Property services company helps recovery of hurricane victims and industry | 11.15.2007 | 08:41:50 | Views: 5794 | ID: November 15 '07: In 2005 after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, part of the recovery process was the ability for the housing market to begin to assess the damage done by the storm. Similar to families and individuals taking stock of their possessions and the damage caused by the hurricane, the mortgage and housing industry were faced with the challenge of understanding the severity and extent of the damage and ways in which they could begin to recover. Ohio-based Safeguard Properties, helped the industry and home-owners by inspecting the damage while pulling the mortgage industry's resources and assets together to help communities begin to cleanup and rebuild. "In addition to providing $500,000 in disaster relief for Katrina victims," the company's webpage read, "Safeguard [was] working non-stop to inspect hundreds of thousands of properties in the impacted areas. ... The company [was] also going to great lengths to aid the embattled mortgage industry, accomplishing the previously unheard-of task of uniting the mortgage service industry to resolve the issues at hand." To help combine and pool existing resources, Safeguard hosted a series of "industry awareness" conferences which drew representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, VA and the MBA "as well as numerous lenders, insurance carriers, field services vendors and financial service institutions." Safeguard CEO Robert Klein said his company's efforts were a way to encourage participation and cooperation to help communities rebuild in the aftermath of such a large disaster. "Although the destruction might be immense, people displaced from their homes want whatever help they can get to protect their homes," Klein said. "Knowing that their mortgage company is there to help might ease their minds so they can better face other struggles ahead."
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