A Note on Compliance

By Robert Klein

Virtually every job in America requires potential employees to undergo a preliminary background check, many require a drug test, and some may even mandate candidates to submit to a credit check.  In the property preservation industry, employers preform rigorous background checks to protect the interest of their business, the clients they serve and the consumers they may impact.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency have established various background check regulatory guidelines to mitigate the risk involved with vendors securing and maintaining homes.  The National Association of Mortgage Field Servicers has even gone as far to establish a standard for industry background checks. 

In the aftermath of the housing crisis, the regulatory requirements on the financial industry – already one of the most highly regulated in the country – have become more stringent than ever.  Not only for servicers, but for vendors and partners in the field. The importance of complying these regulations lies in the reason they were implemented in the first place:  to protect consumers.  Backgrounds checks are just one of the quality control measures put into place to protect the interest of not just servicers but the consumers they serve, as well.  We prevent future problems by looking to the past. 

What many people outside the industry do not realize is that these reviews are generally far more preclusive that your average employer background check.  Whether that is a good or bad thing, I will let you be the judge.  These individuals are responsible for going into the homes of people they have never met and that task should be met with caution when selecting employees. However, the next time this issue comes up, remember that the vendors who are selected to remove trash from abandon homes and trim the grass, went through a rigorous background check to do those jobs that stabilize communities and fight blight.  They are hard working men and women—just like you and me—and they have earned this job through a very thorough vetting process.