Heather Berghorst, owner of Berghorst Enterprises and Secretary of the National Association of Mortgage Field Services (NAMFS) sent an email to Contractors today stating that Berghorst Enterprises were drastically reeling in the Servicing Area with respect to the former Cash Cows of the Mortgage Field Services Industry.
The gist of the email was that Heather informed Contractors that she was only going to service Western Michigan with specificity to Safeguard Properties, Mortgage Contracting Services, Assurant Field Asset Services – Field Assets, and Five Brothers.
Specifically, Heather stated, “…with national companies looking for tighter and tighter compliance and pricing, this client base no longer makes sense for us to be in the middle of them and you.”
This is probably the first sensible thing I have ever heard a Member of the NAMFS Regime say. It is serious, though, as we are not talking about a third stringer here; this is a Board Level Member.
I predicted where we were heading with respect to the Industry over a year ago. Back then, everyone was either trying to sue me for my opinion — and bury the facts — or spouting off on the Drive By Social Media that their Clients really were the good guys and Foreclosurepedia was insane.
Folks it is going to get far worse than this. We are hearing that an inordinately high percentage of Contractors are failing the Background Checks. Soon — very soon — we are going to petition the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to investigate and release the Statistics. Try as the Industry may, Public Safety is paramount here.
A disturbing portion of the Berghorst Email was this,
Please continue to turn in any work orders that you have open currently and payment will follow for all work orders that have been completed correctly per stated guidelines or work order instructions. I cannot tell you right now an exact date when all outstanding invoices will be paid, but [redacted] and I are in the process getting everything together as far as payment payoff schedules for anyone who has a balance with these clients.
Now, you may read this any way you want. If I ran a business, I damn sure well would be able to tell someone when they were going to be paid. We understand that this does not sit well with many Contractors. Some have already begun having their lawyers sharpen the pencils.
Now, Heather has a history of sicking the Freshman Lawyers Guild on Foreclosurepedia. Make no mistake we possess the email and have already published on some of the Contractors threatening litigation. Ironic, really, as my opinions have proven to be almost psychic — #TheOracle.
With all of the doom and gloom aforementioned, I actually have to credit Berghorst. Gasp?! No, credit where credit is due. Look, Heather could have allowed the ship to sink — may still, I don’t know — and 7, 11 or 13. She did several noble things. First, she offered to give Letters on behalf of Contractors to her Clients on behalf of the Contractors. Second, she publicly (somewhat) laid out the facts. Third, she made a sound business decision.
I think many folks believe that what I want is a proverbial body count of NAMFS Regime Members. I don’t. It’s bad business in so many micro and macro ways. What I want is a level and transparent playing field. In the instant case, if Heather squares up the Contractors I will be one of her biggest cheerleaders.
This is not irony; this is reality. I believe that as time goes on we are going to see many of the Old Guard vanish. I shed no tears in this when I reflect upon the fact that the NAMFS Regime knew precisely what was going on with specificity to the atrocities committed against Contractors. What I do hope for, though, is that those new and rising stars within the NAMFS Regime will begin to take the lead in the eradication of the status quo lest they become statistics as well.
So, my hat goes off, in part, to Heather Berghorst for finally beginning to take inventory of the real world. It will come completely off if all Contractors — even those on Payment Plans — are made whole. If that does not happen, well I have a feeling that the Judicial System will Opine far better than I.
