Safeguard Properties Community Relations Liaison Heather Lazar led a class at the 19th Annual EduCODE Conference, a week-long event hosted by the Southern Nevada Chapter of the International Code Council (ICC) and the Southern Nevada Building Officials. With an audience of code enforcement officers from across the country, Lazar, representing the largest mortgage field services company in the U.S., connected the similarities in objectives held by both jurisdictions and mortgage servicers. 

Featuring Sherri Johnston, American Association of Code Enforcement’s (AACE) ambassador-at-large as moderator, Lazar profiled the mortgage and foreclosure process, focusing on the role of Safeguard and the positive impacts of the best practices for inspections and property maintenance. The pre- and post-sale phases of foreclosure also were discussed and code officers were provided with a solid understanding of the fundamentals for each — specifically the difference in ownership during each phase and field services activities designed to both protect the collateral interest and neighborhood integrity.

The class also featured an in-depth review and live demonstration of Compliance Connections, one of the innovative tools created in partnership between the mortgage service industry and code enforcement to assist officers with identifying the responsible parties and direct points of contact for vacant properties.

Brian Estep, code enforcement officer with the City of Henderson, NV, is a long-time subscriber and speaks highly of the successes that the system continues to provide to his department. He walked his colleagues through the ease of entering a property and instructed how to quickly submit information for research. Responses from Compliance Connections researchers open the lines of communication between cities and the industry, which then can expedite resolution. Estep affirmed that two elements contribute to making the system incredibly successful — quick response times and no cost to code enforcement and city officials.
 
Cities across the country rely on the training, certification and state published codes of the ICC, whose slogan is “People Helping People Build a Safer World.” This mission is parallel to the efforts undertaken by the mortgage servicing industry within communities both big and small. Safeguard thanks AACE and ICC for the opportunity to share this message and facilitate the building of collaboration to preserve and protect the neighborhoods that we call home.

The EduCODE Conference was held in Las Vegas, NV.