# Sgard from the outside



## MNanny (May 23, 2013)

At the risk of upsetting a few people I have something that is making me crazy about the guard vendors in my area. I have never worked for them, so as I said, this is an outsiders view. I do a lot of after sale and REO work, and when I go up the sidewalk and see that guard sticker my heart sinks. I understand from this site their crappy pay and horrible requirements but I say If you can't do the work for the price why don't you quit? These houses are full of filthy toilets with discount saran wrap fallen off, floors that have never felt a broom, closets under the stairs stuffed with trash, missing outlet covers, appliances that actually make me gag, trash cans stuffed full of hazards and hidden in the back yard, I could go on but you know what I mean.
Your rebellion against guards policies and pay rates is hurting not the big company but us, your fellow contractors who have to clean up your mess. I realize the people who really need to read this never will, but at least I got my 2 cents in.


----------



## Irnhrse5 (Apr 18, 2013)

Safeguard pays well. It's the regionals they send volumes of work to, and their subs that really make Safeguard look bad. We contract directly with Safeguard, and DON'T sub out any of our work. Most of the defects and problems you mentioned comes from lazy and/or underpaid subs that don't work for Safeguard. Another problem you mentioned was dirty toliets. Last WIN season, 1 in every 4 WINs my crews performed were compromised due to someone, most likely inspectors, as they were the only ones that had access to the postsale houses we serviced. On FHA properties, SG pays Exhibit B prices on everything except G/C's. Same thing with FNM, VA, FMC, and CV. And they take a percentage off our gross. We don't perform REO services. Do they charge us back? Yes. Is it alot compared to what we make off of them per month? No. Do they reopen things? Yes, but most of the time, it's our own fault. The bottom line is, SG pays the best, and fastest. Our experience with them has been great. Do they have some rude people that work for them? Yes, every business does. It's on YOU to be professional. Having to take a lot of pictures isn't a bad thing.


----------



## Craigslist Hack (Jun 14, 2012)

Irnhrse5 said:


> Safeguard pays well. It's the regionals they send volumes of work to, and their subs that really make Safeguard look bad. We contract directly with Safeguard, and DON'T sub out any of our work. Most of the defects and problems you mentioned comes from lazy and/or underpaid subs that don't work for Safeguard. Another problem you mentioned was dirty toliets. Last WIN season, 1 in every 4 WINs my crews performed were compromised due to someone, most likely inspectors, as they were the only ones that had access to the postsale houses we serviced. On FHA properties, SG pays Exhibit B prices on everything except G/C's. Same thing with FNM, VA, FMC, and CV. And they take a percentage off our gross. We don't perform REO services. Do they charge us back? Yes. Is it alot compared to what we make off of them per month? No. Do they reopen things? Yes, but most of the time, it's our own fault. The bottom line is, SG pays the best, and fastest. Our experience with them has been great. Do they have some rude people that work for them? Yes, every business does. It's on YOU to be professional. Having to take a lot of pictures isn't a bad thing.


They certainly do not pay the best or the fastest. They also make you work twice as hard for the same money. There are many companies that pay better and don't require all the BS. 

At some point we as contractors have to realize these are foreclosures not showcase homes. You can only put so much shine on a turd.


----------



## Irnhrse5 (Apr 18, 2013)

So what national pays the best? I know investors pay more than nationals. SG pays 95% of our invoices in 2 weeks. That's pretty fast from what I've gathered. We don't work twice as hard on our orders, but we do take a lot of pictures. As far as the BS, it's all relative. We don't mind the BS because SG pays us on time. I'm not going to complain about how many pics they want. If that's what it takes to get paid on an order that pays $3000, I'm not going to complain about 10 extra minutes of taking pics.


----------



## bigdaddy (Mar 3, 2013)

The problem is ANYONE who works for ANY national, regional, sub of a sub, etc.. IS THE PROBLEM!

As long as you keep accepting the work they will never change.

I'm sure you can all agree that the problem is the middle men.

Imagine if there was no middle men, the person actually doing the work is the one who is contracted directly and keeps all of the money. Thats what working directly for the banks and agents is all about.

You have people on this very forum who complain yet they cover entire states or multiple states. How can you do that without being part of the problem? I'm sure you take a little for yourself and sub it again!

All of my work is done withing a 20 mile radius of my house and I have more work that I can handle. I have 4 crews who do nothing but rehabs/major repairs, I sub out carpets, HVAC and roofing, 1 crew for small repairs, and 2 trashout crews. And I try to make it to every job to QC if possible.

And guess what, there is probably another 10 guys in my area that work for other agents who are equally busy, never a shortage of work. 

I know some are from very rural areas with 100's of miles between cities or heavily populated areas, I guess this does not apply to you , but not much you can do about that. It's pure supply and demand, you can't brag about how your nearest neighbor is 5 miles away and cry when you have to drive 100 miles to service a house.

The key to your success is going direct! If you feel you are being mistreated, under paid, charged back (which by the way is NOT a real thing! The banks NEVER EVER charge back anything!) then simply don't accept the work.

I got about 20 private messages asking HOW DO I GO DIRECT?
Pick up the phone and start calling the agents who have the properties you want to work on, it's not rocket science.

Also, trying to form some type of union or organization is not the answer either. You are independent contractors, not employees.


----------



## Irnhrse5 (Apr 18, 2013)

The problem with trying to work directly for people like BoA, Citi, and others is they use SG exclusively for all work orders. Plus, the insurance and IT requirements alone to work for a major bank would break a small contractor. Working directly for smaller banks is viable, but the volume sometimes isn't there.


----------



## Irnhrse5 (Apr 18, 2013)

I agree, working direct for investors and realtors is the best, but they simply can't provide the volume. Plus, you have to provide all of your own IT. That's a significant investment for a small contractor


----------



## Cleanupman (Nov 23, 2012)

bigdaddy said:


> The problem is ANYONE who works for ANY national, regional, sub of a sub, etc.. IS THE PROBLEM!
> 
> As long as you keep accepting the work they will never change.
> 
> ...


There were two people on Linkedin a while back with your moniker...you by any chance????? If I remember correctly the gentleman's name was Fernando???


----------



## GTX63 (Apr 12, 2012)

Have never been paid by Safeguard for anything within 2 weeks. 45 - 60 days is about right. My office inputs every invoice with our own PO#; on Safeguard invoices we also input their work order and loan number. So Tuesday comes and we open a check for 17K or whatever and there are 91 invoices. Some are missing work order digits or are off by a number or two, some are invoices that, according to the work order numbers, are for jobs we were already paid for. A $55 grass cut is showing at $26.50. An $850 debris order is listed as $797. Some never show up. So, I pay someone to spend the rest of the day researching and proofing the statement, then sending off and email to accounting at Safeguard, who responds from some deep space location that they will look into it and get back to us. Another 3-5 weeks later a check comes in with the differences. Problem is, many times they still don't match. If they choose not to pay us, they leave no explanation; the invoice is just zeroed out. By that time, their in house 60 day limit for appealing invoices has passed and you are sol. We have also had the check "lost in transit". They infer it isn't their responsibility but if we wish, they will cancel the check (for a fee) and research it at some later date. FYI-we kick them to the curb every few years and then take on a job or two, and voila, SSDD.
If I added up all the revenue losses, the in house money spent on their baloney, etc, it would be even more obvious-working direct has always been cheaper than working for Safeguard.


----------



## Irnhrse5 (Apr 18, 2013)

We have all the problems you listed, but not to the extreme degree you have described. We have had some invoices that were paid past 30 days. Not enough to kick them to the curb. As I said before, our experiences have never been on the nightmarish level some have described. All emails to their accounting department have been answered promptly (1-3 days).


----------



## GTX63 (Apr 12, 2012)

We do everything from new construction, rehabs, flips and direct work with banks, brokers, insurance, etc. None of those entities require any more from us than our normal insurance policies, our lead/mold certs, etc. I know how business is supposed to operate. Unfortunately, many poor slobs get on the preservation wagon pulled by the national and regional jackasses and they only know one way to make it, and that is the way these companies tell them it is.
Everyone has to eat; subs and employees depend on us to provide for their families, so no slight meant towards you.
Safeguard is looked upon by many in this industry as the standard bearer for preservation work. That is probably all that needs to be said.


----------



## bigdaddy (Mar 3, 2013)

Cleanupman said:


> There were two people on Linkedin a while back with your moniker...you by any chance????? If I remember correctly the gentleman's name was Fernando???


Not me. I have never had or plan on having any social media accounts linkedin, facebook, twitter, my space, etc...


----------



## bigdaddy (Mar 3, 2013)

Irnhrse5 said:


> I agree, working direct for investors and realtors is the best, but they simply can't provide the volume. Plus, you have to provide all of your own IT. That's a significant investment for a small contractor


I'm not sure what you mean by providing your own IT? 

Another thing people who only work for nationals can't understand is photos, I take a few photos depending on the job and zip the file and email it, takes less then a minute per order. No need to name it or take multiple angles, during shots, photos of my trailer/dump truck. Actually, the only photos that I am even required to submit are repair photos. For rekeys, trashouts, lawns, winterizations I only need to submit an invoice. I always take photos and keep for my own records but I don't send them to the banks or agents.

And the insurance is just a $2M general liability policy just like anywhere else.


----------



## Cleanupman (Nov 23, 2012)

bigdaddy said:


> Not me. I have never had or plan on having any social media accounts linkedin, facebook, twitter, my space, etc...


I only ask as your commentary is the same as The BigDaddy Fernando over on LinkedIn...as for your profile the same blind...no company name etc...
As for not being on Social Media??????? If LinkedIn is social media what is this???
Just curious as you seem pretty adamant about only working directly with lenders and not a NPOM, ROM or OUOM... 
In regards to your 20 mle radius...may I ask what is your population density in that area?

Sorry for the confusion...lot of similarities...my mistake...


----------



## garylaps (Sep 28, 2012)

I'm a MN based contractor also. I have seen all that has been mentioned. I've also seen ok work. I'm a safeguard vendor, though on hold at this time (didn't sign their contract). I don't miss the uploader that takes longer to use than the job, I don't miss being on hold for 45 min. while my crew waits for an answer to something obvious but must have a "POC" (per our conversation) to make sure you get paid. Having my bid altered by there bid program and told that "bid approval accepted" and you are expected to perform for THERE bid....I don't miss going out to do a covey inspection only to find some other contractors deficiency and told I have to bid on the issue and then not even get a trip charge because I submitted a bid... I don't miss them taking 25% off my trip charge to begin with.....I don't miss them, I do miss the paycheck. I've got other eggs in other baskets and I'm plenty busy, I don't have to deal with SG crap.


----------

