Boots on the Ground Collaboration

Robert Klein, founder and chairman of Safeguard Properties, was featured in the Mortgage Servicing News article, titled Industry Focus: Boots on the Ground Collaboration.

Industry Focus: Boots on the Ground Collaboration

The crisis has turned field service providers?often called the servicers? boots on the ground?into a primary liaison that is helping improve a crucial dialogue between the servicing industry, local code enforcement officials and foreclosure prevention entities nationwide.

Industry veteran Robert Klein, Safeguard Properties? founder and chairman of the board, told this publication that given millions of vacant homes nationwide it is going to be ?very, very difficult? to ensure these properties are properly maintained and do not cause blight for their communities. It is their biggest responsibility going forward as the number of foreclosures and real estate owned inventory creeps up.

What is critical at present ?and will be even more critical in the future? is to open new lines of communication between lender-servicers and local communities where these distressed properties are located, a practice national field servicers like Safeguard came to develop over the years. It means cooperating with local REO code enforcement officials whose job is to ensure servicers comply with county, state and federal requirements.

Klein says the sooner everyone realizes that when it comes to REOs field servicers are the main point of contact for servicers, the better.

Field servicers are the boots on the ground, but so are the local code enforcement officials. ?So there are two types of boots on the ground, and if we work together and we keep the dialogue open, it?s going to help solve the problem.?

Years of working experience, Klein says, have shown that having local code enforcement officers communicate with field inspectors who regularly inquire whether the grass is being cut and everything is okay with the neighbor?s house, for example, always helps improve both maintenance results and the servicers? bottom line.

If embraced by servicing shops large and small in a ?that is how things should be done? fashion, this approach can positively change the dynamic of the field servicing industry.

This ?on the ground? effort, which may not have been very popular a decade ago, has naturally evolved because of the crisis. It is the way into the future that already has many supporters.

Over the past few years more intensive communication between the two parties has helped open the dialogue and educate code enforcement officers about the role of field servicers. Catering to that need Safeguard established a code enforcement department dedicated to establishing open dialogue and long term relationships with code enforcement departments around the country.

Until the situation stabilizes everyone?s efforts are focused on keeping people in their homes.

?We don?t know what the end result will be for this foreclosure crisis,? Klein says.

?Our role is to keep a lid on it, make sure vacant properties don?t deteriorate.?

And among others, that is the goal of code enforcement officials as well.

Klein, who over the years built a so far very successful field services firm, finds the most efficient, market tested strategy in dealing with REO management challenges is to establish a proactive working relationship with the local communities, and for a good reason, because local officials do not always understand the role of servicers and field servicers.

?Our job is to avoid or correct the problems,? he says.

So while all servicers tend to apply the same property management practices on the ground, what makes a difference is whether they manage to keep open the lines of communication.

It helps if when problems arise code enforcement officials know that their primary point of contact is the field servicer.

?The biggest problem code enforcement officials have had over the years is that they did not know who to call when they had a problem.?

However, only mutual interest can keep open that kind of dialogue and collaboration. It took a major economic crisis to facilitate the interaction.

If field servicers are by design interested in communicating with local code enforcement officers, the crisis created an equally strong incentive for these entities.

According to Klein for years it used to be ?us against them.?

Now the attitude is, ?Let?s work together. Let?s see what can we do together,? which is part of the solution. ?We?re both there to accomplish the same thing, save these neighborhoods.?

In his opinion the biggest step towards solving the REO inventory problem is an efficient partnership between field service providers with servicers and other entities.

?We don?t have the solution yet, because the problem is way too big, but at least we?re on our way to putting our heads together and brainstorming to find a solution,? he says. ?Servicers rely on us to keep that dialogue open. I think that?s the biggest thing that has happened in the past year, year and a half.?

In 2011 his hope is to see that close collaboration intensify even more at the state level since many REO management issues are affected by state-level legislation.

For example, it can take anywhere from 18 to 19 months to foreclose on a vacant property ?and allow the servicer to take some action on the property.?

And if in the cases where properties in foreclosure are occupied that extension ?is a good thing,? he agrees.

In such cases everything should be done to keep the family in the home. But since it takes as long and longer?sometimes two to three years to foreclose on a vacant property in some judiciary states?it means that servicers? hands are tied.

It is a well-known fact that servicers cannot properly maintain, repair on a regular basis, or otherwise manage their preservation so they are ready for sale when a buyer shows at the door, unless and until the foreclosure process is closed.

It also means most probably the property will deteriorate beyond the repair point by the time the paperwork has gone through the proper court channels and is officially under the care of the lender-servicer.

Especially vacant REO management is a daunting task.

Klein is one of many in the industry who see benefits in promoting a speedier process either to ensure the foreclosure process of a vacant property goes through, or to reach an agreement with the homeowner so they continue to reside in the property so it does not turn into blight.

The only way to make the management of foreclosures and real estate owned properties efficient is to give servicers legal power to deal with related problems sooner rather than later.

Klein is optimistic that going forward it is not going to be the same old.

?We?re finding new ways of doing things that are part of the solution? including new legislation that aims to speed up the vacant property foreclosure process.

He expects the new ?cooperative partnership? between field servicers and code enforcement officials needs to further develop in the future. And there is promise for positive change in the fact that the field services industry at large is making efforts to expand this open dialogue and collectively moving to the same direction.

To view the online article, please click here.


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About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 800 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

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CEO

Alan Jaffa

Alan Jaffa is the Chief Executive Officer for Safeguard Properties, steering the company as the mortgage field services industry leader. He also serves on the board of advisors for SCG Partners, a middle-market private equity fund focused on diversifying and expanding Safeguard Properties’ business model into complimentary markets.

Alan joined Safeguard in 1995, learning the business from the ground up. He was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2002, and was named CEO in May 2010. His hands-on experience has given him unique insights as a leader to innovate, improve and strengthen Safeguard’s processes to assure that the company adheres to the highest standards of quality and customer service.

Under Alan’s leadership, Safeguard has grown significantly with strategies that have included new and expanded services, technology investments that deliver higher quality and greater efficiency to clients, and strategic acquisitions. He takes a team approach to process improvement, involving staff at all levels of the organization to address issues, brainstorm solutions, and identify new and better ways to serve clients.

In 2008, Alan was recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business in its annual “40-Under-40” profile of young leaders. He also was named a NEO Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award finalist in 2013.

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Esq., General Counsel and EVP

Linda Erkkila

Linda Erkkila is the General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Safeguard Properties, with oversight of legal, human resources, training, and compliance. Linda’s broad scope of oversight covers regulatory issues that impact Safeguard’s operations, risk mitigation, strategic planning, human resources and training initiatives, compliance, insurance, litigation and claims management, and counsel related to mergers, acquisition and joint ventures.

Linda assures that Safeguard’s strategic initiatives align with its resources, leverage opportunities across the company, and contemplate compliance mandates. She has practiced law for 25 years and her experience, both as outside and in-house counsel, covers a wide range of corporate matters, including regulatory disclosure, corporate governance compliance, risk assessment, compensation and benefits, litigation management, and mergers and acquisitions.

Linda earned her JD at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She holds a degree in economics from Miami University and an MBA. Linda was previously named as both a “Woman of Influence” by HousingWire and as a “Leading Lady” by MReport.

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COO

Michael Greenbaum

Michael Greenbaum is the Chief Operating Officer of Safeguard Properties, where he has played a pivotal role since joining the company in July 2010. Initially brought on as Vice President of REO, Mike’s exceptional leadership and strategic vision quickly propelled him to Vice President of Operations in 2013, and ultimately to COO in 2015. Over his 14-year tenure at Safeguard, Mike has been instrumental in driving change and fostering innovation within the Property Preservation sector, consistently delivering excellence and becoming a trusted partner to clients and investors.

A distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mike earned a degree in Quantitative Economics. Following his graduation, he served in the U.S. Army’s Ordnance Branch, where he specialized in supply chain management. Before his tenure at Safeguard, Mike honed his expertise by managing global supply chains for 13 years, leveraging his military and civilian experience to lead with precision and efficacy.

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CFO

Joe Iafigliola

Joe Iafigliola is the Chief Financial Officer for Safeguard Properties. Joe is responsible for the Control, Quality Assurance, Business Development, Marketing, Accounting, and Information Security departments. At the core of his responsibilities is the drive to ensure that Safeguard’s focus remains rooted in Customer Service = Resolution. Through his executive leadership role, he actively supports SGPNOW.com, an on-demand service geared towards real estate and property management professionals as well as individual home owners in need of inspection and property preservation services. Joe is also an integral force behind Compliance Connections, a branch of Safeguard Properties that allows code enforcement professionals to report violations at properties that can then be addressed by the Safeguard vendor network. Compliance Connections also researches and shares vacant property ordinance information with Safeguard clients.

Joe has an MBA from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and holds a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University’s Honors Accounting program.

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Business Development

Carrie Tackett

Business Development Safeguard Properties