DS News

62 e rebound of the mortgage and housing market is good news for all except those who work in the counter-cyclical segments, such as foreclosure and REO services. What was a boom period in the late 2000's has now dwindled along with the national foreclosure industry. Adding to the anxiety of most businesses is an increased regulatory scrutiny being placed on many in the industry, especially servicers. As REO-related firms look ahead to the near future, they realize that order volume will be dramatically reduced. ey will be battling for market share. ey will also need to find new ways to contain costs, which are only rising as regulatory-driven requirements multiply. Some actions will be obvious to any business owner, but difficult to execute. Others might not be so readily apparent. Either way, it is never a bad idea to review expenditures and the systems, policies and procedures which spawn them, asking "where is my operation inefficient?" NEW TECHNOLOGY? About the last thing most business owners wish to do when markets recede is invest money into infrastructure—especially technology. It seems counter-intuitive to spend money when there's less to spend. However, the long term perspective must win out in these cases. If the technology in question is outdated, the replacement cost savings in the not-too- distant future will easily outpace the near term expenses. New compliance requirements will likely mandate the implementation of new technology solutions to some degree (e.g. TRID's impact on loan origination systems, vendor management systems and title production technology). Technology, used correctly, is an excellent way to leverage the resources in place more efficiently. It can eliminate redundancies and tasks previously done by personnel manually and increase available space in the facility. Used properly, it can save time and increase productivity. Unless your firm is facing extremely bad circumstances, consider this as the time to shore up your systems before the next market upswing arrives. MAKE BETTER USE OF HUMAN RESOURCES It is an unfortunately reality in our world that the most expensive asset a company can have is its personnel. Although it's never easy, downsizing staff is generally one of the first orders of business as markets shrink. However, now is also a good time to add an element of I N D U S T R Y I N S I G H T / S H A N N O N C O B B With foreclosure and REO inventory shrinking, firms must seek new ways to eliminate costs. A TOUGH MARKET MEANS TOUGH DECISIONS

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