By: David Lee, Vice President of Business Development, ServiceLink Default Services
The climate of today’s default mortgage servicing industry is complex. New regulatory and policy updates have had many lenders, servicers and investors of all sizes struggling to keep up. At the same time, mortgage forbearances came to an end on July 31, leaving scores of borrowers in need of support and solutions. Right now is an ideal time to engage with a default servicing partner equipped with expertise, technology and scalability to help you meet this approaching wave and navigate the challenges to come.
What should you look for in a default mortgage servicing solutions partner? Here are five factors I recommend considering:
Trust
My military background taught me that when you're being led into battle, you must know the individual leading you and know you can trust them. You should always look to people and organizations with integrity and a good reputation. When you know and trust that a partner will take the initiative and apply their expertise to get the job done, it allows you to focus less time managing your vendors and more time on the core competencies within your business. Doing that increases your efficiency and profitability.
Commitment
What kind of commitment is your partner willing to make to you and the industry? Are they able to take a step back with you, look at the big picture and provide tailored mortgage servicing solutions for a better overall outcome? For more than 50 years, ServiceLink has invested significantly in default innovation to deliver solutions that span the entire default lifecycle. The end-to-end solutions ServiceLink provides reach beyond the servicers in the default space to support attorney firms and investors as well. You want a partner that is staunchly committed to the default industry.
Strength, Stability and Scalability
Pandemic conditions have taken a toll on many service providers — notably, those that focus solely on one product or service. As moratoriums were put into place and then extended several times, the halt to foreclosures exposed these firms to financial risk which, in turn, creates risk for their clients.
Choosing a more diverse, stable partner — one with financial strength and deep industry experience — helps you build a foundation that can weather any storm. ServiceLink, the nation’s leading default service provider, not only provides a comprehensive suite of services across title, auction, field services and valuations, but also is backed by a Fortune 500 holding company, Fidelity National Financial (FNF).
The ability of your partner to quickly scale to the specific fluctuations of your business needs is important, too, particularly as uncertainty continues to prevail. ServiceLink works closely with our clients to anticipate and prepare for business volumes, and we have the resources to shift up or down on a dime to help our clients meet the demands of the day.
Innovation and Technology
The world is moving at a high speed, and the default market is right there in the fast lane. Keeping pace means working with a partner whose technology is forward-thinking, flexible and easy to use. For example, ServiceLink supports the strategic initiatives of servicers and investors with EXOS One Marketplace™, the only AI-powered asset-decisioning tool of its kind. EXOS One Marketplace is a game-changer: It provides visibility of assets through the entire default lifecycle, using predictive modeling to determine the optimal disposition strategy for properties in default. Our clients can see around corners and make well-informed decisions to reduce their losses and fuel their profitability.
Respect
When the industry respects who you are and what you do, that speaks volumes. You want to work with people who have experience and the reputation to back it up. I look at ServiceLink as the gold standard in transactional mortgage services, particularly in the default space. It’s a large company, but it operates with a boutique approach. Every ServiceLink client has a client manager, a business development representative and a dedicated operational team assigned directly to them. This structure enables a customized approach designed to meet the unique needs of each client.
Every one of us at ServiceLink is committed to respecting our clients and their goals, and helping them achieve those goals through expertise, technology, scalability and dedication. This, in turn, earns ServiceLink the industry’s respect. It’s respect we strive to earn every single day.
If you’re ready to partner with a mortgage servicing solutions partner provider who can step up and help you meet whatever challenges and opportunities the coming days may bring, visit svclnk.com/servicers.
David Lee joined ServiceLink Default Services as vice president of Business Development in 2020. He has been working in default services for more than 15 years, joining the industry after serving for more than 22 years as a United States Marine. He finds the principles and tools that drove his military career also come into play in business and life, especially when it comes to evaluating servicing partners during this critical time in our industry.
