The Modifications of the Fittest
By CHICKMELIONfreelance
When the ship is taking on water the captain plugs up the hole. Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? Then again necessity is the mother of invention. It is a solutions based system of survival, and it is what will keep the ship afloat. It is also the attitude needed in a volatile and uncertain marketplace. Customized solutions in any given day is the name of the survival game, but when you are bailing out water quicker than you are getting anywhere, the need to be flexible, innovative and customer focused should become the primary direction your sights are set on.
Two companies servicing both ends of the same marketplace are prime examples of survival of the “Modification of the Fittest,” both have very recently issued press releases touting their successes in a very volatile Housing Mortgaging Industry. Not surprisingly both of their successes are attributed to utilizing the same strategy... that of modifying their product to better serve the customer’s current needs. Rather than a generic blanket approach to throw over a larger client base, these two companies tailor fit their products one customer at a time...and they need to! With this approach, one of the companies ensures themselves a tighter control of expenditures in a risky market, (a necessity because they are the lender) while the other needs to be creative in providing bail out solutions, because they are the rescue specialists. They are...on the mortgaging end of the scale: Total Mortgage Services LLC, and on the foreclosure end of the scale: Home Rescue LLC .
Analysis from First American Corel Logic reveals that 7.5 million single family homes are worth less than they owe in their mortgage. Negative equity puts a freeze on two levels. People are more inclined to default and fewer are willing to enter the market in it’s current state. Statistics confirm the worst. A jump in defaults by higher-risk borrowers are putting a crimp in financing for home purchases and the prices. That’s because rapid growth of new types of mortgages for five years through to 2005 was one of the key factors behind the boom that sent home buying, and prices, to record highs prior to this credit crunch all markets are facing at the moment. As the current state of economy forces every belt to tighten, it is these hight risk borrowers who are unable to met their contractual obligations and are walking away.
In a press release recently, Total Mortgage Services announced that they were not only thriving amid a crisis, but also rapidly expanding as well. “We avoided the risky credit practices that many of our competitors engaged in,” says John Walsh, Total Mortgage’s founder and president. He attributes their success to offering conforming fixed-rate mortgages and adjustable rate mortgage loans at unbeatable prices. Realizing that their customers wanted transparent mortgages at realistic rates without a host of hidden fees. They consistently met these expectations while maintaining a high level of customer service. The end result is that much of their business is referral based. The company has even managed to triple its number of employees since January, a remarkable feat considering many mortgage companies around are either down sizing or packing it in altogether. And what is the company’s client servicing motto? The loan solution best suited for one family may be very different from one that’s right for their next door neighbor, their in-laws, or their best friends. Focusing on being experts in every angle of the business like policies, regulations and opportunities that arise due to changes in legislation, Total Mortgage Services understands complex financial instruments better than anyone and uses it to their advantage.
On the opposite end of the mortgaging industry sits Home Rescue LLC, who offers a press release of their own; announcing a new “Loss Mitigation Initiative. This is a company who helps customers reduce mortgage payments with a Modification Assistance Package, as well as the worst case scenario: Short Sale Solutions. This company is uniquely positioned in dealing with all that can go wrong in the industry, which has gained it some valuable insights. These insights have helped the company formulate a salable product extension that will give Home Rescue LLC an upper hand. They have devised a new weapon in the campaign to prevent foreclosures, by launching a state-of-the-art Modification Assistance Package that evens the odds in negotiations with big banks and provides mortgage foreclosure solutions. It is a comprehensive plan designed to secure mortgage terms that are affordable for the long term. It allows the customer to handle mortgage debt better as opposed to allowing it to spiral out of control. It is am all-inclusive package and has all the tools a home owner will need to reduce their debt. Using a proprietary system devised by the company customer data is collected and from it a comprehensive report on the home owners financial situation is generated. Using data analysis this report is used to prepare a customized modification proposal, producing a thorough cost/benefit report to support the recommendations made in the loan modification proposal.
While many organizations are frantically bailing in a tight and volatile environment , these two companies are mopping up and it could be said primarily because they not only understood their clients needs as individuals, they saw the benefits of modifying products based on these individuals needs and motivations even in a highly challenging environment.. Which goes to prove, in any given day, the name of the survival game is being flexible, open eyed and ready to change gears to accommodate the liquidity of customer demands and needs in an ever shifting marketplace.
