As the National Association of Mortgage Field Services (NAMFS) spirals out of control, the latest attempts to shroud themselves in legitimacy by partnering with the National Association of Default Professionals (NADP). Announced in February of this year, the quasi-merger of NAMFS and NADP appears to be nothing other than two washed up firms whom had to dismantle and rebrand — as is the case with NADP — in order to stay relevant. Many may recognize the original NADP brand as REOMAC, formed several decades ago in California. More telling, though, are the ones controlling the reins of power — e.g.; with NAMFS it is Verisk and the #TwoForVerisk NAMFS Executive Director Eric Miller and NAMFS President Matt Zoldowski and with NADP simply look at Brandice Pelfrey, NADP Executive Director, and all of the other Associations she is Executive Director of.
It is no secret that NAMFS has financially collapsed. A simple comparison of their membership roster from pre to post COVID stands as the testament. Building on that, though, the reality is that NAMFS itself was the single contributing factor in a seventy percent attrition rate of Labor over the past several years. That is not a typo and based upon their own documentation of refusal to increase pricing for 30+ years. That kind of plantation mentality brought an original 100,000+ workforce down to roughly 30,000 today.
There is not a single unique program or feature which NAMFS has brought to the Mortgage Field Services Industry in its multi-decade existence other than wholesale fraud. Even the Gatehouse Strategies money hustle, with a price tag of $100K+, did little other than giving a price increase to several companies whom were original Fannie Mae Awardees. And those promises about moving the enormous price increases downward to other order mills and Labor have never materialized. Where others simply say it is a work in progress, Foreclosurepedia says that the Verisk pitchmen, Miller and Zoldowski, are stone cold liars. The problem with turning a blind eye to NAMFS is that the US taxpayer ends up footing the bill, once again, for the financial institutions whom take us all for a ride.
I have never been one for having a problem and not proposing a solution. In the case of NAMFS, I originally reached out in 2012 to address some of the issues which were prolific
in the Industry such as the rampant fraud thrust upon Labor by Miller’s NAMFS members. In the beginning, the groundswell of interest came in such force that Miller and then NAMFS Vice President Farello-Fernandez had to come down and attend the first ever gathering of Labor at the Florida FAST Conference. This, in turn, led to the prequel of the IAFST, then known as the National Property Preservation Guild. Finally, the International Association of Field Service Technicians (IAFST) was created and today has state nonprofit status and is pending federal nonprofit status. And at every step of the way, both Labor and Management have fought against organization much like the caste system of protection. With hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud documented and an involuntary bankruptcy forced upon National Field Network, the tide began to change. To be clear, though, there has been one US government agency adamantly opposed to Labor, Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
If you wanted to identify a US government agency whose actions — or inactions — best exemplify the support of outright fraud, HUD would be the go to agency. With dozens of whistleblowers brought forth, HUD has refused in each and every case to act upon fraud within the Industry. Moreover, though, even in the Involuntary Bankruptcy of NFN, as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were forced to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars — and remember that HUD still has Fannie Mae under conservatorship — HUD has refused to become involved. It is a pay-to-play scheme there whether or not that pay is based upon money. The SF Housing Team has, for years, refused to do anything meaningful other than knight the proverbial victors in the HUD M&M FSM contracts all the while pretending that FHA is not a part of the foreclosure cycle. Standing around, twiddling the fingers at their round table, the reality is that the following people are just as guilty as NAMFS of creating a hostile workplace for Labor in the Industry. And this is to say nothing about the ongoing antitrust actions which HUD has had meeting about wherein Verisk now controls all software in the property preservation sector.
Here are the players at SF Housing, as of several months ago, stonewalling the American Public,
HUD SF Housing
Atlanta HOC
AHOC Director Dan Rogers III [email protected]
REO Director Ralph Jackson [email protected]
Philly HOC
PHOC Director Anthony Triolo [email protected]
REO Director Michael Curry [email protected]
Santa Ana HOC
SAHOC Director Tom Rose [email protected]
REO Director Tammy Massone [email protected]
Denver HOC
DHOC Director Scott Bice [email protected]
REO Director Andrew Eckel [email protected]
NSC Director Matt Martin [email protected]
SFAM Leadership
Acting Director Elissa Saunders [email protected]
Deputy Director Graham Mayfield [email protected]
SF DAS Julienne Joseph [email protected]
Acting GDAS Vance Morris [email protected]
Dozens of emails to these entrenched bureaucrats have gone unanswered. It is as if they have all taken a blood oath to never assist the US taxpayers, whom pay their salaries, and feel untouchable. For far too long, HUD has served its own purposes and bowed down to those greasing the wheels. It is dangerous. It is dangerous not just from the perspective of the fragile democracy we live in, but ever more so that for decades these same people have refused to address the fraudulent activities ongoing under their watch. And when it comes to attempting to have HUD assist with even the most basic of things to ensure a properly trained workforce, the response is to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Think about that for just a moment. When asked to simply provide a few definitions such as what are the duties of an Inspector, HUD officials ordered me to file a FOIA request. Does it mean that there are no definitions; is the dirty little secret that HUD never has had definitions because that would require specific licensing requirements? Perhaps. More on point, though, HUD’s refusal to address the ongoing issues has allowed for three dollar inspections — that is not a typo — and the continued suppression of wage hikes with Minority Females and Labor specifically is what stands out in Secretary Marcia Fudge’s lack of leadership in a position she never wanted to begin with.
What the Biden Administration needs to understand is that whether or not they want to acknowledge their whitewashing of HUD, much like the NFL did with respect to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), there is no denying the fact that the lack of transparency is blinding in its brilliance. Simple questions and simple answers. These are things which the Biden Administration’s HUD and NAMFS continue to refuse to deal with. Whether or not HUD or NAMFS want to deal with the shaping operations currently underway by the International Association of Field Service Technicians (IAFST), the reality is that the hearts and minds of Labor have already resolved to better themselves by and through the IAFST.
This Father’s Day, our hat is off to the fathers out there being stand up gentlemen doing it day in and day out. Today is your day and we wish you the best!
