Michael Greenbaum Addresses REO Marketability in Mortgage Servicing News Blog

With the housing crisis lingering, real estate owned properties have faced unique challenges over the past several years. Mortgage servicers and investors have had to change the way they deal with their REO portfolios and pay more attention to the marketability of these properties that now compete side-by-side with traditionally marketed homes for sale.
 
To show its clients, or the mortgage servicers and investors, that the work its contractors perform is completed to the highest standards, Safeguard Properties created a new quality assurance program for its REO service line.
 
Key components of Safeguard’s quality assurance program include reviews of the interior and exterior work its contractors complete, collecting outside data, analyzing the results, and adjusting practices based on those results.
 
Interior and Exterior Reviews
Safeguard’s quality assurance program starts once its national network of contractors completes initial services. A team of inspectors is deployed to visit properties and assess the work completed. This process includes a 178-question script the inspectors must follow for both the interior and exterior of the properties. Photo documentation is required to illustrate what the inspectors find during this extensive review.
 
Collecting Outside Data
In addition to the information gathered by its inspectors, Safeguard uses data collected by outside sources, such as information from clients and brokers. This data, along with what has been gathered by Safeguard’s field quality-control department, in addition to data from clients’ third-party contracted group of inspectors, are compared with similar information gathered by Safeguard’s inspectors during the quality-assurance process.
 
Analyzing Results
Once all of the data are collected, Safeguard conducts a statistical analysis. The results are used to create “heat maps,” identifying with designated colors the areas or regions in which the contractors are meeting the requirements and standards. It also is used to determine the regions where the contractors are deficient. By identifying the weakest areas, Safeguard can take corrective action.
 
Adjusting Practices
When Safeguard’s quality-assurance team identifies contractors who are not compliant in specific categories, corrective measures are taken. The company may also choose to deploy its field team to visit “hot areas,” or those that are red on the heat map, and work with contractors individually based on their performance.
 
Any contractor who is deemed deficient in certain service areas also will receive additional training and specific goals for improvement. A four-week plan will be put into place that will incorporate multiple unoccupied property visits, contractor field training and office visits.
 
Quality Successes
Safeguard’s new quality assurance program has yielded good results. Since starting the program in November 2011, the company has experienced a 39% overall increase in properties with no deficiencies or quality issues.
 
Improvements in quality have also been reported by Safeguard’s clients. The company’s inspection scores from its clients have increased 17% since initiating this new quality-assurance program.

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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 nearly 1,000 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