Technology and Teamwork

Ms. Koon is a shareholder in the Michigan based law firm of Trott & Trott. This viewpoint is the first part of an article she wrote about the foreclosure process. The second part will run in the May edition.      Foreclosure works to make things equitable and affordable for all borrowers by helping to control losses, despite the forbidding sound of the word to lay audiences. Foreclosure helps preserve the cost structure, yields and profitability that our lenders and financial market require in order to sustain our nation's free-market mortgage system, i.e., homeownership.

     Where do we come in? The success of this foreclosure process depends on the performance and integrity of the servicing industry and their allies, law firms who specialize in foreclosure. Working together over the years, we have created a highly efficient, quality system that has proven adaptable.

     Trends and Challenges

     It wasn't that long ago that we were shuffling stacks of typewritten reports of data compiled manually, typing foreclosure publication notices and sale deeds, and flipping through Rolodexes. Now we work with computers and sophisticated database management programs that we use to manage the progress of foreclosure referrals.

     Certainly, the sheer increases in volume that servicers and strategic partners must deal with each new year make a strong case for technology. Yes, more borrowers (increased population and residential housing stock in our nation) mean more defaults and more work for us.

     Still, other factors have contributed to the growth in volumes. These include the refi boom, the greater variety of mortgage types, less conformity in borrower profiles and the ease with which many debtors can file for bankruptcy. In all, these factors reflect our dynamic mortgage lending marketplace; what most would agree is the world's most creative and fluid.

     As a result, we have an intensive work flow, but one where cases can't be pigeonholed and standardized as easily as in the past. This is for two reasons. The first is our more complex society. Families with multiple households or multiple properties, divorce, separation, claims of children, homes bought for elder parents, our mobile society: these can all complicate title searches and communication with those about to be foreclosed upon or those already in process. The second factor is the complexity of the lending industry itself. Hundreds - maybe thousands - of mortgage lenders, servicers and investors now operate, each with distinct process requirements and reporting criteria that its foreclosure law firm partner must follow. Servicers' increased reliance on outsourcing has also resulted in additional demands to the law firm. The demands on our time and the possibilities for making an error multiply similarly. Add to this, of course, perhaps our No. 1 mandate-always shorten, shorten, shorten that time period from referral to the first legal action and referral to sale.

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