This week, the Safeguard Properties team traveled to Dallas, Texas to attend the 20th anniversary of the Five Star Conference & Expo. As a star sponsor of the conference, Safeguard Properties had the opportunity to meet with many of our clients, showcase our services at our exhibit booth, and attend special events like the Keys for Life Gala and the Women in Housing luncheon.
On Tuesday, members of the Safeguard executive team provided expertise and insight during the Property Preservation & Management Forum. As a member of the Property Preservation & Management Fundamentals: Achieving Success Amid Today’s Challenges panel, COO Mike Greenbaum shared thoughts on current pain points and best practices within the industry. Topics included identifying and mitigating risk for both property preservation companies and their vendors, utilizing AI and other technology to show the condition of a property, and how to attract new vendors to the industry.
“I have to compete in a gig market with uber, grub hub, and other opportunities for independent contractors. This means they have to be able to make better money in property preservation than doing other types of work. We need to get creative with ways to keep their volume up; instead of an assessment that takes 17 minutes to complete, if we can get the right information in half the time it allows our vendors to get more done in a day,” Mike stated.
During the second session titled Weathering the Storm: How Climate Disasters are Impacting Industry Preparation & Response, the conversation turned to the rise in natural disasters, the difficulties pertaining to insuring properties in areas prone to disasters, and how these events can be better managed as an industry. When asked what keeps her up at night regarding natural disasters, Talia Ramirez, SLS replied “Inflation; how much these insurance policies cost. Some premiums have gone up 43% from 2023. Families are foregoing flood, hurricane insurance because they simply can’t afford it.”
The final panel of the forum titled Vendor Selection and Oversight: Building Effective Partnerships saw Safeguard’s Elizabeth Squires, AVP Client Accounts discussing the importance of choosing the right partner to ensure properties are properly maintained. Elizabeth stressed the importance of building relationships and promoting open dialogue within her partnerships with both clients and vendors.
“Scorecards need to evolve from what they were 5 years ago. The metrics need to match the volume. We need to understand what happens in the field so that we don’t fail a good vendor because of one difficult property,” she explained. “My biggest takeaway: productive communication. We need to be forward thinking and ensuring that the conversations we’re having are moving us toward a resolution or end goal.”
Mike Greenbaum Named PPEF Chairperson
The Property Preservation Executive Forum met on Wednesday, where Safeguard COO Mike Greenbaum was nominated and subsequently elected as Chairperson for the committee, which brings representatives from the nation’s most prominent field services companies together for transparent conversations about the state of the industry. Congratulations to Mike on this prestigious designation!
The conference wrapped with the Women in Housing Awards Luncheon, where Safeguard’s Carrie Tackett, Business Development was chosen as a finalist for the Corporate Social Responsibility Award. The luncheon began with remarks from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia R. Gordon. Following Ms. Gordon’s uplifting Keynote speech, Ann Thorn of Wells Fargo lead the ‘Inside the She-Suite” panel consisting of leading female executives who shared words of wisdom and inspiration while discussing their challenges and successes within the industry. On behalf of Safeguard Properties, congratulations to all nominees and winners of this year’s awards!
We also congratulate the Five Star team on 20 years of successful conferences within the mortgage industry!
Next up: The National Property Preservation Conference (NPPC) 2023 in Washington DC! We look forward to seeing you there! To register, visit www.nppconf.com.