CRISIS COMMISSION
The Crisis Commission on Homeowner Representation
At the beginning of May, I decided to take the lead in an attempt to bring together the very best of the loan modification service providers. I wanted to work with and represent only the firms that considered themselves to be among the most effective, committed and highly regarded as could possibly be offered by the emerging industry born of crisis.
I set out to find those firms who deep inside wished they weren’t needed, but knew how much they truly were. Consummate professionals with a mission that transcended any business purpose to enter the realm of believing in a cause; firms fighting for what’s right and just and true.
It was not easy. There are a lot of firms offering loan modifications that should not be, not because they’re “scams,” necessarily, but because they’re only running a business. And to continue fighting another day in order to help another homeowner obtain a loan modification requires much more than what even the most successful businesses can possibly provide.
There’s a lot of cynicism, to be sure, but I’ve met so many in the field that I’m able to see in their eyes, which among them had seen only opportunity, and which would do it for free if they could. Professionals so proud of their work, so involved in their struggle, to be enthralled by their work because it challenged them and mattered so very much. They may not all care to admit it, but you can hear their feelings in the stories they tell of how they saved one homeowner or another under circumstances so extreme that they weren’t sure at the time that it could be done, and they were scared, even though it wasn’t they who were at risk of losing a home.
And so was formed what I’ve decided to call the Crisis Commission on Homeowner Representation. It’s a name that doesn’t make for a very good acronym… CCHR certainly doesn’t roll off the tongue by any means. It doesn’t spell out anything cute or memorable. And I think those are all very good things. I don’t like the idea that this group’s purpose should be shortened to something for the purpose of sounding “catchy”.
Because all I could think of, as I struggled to come up with the right phrase to accompany such a commission was three words: Homeowners Need Help… Because homeowners need help. And that’s why the Crisis Commission on Homeowner Representation exists… to do everything possible to make sure that a homeowner’s right to that representation isn’t unfairly maligned, taken away or unreasonably limited.
The more I learned about those involved in helping homeowners, and about the homeowners themselves, the more I understood the truth of the matter.
They all tried government programs… they all tried to call their bank directly. And when they saw how little those organizations cared about their plight, how unhelpful they had been… they turned to a private sector firm because they wanted to pay experts who would do everything possible to get the job done… so they wouldn’t face the horror or losing their family home.
I learned the truth behind the relative few, yet still troubling “scams”. Were they the fault of the unscrupulous individuals who perpetrated their schemes, conning homeowners out of their last few dollars? Certainly. But there’s a much more important truth in play here, I think. Homeowners got scammed because they had nowhere else to turn, so they jumped at whatever was on the other end of the phone claiming to care and offering help.
Had they seen a safer alternative, they would have taken it. But none was offered. They had been left by the wayside. Told that they never should have bought their home in the first place. Shunned by a society consumed by phrases like “moral hazard” and “the sanctity of contracts,” numb to the numbers that stretched into the millions upon millions of people who would lose their homes. It was up to the banks now… and the banks alone would decide their fate.
Homeowners were scammed because they were left alone to fend for themselves by our government during the worst meltdown of the housing market in history. Private sector firms formed to provide help where no other viable avenue existed, but with government having turned a blind eye, the darker side of capitalism in a free society had a chance to rear its very ugly head. Some were defrauded, but only because they had reached a level of desperation where common sense no longer drives human behavior.
The fact is, the government has failed us at every turn in this economic crisis, and still the programs in place today could at best be described as being only marginally better than the failed plans and policies of the past. Yet, both state and federal governments and regulators have responded by attempting to malign the legitimate private sector resources that homeowners can turn to for help when they choose not to go it alone for whatever reason. ”Call your bank directly,” is their wholly unconvincing mantra.
The Crisis Commission for Homeowner Representation is made up of firms that are dedicated to making sure that homeowners are never left alone again. Because homeowners need and very much deserve expert help when their home is at risk. Because homeowners in America have both an enumerated and implied right to representation when the potential to be deprived of their property exists.
As I learned more about the loan modification industry, if you could call it that, I discovered how much it had been affected by the circumstances surrounding its birth. Firms often didn’t trust each other, very few even knew one another. Rumors circulated freely, as personnel moved from one employer to another, like a contagious disease. And the media’s coverage of private sector providers of loan modification services being so heavily weighted on the worst of the bad apples, unquestionably had not helped to engender feelings of security among those leading private sector firms. All in all, I found an industry not ready to take big steps, but rather one onlycapable of taking the smallest of calculated steps toward a well defined goal. And even then, I knew it would not be easy.
As a result, I made the decision to bring members of the commission together around a series of short term objectives… a strategic plan divided into well defined phases, if you will.
The Crisis Commission for Homeowner Representation is currently in Phase One of its development, having only begun in May of 2009. In Phase One, there are three categories of tasks to be accomplished within a 90-day period. They were selected for their specific strategic value relative to the commission’s longer term objectives. They are:
A. Data Collection & Reporting – The “industry:” has no publishable data or statistics on its ability or capacity for effectiveness, and without such data, any discussion held with those unfamiliar with the industry, whether in government or the media, is destined to be cut short and not terribly productive.
In this regard, my team has established the process and standards for data collection, verification, analysis and reporting… and has already begun to collect performance and experience data from those supporting the commission. The objective in phase One is not to produce the most comprehensive set of data, but rather the set of statistically valid data that is the most telling.
B. Industry Image Presentation – In order to convey the true nature and make up of the loan modification industry quickly and with the greatest possible impact, we are producing a 20-30 minute, broadcast quality, documentary style program that will shatter the misconceptions about the firms offering loan modification services. My team has, in the past, produced roughly 50 documentary programs for business, and has been the recipient of 22 Telly Awards as a result.
| A brief history of the Telly. The Telly Awards was founded in 1978 to honor excellence in local, regional and cable TV commercials. Non-broadcast video and TV program categories were soon added. Today, the Telly is one of the most sought-after awards by industry leaders, from large international firms to local production companies and ad agencies. With over 200 categories, more organizations than ever are eligible to participate. |
C. The Commission’s Summer Conference — The final component of Phase One will be the Summer Conference, which my group will produce and host, and I will facilitate. The conference, which will be held as centrally as possible, and conveniently located close to an airport, will be an opportunity for supporting firms to view a presentation on the results of the data collection and analysis work completed to-date, and watch the premier showing of the documentary-style program showcasing the industry.
But, perhaps even more importantly, the Summer Conference will be the first time that the smartest and most dedicated minds in the industry come together in a structured environment to experience each other’s opinions, ethics, and ideas. We’ll see presentations on the regulatory and legislative environment, on homeowner marketing and communications, and on operational effectiveness. And as a group we will discuss my recommendations on objectives for Phase Two.
The conference will begin on Day One at 4:30pm with cocktail hour. Dinner will be served and we will go into the night, wrapping up by 10:30pm. We’ll have a breakfast meeting that will end by 9:00 am and most attendees will be able to get back to their offices that day. I will produce a detailed agenda for the conference and distribute it at least two weeks in advance.
The supporters of the Commission on Homeowner Representation need your firm to get involved as well. The more firms that choose to support the Commission’s Phase One objectives, the more data we will have to base our statistics on, the more resources we’ll have to work with, and the more effective the initiative will be overall.
It’s important that, at the very least, you get in touch, see what’s involved, ask your questions. This is not something that any of the top firms providing loan modification services to homeowners can afford to ignore. And why would any such person want to?
You can reach me at 714-904-2288.
You can Email me at: mandelman@mac.com.
As long as you do it as soon as you possibly can.
Too much time has been wasted already.
It’s time for action.
