The nuns used to punish me for getting out-of-line but, these days I do it all the time and coach others to do so as well. I know Sr. Helen Michael would be pleased, however, because I am giving good advice that is helping people! Here's what I mean.
The line for Loan Modifications wraps around the block!It makes the line for Laker's tickets seem short. Hundreds of thousands are in the queue ahead of you with more than 50,000 added per week. Banks can't staff and train nearly fast enough and the systems and procedures are insufficient as well. Add to that the fact that the banks are only begrudgingly modifying to begin with - and you have a formula for homeowner frustration and failure. Though it seems rude, you have to "take cuts" to get to the front of the line.
The answer is to copy the winners, that 4% of applicants who get the good modifications. How do they do it? They step out-of-line and do extraordinary things. In previous articles I've described the way winners craft their applications and follow-up on their files to use what I call File Inertia. Now I will describe the way they escalate problems.
Because problems are an inevitable part of such a convoluted and broken process, effectively dealing with them is critical. I advise you to 1) Ask 5 Times, 2) Escalate Well and 3) Escalate Well Beyond.
Ask 5 Times - Handling common problems is easy. If they misplaced your 4506-T Form, send them another one. If they want 3 months of bank statements instead of the 2 their forms state send it in. What I mean by Ask 5 Times is, when you get information from the agent that is just wrong, and you can't seem to get them to perceive it I call back and try another agent, 5 times. That's right, it's not worth it to try to prove your point and sometimes the agent is just not savvy enough or trained well enough to understand your question or concern. If I can't get 5 agents to give me the "right" answer, then I ESCALATE.
Escalation means going up the chain of command. It means requesting that a manager or supervisor review the situation with you. Be sure to do this politely to minimize the snub to the agent but be firm. Simply say (to the 5th agent) "Please connect me to your supervisor, will you? This matter is just too important to me to let this go. I want to hear it from a supervisor". Sometimes the agent will oblige and other times the agent will argue with you. I believe that sometimes too, agents will ask their co-worker to pose as a manager for the call. It may happen that the manager will have to call you back. Don't hold your breath. Occasionally you will get lucky and a well trained and well informed manager will get on the line and provide some real value.
By Escalate Well Beyond I mean well beyond the Loss Mitigation Department. At times you may have to involved other bank departments, bank executives, regulatory agencies, your own local politicians, trade associations and even the press. Your situation is not too small for any of these entities to care about. The secret to getting them to take action on your behalf is to request it in a manner that indicates that you: 1) have used all the "normal" channels already, 2) understand their role and have appropriate expectations for what they can do on your behalf, 3) state exactly what you want them to do and by when and 4) are the "type" who will escalate beyond them if they do not help (sort of an "ignore this request at your own peril" warning).
These Escalations Well Beyond are incredibly effective. Recently one client was assisted by the CEO of Aurora Loan Servicing, another by a local Congressman's plea to the OTS and a third by a U.S. Senator! Who'd a thunk it?
We're all in this together (well, many of us are at least). And getting help is often just a case of knowing who to ask and what to ask for. Most people are genuinely sympathetic to those of us caught in the housing crisis. After all, it's nearly most of us.
The line for Loan Modifications wraps around the block!It makes the line for Laker's tickets seem short. Hundreds of thousands are in the queue ahead of you with more than 50,000 added per week. Banks can't staff and train nearly fast enough and the systems and procedures are insufficient as well. Add to that the fact that the banks are only begrudgingly modifying to begin with - and you have a formula for homeowner frustration and failure. Though it seems rude, you have to "take cuts" to get to the front of the line.
The answer is to copy the winners, that 4% of applicants who get the good modifications. How do they do it? They step out-of-line and do extraordinary things. In previous articles I've described the way winners craft their applications and follow-up on their files to use what I call File Inertia. Now I will describe the way they escalate problems.
Because problems are an inevitable part of such a convoluted and broken process, effectively dealing with them is critical. I advise you to 1) Ask 5 Times, 2) Escalate Well and 3) Escalate Well Beyond.
Ask 5 Times - Handling common problems is easy. If they misplaced your 4506-T Form, send them another one. If they want 3 months of bank statements instead of the 2 their forms state send it in. What I mean by Ask 5 Times is, when you get information from the agent that is just wrong, and you can't seem to get them to perceive it I call back and try another agent, 5 times. That's right, it's not worth it to try to prove your point and sometimes the agent is just not savvy enough or trained well enough to understand your question or concern. If I can't get 5 agents to give me the "right" answer, then I ESCALATE.
Escalation means going up the chain of command. It means requesting that a manager or supervisor review the situation with you. Be sure to do this politely to minimize the snub to the agent but be firm. Simply say (to the 5th agent) "Please connect me to your supervisor, will you? This matter is just too important to me to let this go. I want to hear it from a supervisor". Sometimes the agent will oblige and other times the agent will argue with you. I believe that sometimes too, agents will ask their co-worker to pose as a manager for the call. It may happen that the manager will have to call you back. Don't hold your breath. Occasionally you will get lucky and a well trained and well informed manager will get on the line and provide some real value.
By Escalate Well Beyond I mean well beyond the Loss Mitigation Department. At times you may have to involved other bank departments, bank executives, regulatory agencies, your own local politicians, trade associations and even the press. Your situation is not too small for any of these entities to care about. The secret to getting them to take action on your behalf is to request it in a manner that indicates that you: 1) have used all the "normal" channels already, 2) understand their role and have appropriate expectations for what they can do on your behalf, 3) state exactly what you want them to do and by when and 4) are the "type" who will escalate beyond them if they do not help (sort of an "ignore this request at your own peril" warning).
These Escalations Well Beyond are incredibly effective. Recently one client was assisted by the CEO of Aurora Loan Servicing, another by a local Congressman's plea to the OTS and a third by a U.S. Senator! Who'd a thunk it?
We're all in this together (well, many of us are at least). And getting help is often just a case of knowing who to ask and what to ask for. Most people are genuinely sympathetic to those of us caught in the housing crisis. After all, it's nearly most of us.
About the Author:
Learn more details about effective problem escalation - and get examples of successes.? Visit Rockwood's site about DIY Loan Modification at Home Loan Modification. This article, 2011 Loan Mod Problems - Escalate em! is released under a creative commons attribution license.
No comments:
Post a Comment