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Community Initiatives First Quarter 2018 Activity Summary

Community Initiatives
April 18, 2018

Opening Lines of Communication in 2018

Outreach & Education

Safeguard’s Community Initiatives Department (the Department) launched its 2018 outreach and presentations with a first quarter marked by unprecedented events. The success of this outreach was shown by the unprecedented number of attendees, as more code enforcement officers attended events during the months of January through March of 2018 than in previous years. The Department’s outreach demonstrates its regional commitment and both solidifies and maximizes the clear message that it is relaying regarding the activities and actions of the mortgage servicing industry.

The education platform created and led by Michael Halpern, director of community initiatives, and Heather Lazar, community relations liaison, focuses on the two stages of foreclosure – pre-sale and post-sale; the roles of trustees, servicers, investors, and insurers; and innovative solutions through legislation and research tools.

Regional-based outreach was exemplified in Kentucky and New York. The Department collaborated with the Kentucky League of Cities to offer half-day educational classes to hundreds of code enforcement officers throughout the Bluegrass State. Fulton, Carrollton, Somerset, Moorhead, and Berea hosted presentations for code professionals that highlighted legislative updates. Halpern and Lazar added Safeguard’s expertise related to Vacant Property Registration (VPR) ordinances. Currently, there are 37 local or county enacted or proposed ordinances in Kentucky. VPR elements highlighted by Halpern and Lazar during the classes included necessary ingredients for successful VPRs, goals to obtain through such legislation, “triggers” for registration, creating concise definitions, including strong and easily understood requirements, and critical components for compliance. 

The same regional-based outreach took place in New York as the Northern Adirondack, Finger Lake, and Central chapters of the New York State Building Officials Conference hosted their annual conferences. More than 1,100 code enforcement officers attended and took part in Safeguard’s state certified presentations.

The Department participated in a full-day class at the annual EduCode conference in Las Vegas. Although the conference is hosted by the Southwest Chapter of the International Code Council, code officers from 18 states attended the seminar that dug deeply into the foreclosure process and VPRs. 

Finally, the Department sponsored, exhibited, and led a class at the annual conference of the Code Enforcement Association of Texas in Fort Worth, Texas. Existing partnerships were strengthened and new ones were formed as Safeguard participated in the Association’s annual event, which drew over 300 officers from throughout the state.

Mortgage Servicer & Property Preservation Contacts Resource

For many years, Safeguard has made outreach to local governments, especially to code enforcement officials, a priority in our efforts to safeguard our clients’ interests. The initial vision of Robert Klein, our founder and chairman, saw the divide that existed as a result of municipal officials’ struggle to identify and communicate with the proper loan servicing staff. These struggles often led to frustration and negative outcomes for all parties. The community initiatives department continues to bridge this gap by providing no-cost educational training and “tools” to assist municipal officials, helping them realize our shared goal in preserving and protecting properties.

While the primary tool that we have offered to municipal staff to help identify proper points of contacts is Compliance Connections, we strive to provide additional ways to assist in facilitating transparency and opening the lines of communication. We continue to see an influx of registration ordinances (which are tracked and added to our custom matrix). Additionally, we regularly receive comments during our various municipal presentations pertaining to difficulties in communicating with the proper parties, which may result in punitive action against servicers.

Therefore, we have re-created a servicer contact sheet originally developed several years ago through the MBA VPR Working Group. The current version can be accessed by clicking here. Please feel free to share.

We welcome any feedback. If you have any questions, concerns or comments please contact the community initiatives department at community.initiatives@s.safeguardproperties.com.

We would like to extend our appreciation to members of the industry who have provided their information. Thank you for your partnership and commitment in building relationships and creating win-win solutions.

If you wish to be added to this resource, or would like to update your information, please email community.initiatives@s.safeguardproperties.com.

Related Posts

Community Initiatives Year in Review

Safeguard’s community initiatives department reflects on 2017 as a year of challenges and of growth as is continued its mission of education and support with code enforcement jurisdictions across the country.

Read More

Community Initiatives Department Partners for Industry Education in 2017

Safeguard’s community initiatives department spent the first half of the year collaborating with industry professionals to deliver several educational classes focusing on topics including the foreclosure process and best practices in code enforcement.

Read More

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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