Wingspan forms Preferred Attorney Network to benefit loan workout effort across the nationMortgagePress.comWingspan Portfolio Advisors LLC, foreclosure, Wingspan Professional Attorney Network
Wingspan Portfolio Advisors LLC, a Dallas-based mortgage
servicer specializing in highly delinquent loans, has formed a
professional network of attorneys to assist in efforts to help
borrowers avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. These law
firms are normally more involved in seeing foreclosure actions
through to their conclusions, but membership in the Wingspan
Professional Attorney Network (WPAN) signifies their interest in
seeking other ways to help their lender and servicer clients. As
Steven Horne, Wingspan Portfolio Advisors CEO explains, "As an
attorney myself, I understand that while law firms provide the
legal services associated with foreclosure, they and their clients
will benefit more by finding ways to make the assets re-perform and
keep people from losing their homes. They want to explore all the
options before foreclosure becomes inevitable, and thats where the
Wingspan Preferred Attorney Network comes in."
Wingspan Portfolio Advisors takes over when traditional loan
servicers give up on severely delinquent transactions, working
closely with borrowers on payment plan options and structuring loan
modifications that can be sustained over long periods of time. "By
becoming a member of the Wingspan Preferred Attorney Network,"
Horne says, "law firms are demonstrating their commitment to
finding alternatives to foreclosure even when the process has
already started, by working with us to save loans. That is a
valuable service enhancement for their lender and servicer clients,
and a real boon to consumers."
Wingspan Portfolio Advisors is highly familiar in working with
attorneys by virtue of its alliance with the American Legal and
Financial Network, the AFN, a national network of banking and legal
professionals. In its alliance with the AFN, Wingspan uses AFN
member attorneys exclusively wherever possible. When necessary to
use non-AFN member attorneys in certain jurisdictions, those firms
are encouraged to join the organization. AFN's CEO, William LeRoy,
says, "We see great value in our alliance with Wingspan Portfolio
Advisors, as it brings our member attorneys opportunities to assist
in the important effort of keeping borrowers in their homes. Making
sure we seize each of those opportunities is a priority for the AFN
and its members." Many of the members of Wingspan Preferred
Attorney Network are also members of the AFN.
Membership in the Wingspan Preferred Attorney Network is
organized along the lines of a professional designation, says Tom
Force, legal services manager for Wingspan Portfolio Advisors. Each
member attorney receives a level designation among three available,
based on experience initially, and later upon loan resolution
success. The three levels are Select, Eagle, and Angel, which is
the top among the three.
"The more loans we can save with their assistance, the higher
the level we will use to recognize them," Force notes. "Each level
comes with its own distinct logo, which member firms can use on
letterhead and advertising to show their commitment to helping in
this national crisis." Wingspan Professional Attorney Network
members are referred foreclosure actions by servicers and Wingspan
Portfolio Advisors, and are encouraged in their conversations to
make certain that borrowers understand that options other than
foreclosure may be available to them. "Borrowers are often in shock
through much of the default process, Steven Horne says. The more
people telling them that the beginning of a foreclosure action is
not necessarily the end of their homeownership, the more willing
they become to explore all the alternatives with us." Wingspan
Portfolio Advisors is not compensated by borrowers, Horne adds, but
by lenders and servicers when they succeed in bringing loans back
from default to re-perform once more.
Carolyn Taylor, an attorney with the law firm of Hughes, Watters
and Askanase, in Houston, Texas, says Wingspan Portfolio Advisors'
depth of experience in resolving problem loans makes her feel that
members of the Wingspan Professional Attorney Network can make a
positive difference in the lives of borrowers. "Unlike traditional
servicing models, Wingspan recognizes the borrower's emotional
attachment to the home and how that can be a critical component in
restoring seriously delinquent mortgages to performing status," she
says. "We share the vision and commitment to keeping people in
their homes. We are honored and excited to be part of the Wingspan
Preferred Attorney Network as an Angel member." Alan Wolf of The
Wolf Firm, in Irvine, California, agrees. "We are very proud to
have been selected by Wingspan for this prestigious group of
attorneys," he says. "Wingspan is a well-armed wingman for the loss
mitigation and servicing industry, with their innovative borrower
behavior modeling tools. We're delighted to be a part of it. Steven
Eisenberg, partner at Stern and Eisenberg in Jenkintown,
Pennsylvania, sums up his feelings on the potential for saving more
families from the depths of foreclosure with, "Our firm is very
excited at the opportunity to soar with Wingspan."
For more information, visit www.WingspanAdvisors.com.
