We're pleased to rollout our Industry Certification Program. This Program is the result of significant effort of the MortgageFieldRep Team. It also includes a MFR Reference guide, in a zip format, which includes bid forms, client list, resume templates and much more. The intent of the program is to meet MFR's desire to provide members with a tool by which they can train and certify their staff and subcontractor network on all facets of mortgage field services. It is also the MFR's goal to have the "MFR Certified" designation be the gold standard in the field service industry. There are currently learning modules covering Tools for Success, Property Inspections, Property Preservation, and Generating Estimates. Our expectation is that this program will set a new standard for trained, qualified field service rep so that when hiring companies have a choice, they choose the MFR-certified vendor. A passing exam score on the final assessment will result in a Certificate of Completion that the test taker can print off and keep as part of their resume. ENROLL TODAY!!!: http://fieldservicetraining.com/

DALLAS - If the nation's largest bank had lost the records of thousands of its customers, federal regulators would take swift action.

But, that's just what Bank of America directly and indirectly has done with the paychecks of thousands of its contractors and sub-contractors in the property preservation business.

The failure to pay contractors millions of dollars has created a tide of financial ruin in the backwash of the mortgage crisis. Just one of the places where the suffering has taken hold is the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

A property preservation company with business in Texas charges Bank of America with fraud and deceit, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment in a civil suit in California.

Diversified Field Services of Tustin, California — which maintains foreclosed properties for banks — says in the lawsuit that Bank of America signed DFS to a contract to maintain repossessed homes in 14 states last year.

The company says it spent nearly $2 million preparing for the work, but that the work never came.

The Department of Veterans Affairs released Circular 26-10-7 titled, Forbearance for Homeowners with Problem Drywall.

Forbearance for Homeowners with Problem Drywall

1. Purpose. This circular provides guidance on the servicing of VA-guaranteed home loans where borrowers are experiencing difficulty due to the presence of drywall that may be causing health issues and/or damage to homes.

Here's  a copy of the new maximum allowable issued by HUD 2010

This Mortgagee Letter provides updated consolidated property and preservation (P&P) guidance for foreclosed properties that had been secured by FHA-insured mortgages, and provides cross-references to the compliance requirements within HUD handbooks, regulations and current P&P guidelines. This Mortgagee Letter:

We will now provide this list to ALL members who go through our certification program.  Along with many other useful tools to help them increase their business

Properties must be secured to prevent unauthorized entry and protect against weather related damage.  The cost schedule to this attachment includes a Maximum Allowable Securing Fee for securing that includes the minimum securing requirements identified in I. below, as well as a flat fee for photographs.  This attachment also identifies maximum allowable fees for securing swimming pools and completing temporary roof repairs, which are not included in the Maximum Allowable Securing Fee.  The securing requirements listed below may be performed without prior approval from the M&M contractor if all individual expenses remain within the maximum cost allowable for that particular service. 

Vacant and abandoned properties are potential targets for vandalism, weather damage and criminal activity.  Additionally, they present an attractive nuisance that poses a hazard to children and others who may be injured.  To ensure the preservation of the mortgage collateral and lessen the negative community impact of vacant properties, Mortgagees must conduct regular property inspections.  Mortgagees may include the cost of these inspections in a claim for insurance benefits within the limits described in this section.  Claim amounts paid for inspections are not included in the maximum cost limit per property.

Mortgagee must make an effort to determine occupancy before incurring the expense of a property inspection.  The industry has developed a variety of tools, including the use of “door-hangers” and “mailers” to assist a Mortgagee in determining if a property is occupied or vacant.  These tools ask the occupant to contact the Mortgagee to confirm the occupancy status of the property.  The failure of the occupant to respond within the prescribed time period indicates that a prompt visual inspection of the property is required.