Safeguard Initiates Calls on Storm Crisis

Safeguard Properties Inc., Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, has initiated a series of "industry awareness" conference calls on issues facing servicers, mortgage companies, governmental agencies, and the entire real estate industry in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.Safeguard said the first of six such calls occurred days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. They included more than 200 participants from all sectors of the industry, including servicers, field service providers, insurance carriers, and representatives of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and city code enforcement offices from across the nation, the company reported. "These calls aligned everyone in the industry to formulate a consensus on how to handle a crisis of this magnitude and develop an effective recovery plan," said Robert Klein, Safeguard's founder and chief executive officer. Safeguard, which offers field services to the mortgage servicing industry, can be found online at http://www.safeguardproperties.com.