In today’s less-than-certain real estate market, two words are slowly becoming more commonplace, or perhaps necessary, for those dealing in the default servicing side of the business. Those two words are “loss mitigation.”
With that in mind, Cheryl Lang, president of Houston-based Integrated Mortgage Solutions (IMS), is taking to the market to discuss hot topics in loss mit. Among those hot topics is the need for servicers to do what Lang calls “active foreclosure prevention.” But, Lang says, first, you have to get the borrower’s attention, and that’s not always easy.

“People don’t want to talk to their mortgage companies, and they don’t have that repoire built up with anybody so they feel like they can call and say, ‘hey I’m having a problem what do I do.’ “ Unfortunately, Lang says that’s the exact relationship needed to reach a defaulted borrower before they end up in foreclosure.
So how can servicers and vendors get the borrower’s attentionx Lang says some of the more popular techniques in today’s market include the placement of door-knockers, skiptracing, face-to-face interviews with borrowers, and occupancy verification. “It really tells a lot … just going out and finding out who is living in the property,” Lang said.
The other major obstacle for servicers is the reality that borrowers are naturally skeptical or negative about lenders and servicers. Lang says the goal is to break through the barrier of skepticism by focusing the borrower’s attention on solutions and strategies.
“We’re being asked by one of our clients to do face-to-face interviews in getting the information the loss mitigation team would be getting and going out to the property with these borrowers and talking to them about their alternatives,” said Lang. “I think that’s a wonderful idea because it shows the borrowers we’ve sent somebody out there. They’re not there to beat you up for a payment. They’re there to get information to send back to the servicers so they can help you.”
Click here to visit the Integrated Mortgage Solutions Web site.