National Creditor?s Connection Establishes New Short Sales Desk

Lake Forest, Calif. – New incentives intended to stem continued declines in housing, and even spark a revival, will emphasize more alternative solutions for troubled properties. Efforts, like short sales, deeds-in-lieu and alternative modifications will be more dependent than ever on targeted, effective borrower contact strategies.

On Aug. 1, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicers are expected to have the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA), short sales and deed-in-lieu program up and running, at which time “boots on the ground” and “eyes on the street” could spell the difference between new success and old failures, according Bart Brainard Director, Strategic Default Management, National Creditors Connection Inc. (NCCI), Lake Forest, Calif.

According to the GSEs: "Once all other home retention options have been exhausted, eligible borrowers must be considered" for a short sale. Acknowledging this sea change, NCCI has created a new Short Sales Desk to provide servicers, investors and even distressed homeowners with a new ally in the struggle to find the best resolution for a troubled property."

The move, says Brainard, means NCCI’s role now will expand from basic borrower contact to a deeper evaluation of positive outcomes, including an objective assessment of the consumer’s true financial condition.

“HAFA is designed for people who don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Brainard. “They can’t afford to stay in their homes, so a short sale can provide their best option; it helps distressed sellers get out of a bad situation, retains property values and avoids high foreclosure costs."

NCCI’s new Short Sales Desk “will help assess, on behalf of our servicer-clients, whether delinquent borrowers are good candidates for these new programs,” says Jay Loeb, vice-president and a principal owner of the company, who said personnel will collect all necessary documents from borrowers and work with Realtors on an ‘arm’s-length transaction’.”

“Once we have the documents, all parties can roll right into the HAFA program or at least determine where there may be a need to re-contact borrowers to complete the process. It may be that we could offer something else entirely to resolve the situation,” Brainard said. In particular, NCCI is discovering that about 30 percent of all delinquent borrower’s properties are non-owner occupied and often vacant.

The move to a deeper, evaluation level in our interactions with delinquent borrowers will require acquisition and cross-comparisons of detailed data including title reports and broker price opinions (BPOs). As a result, NCCI will be acting as component servicers.

From the initial door-knock through document retrieval, signature services and extracting financials, NCCI will play a crucial part in every step of the process and clients is that they can pick and choose what services they want.

About NCCI
NCCI provides field contact, loss mitigation and onsite inspection services to financial institutions nationwide. Clients receive a seamless management service, utilizing a variety of tools and resources designed to increase customer contact, motivating them toward account resolution. In addition to a national network of trained field representatives, clients have access to an extensive variety of updates, status reports and secure assigning via a secure web portal. For more information, call (800) 300-0743 or visit www.nationalcreditors.com.