Are you a bona fide Contractor in the Mortgage Field Services Industry looking for a career and not just a job? If so, you will want to continue reading this Article. If you are a legitimate Company which possesses General Liability Insurance (GLI), Errors and Omissions (E&O) and Workman’s Compensation (or a State Exemption) the reality is that by the time you finish reading this Article, there is no reason why you will not be eligible for consideration with respect to the lucrative world of residential maintenance. The reality, though, is that the type of Contractors I am reaching out to this evening are a different breed; these men and women are not the typical Craigslist Crackheads whom are generally seen on the typical, half assed Industry clean outs and grass cuts.
Foreclosurepedia has, for years, taken the Proverbial Pulse of the Mortgage Field Services Industry. Throughout that entire time, we have gotten to know both white and blue collar folks. While publicly it has appeared that Foreclosurepedia has an ax to grind with C Level Client personnel, the reality is that we have reached across both sides of the aisle for months now. Part of this bipartisan endeavor has been an attempt to identify that which both Client and Contractor need and to identify amicable methodologies in the furtherance of both party’s interests. This Article is the first in a culmination of those efforts.
Rarely, if ever, does Foreclosurepedia team up with a National Association of Mortgage Field Services (NAMFS) Member. There are several reasons for this; however, the largest reason being that verification of the veracity of NAMFS Member’s information is generally difficult, at best. Now, that doesn’t mean that all NAMFS Members lie; it means that as most NAMFS Members are privately held businesses and are reluctant to share anything, let alone their financial information. ASONS, though, is a different breed.
In 2013, ASONS — it is a compounding from the words A Son’s as in A Sons Construction Company — a Company located in Muncie, Indiana, began to follow the mantra Foreclosurepedia was preaching: Diversification. Milan Thompson, ASONS’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), spoke with Foreclosurepedia back in June, 2013. During that conversation, what I found in Thompson was refreshing. Neither Thompson nor I agreed on everything; what Thompson and I did do was find middle ground and built upon that. Reflecting back, the only other person I might honestly say whom was both candid and forthcoming was probably Phil Johnsen, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) over at Sentinel Field Services (SFS).
ASONS is no stranger in both thinking outside of the box nor what it takes to successfully function when they leave the boundaries of the mainstream Industry. I suppose that it should come as no surprise, then, that in 2013 ASONS began courting and eventually working with Large Institutional Investment Groups (LIIG). That is what I am going to begin to talk about tonight which will, in turn, give the bona fide Boots on the Ground (BOTG) Contractors an opportunity to potentially become involved in something far more lucrative than simply waiting for the next check — to never come.
LIIGs, by in large, are Investment Consortiums which purchase distressed real estate portfolios. They are not to be confused with the ma and pa type investors whom are out there nickle and diming around by reusing the carpet padding or spraying Kilz and Bleach on obvious mold — Discoloration as the Industry likes to call it. LIIGs buy, rehab and eventually rent single family dwellings on an extremely mind boggling scale. The life blood for these LIIGs are Contractors whom are capable of both large scale renovations and equally adept at the Repair and Maintenance (R&M) along with the Inventory Turns (IT).
It goes without saying that as many of these properties are in one of three stages: 1) They have just been purchased and thus are in the process of being rehabbed and brought up to code; 2) They currently have occupant(s) in them and require R&T; and 3) They are in the process of the IT. It goes without saying that the successful candidates which ASONS will be looking to recruit are knowledgeable in Code Compliance — NOT the NAMFS Regime bullshit, but real Code Compliance!
I want to dwell upon this for a moment. The reality is that there is a difference between saying one is a Contractor and being a Contractor. There is no NAMFS Educational Module which is going to teach you National Building Code let alone local code compliance. The required skill sets are those which either a Contractor has or does not. There is no room for cutting corners and Return Visits are not in the vocabulary. The LIIGs are looking for people whom are already Contractors and this is not an On The Job Training (OJT) environment. When you have homes which are occupied or are going to be occupied, there is ZERO MARGIN FOR ERROR!
The predominate need, initially, are for those whom have experience with both painting and carpet. In the same way that ASONS built their Company into what it is today, ASONS is looking for Contractors with both strong work ethics and a desire for a career as opposed to a job. LIIGs currently own roughly 250,000 properties with moderate growth expectancy over the long haul. The R&M along with IT work will be both steady and continuous. Approaching close to One Billion Dollars, ASONS’ Client both expect and deserve similar mentality with respect to how folks approach work.
What Contractors need to take note of is that Foreclosurepedia rarely announces the availability of Contract Opportunities to the General Public. We never have discussed NAMFS Member Opportunities. ASONS, though, has received a thorough vetting by Foreclosurepedia from both the financial and administrative point-of-view. In my opinion, the Opportunity at ASONS for Contractors is valid and should be contemplated by those whom are looking to get in on a fast track within the REO to Rental Market.
Currently, ASONS has a need for Repair and Maintenance and In Transit Properties in the Chicago, Indianapolis and Southwest Ohio area. Very shortly, there will be a need within Charlotte, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Phoenix, all of Florida and 4 as of yet named California Major Metropolitan Communities. Like any type of Repair and Maintenance skill sets — as ANY TRUE CONTRACTOR WILL KNOW — this additionally encompasses On Call Emergency Repair Work. UNLIKE a good portion of the people I have covered on Foreclosurepedia, ASONS pays and pays well!
So, over the next several weeks, Foreclosurepedia will be covering the ASONS Recruitment Drive and begin to better introduce Contractors to ASONS and the overall concept of REO to Rental. Folks, this is what most people have been patiently waiting on for over a year; while other NAMFS Members have rolled out half baked versions, NONE COMPARE to what I have seen, so far, with the ASONS Model. To make the process as painless as possible, simply click the Image Below. This will pop up a simple form to let ASONS know you are interested and introduce your Company to them. In the same way Foreclosurepedia has pushed the Boundaries for Years, we are continuing our Mission of No Contractor Left Behind. Help Us Help You! Reach out to ASONS today and stay tuned as we keep you, the Contractor, in the Loop!
