for the federal agency staff. Additionally, Klein realized that involving his competitors was the best way to ensure that improved practices permeated the industry. Back in 2004, this time working through another HUD director, Klein initiated the first property preservation conference. He contacted his competitors and asked them to serve on the advisory board and to participate. Now in its 11th year, the conference assembles a diverse range of mortgage services companies to discuss best practices for property preservation and maintenance. Klein also conceived of industry conference calls to discuss urgent matters, such as how to handle the post-Hurricane-Katrina mass destruction of homes. ere were more than 300 people on that call. "We're dealing with issues that impact the entire industry," Klein says. ese industry calls became a staple of Safeguard's involvement with the industry. "e federal guidelines have been revised completely from where they were years ago, and I would say a large portion of that is due to our input as an industry." RAPID GROWTH When Jaffa joined the company, Safeguard's headquarters were located in a high-rise office building in a popular corporate strip. Safeguard had roughly 18,000 square feet of space distributed on several floors. Jaffa remembers frequently coming in on weekends as they ripped out walls to add 20 more cubicles. In 2002, after Jaffa had been named Chief Operating Officer, Safeguard moved into two low-rise office buildings they had built fittingly in the Brooklyn Heights suburb of Cleveland. e buildings comfortably housed the roughly 300 corporate staff collectively. In 2009, because they were running out of space, Safeguard moved to its current headquarters in Valley View, just south of Cleveland. Along the way, Jaffa says, he learned another important lesson from Klein: Clients don't expect you to do the same thing for 6 or 12 months. Clients expect something different that's bigger and better and continuously improving. "Robert never really focused on our competition," Jaffa says. "He focused on our clients and on what was the right thing to do for each property and the community and how we make it even better." HANDING OVER THE REINS After 20 years, Klein found himself growing a little weary. He began contemplating selling his company. After several months of negotiating, a buyer and the attorneys all gathered around Klein, pen poised above the "sign here" line on the contract. Just as he set the pen on the paper, a little voice in his head whispered, "Man, this is not what I want to do." He set the pen down and announced a meeting with his family, where he told them: "I've worked too hard to build this business. If I'm going to sell it to anybody, I'm going to sell it to you." Jaffa was the logical successor, so he became CEO officially in May 2010, and Klein assumed the mantle of founder and Chairman of the Board. Within a year, he had launched his own company, RIK Enterprises, LLC, to handle his investments. "at first year was probably the most difficult time of my life," Klein confesses. "But today, I'm pretty happy." He and Jaffa have an agreement: If Alan wants advice, he'll ask. Meanwhile, Klein enjoys overseeing his investments from his spacious corner office with panoramic views of downtown Cleveland's skyline and Lake Erie. "I figured as long as I was there, people "I knew it was about surrounding myself with the right people, and a lot of the people who are responsible for key functions are people I've worked with for 15, 18 years." –Alan Jaffa 2001 » 350,000+ photos received » Contractor Web launched 2002 » Robert Klein makes interior inspections mandatory for Safeguard vendors, setting an industry standard » 2,022,000 inspections 2003 » Safeguard's vendors begin sending photos digitally instead of mailing Polaroids » 2,756,400 inspections » Mt. Washington, KY office opens

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