Military Search Requirements – Utilizing Technology to Ease Compliance Woes
- Posted by NetDirector
- On June 13, 2014
- automation, compliance, data exchange, document exchange, integration, military search
Utilizing Technology to Ease Compliance Woes
The Service Members Civil Relief Act was enacted by congress to suspend enforcement of civil liabilities for active duty members serving our country. Actions such as foreclosure sale and evictions are generally prohibited while the member is on active duty with the exception of certain court orders. This essentially requires real estate default firms to conduct military searches on their defendants at critical stages of the foreclosure process including initial referral receipt and prior to the foreclosure sale. Not only must the search be performed, but proof of the search and supporting documentation is now being required by some key servicers. This puts the burden on the firms to gather, store and communicate this information to servicers and their third party systems. However, some firms are using this as a chance to enhance their technology in an effort to save time, labor costs and ensure compliance.
A recent case study was done by a law firm in which they used technology to comply with the Service Members Civil Relief Act. Following are the processes they have automated with the assistance of services provided by NetDirector. In addition, their next step is to upload the supporting documentation via automation to the client system as well.
- Upload Social Security information to the Department of Defense web portal
- Perform the search and obtain verification
- Obtain results, including official affidavit in PDF format
- Index results and accompanying documents to the case file
- Evaluate results
- Create workflow tasks for the exceptions or “red flag” results
- Place file on hold if necessary
- Notify client if borrower is on active military
Following are the benefits they realized through this automation:
“Whereas steps 1‐8 used to require at least two FTE’s prior to code implementation, the process is handled behind the scenes and only creates a task in the work flow process if the proverbial “red flag” (confirmation of active duty) is waved. A tremendous amount of manual labor and double key input is thus reduced at an efficiency level approaching greater than 95%. The use of technology reduces labor costs and further condenses the time frame to process a defaulted loan.”
This is an exceptional example of how firms can use innovative technology to their advantage to comply with internal, legal and client requirements. Automating the military search process can not only ease the burden of having to adhere to new rules and regulations but imparts proven efficiency and cost savings as well.
Melissa McCabe
Integration Analyst
NetDirector
(813) 527-0368