No matter which side of the aisle you are on, the fact of the matter is that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is indicating a weariness with respect to the stranglehold National Order Mills have maintained for over a decade. Foreclosurepedia reached out earlier this week to discuss several items with respect to the 3.10 Field Service Manager- Property Maintenance & Preservation Services Contract. With all of the talk now circulating with respect to the loss of pedophile Mickey Snow which caused the fracturing of Labor upon both pre and post conveyance work, the reality is that the bottom shelf prices which current HUD Prime Vendors are paying are not going unnoticed by HUD. The below statement was issued after Foreclosurepedia inquired upon two separate issues. First, does the Safeguard Rule (HUD 5.1.12.5) impact a business’s ability to bid; and second, wouldn’t it make more sense to have firms whom actually perform services with W2 personnel in charge of the Contracts themselves.
The way the current Conflict of Interest language is written, they would not be precluded from bidding on the FSM 3.10 solicitation when it goes live. However, to the extent that they are performing pre-conveyance services on HUD FHA inventory, they would be precluded from continuing the pre-conveyance services after award. Ultimately, it would come down to a business question of which is more profitable for the firm? There’s never been a requirement that bidders be tied to one of the large national servicers, but many of the existing FSMs have created those relationships historically when bidding to gain the experience/past performance for evaluation purposes. The difficulty is getting both the volumes and being able to cover the entire service areas. Personally, I’d like to see more of the smaller end servicers band together and team to get the volumes/coverage areas nailed down. I’d also like to try and provide incentive for firms that are already established in a particular area/HOC jurisdiction, rather than constantly introducing new businesses to areas that they’re not currently established. Either way, I’m certainly open to comments, and expect evaluation changes when the solicitation does go live!
The last three sentences are the most historic, in my opinion. In essence, it would appear that HUD would favorably consider legitimate, small business offerings and perhaps, just perhaps, HUD might be able to provide a polished product to the US Taxpayer. Currently, some Prime Vendors are demanding $30 grass cuts. I mean I didn’t even cut $30 lawns when I was in high school. This, in light of the fact that so lucrative are FSM Awards that Dave and Carolyn Ramagos bought a THREE MILLION DOLLAR mansion after receiving one.
Foreclosurepedia has begun chronicling the stories of multiple small businesses over the past three years. In fact, the International Association of Field Service Technicians (IAFST) maintains a substantial database of both small business owners and sole proprietors — nearly 18,000 as of last week. While there is only several days left on Sources Sought in the HUD MM FSM 3.10, the fact of the matter is that there is no reason whatsoever that small businesses may not unite and actually make a run on the areas they are covering for $30 grass cuts and $3 Inspections which Safeguard Properties pays. That is a new low for Eric Miller’s National Association of Mortgage Field Services (NAMFS).
