Site news

Class Certificates

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:22:36 GMT

by Terry Platt.

Attention, all students:

The latest version of the Certificate Printing & Display Module is online and functional. Sign in with your user account and you will be taken to your student home page. You will see the certificate module on the left. Click on "view my certificates".

The quickest way to obtain your certificate is to view it and save the PDF file to your computer.

Wisconsin Contractor Needed

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:12:06 GMT

by Terry Platt.

Large National firm is looking for a Property Preservation Contractor to cover Washburn County, Superior County and other counties in Wisconsin. If you are interested in this work, contact Terry Platt using the contact form here on CubicYard or call Terry at 251-583-5955 and he can put you in touch with the national needing the services.

Property Preservation Training

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:45:16 GMT

by Terry Platt.

Property preservation training has possibly become the highest priority in the property preservation business.

Lenders, servicers and investors are calling for increased property preservation training to insure that there will be a sufficent number of competent contractors to service the growing number of foreclosed properties.

Shortages of trained property preservation contractors has become apparent and a tremendous influx of new contractors are full of urgent questions about property preservation training and proper property preservation techniques.

Our affiliated site, www.CubicYard.us, receives hundreds of property preservation questions per week. The volume of questions and the number of repeated questions has given us the opportunity to identify the needed property preservation training subjects and the most beneficial sequence for covering the material.

WebExam, along with CubicYard, has undertaken the ambitious project of answering the needs of both the new property preservation contractor as well as the seasoned veteran. In order to encourage them and help them adapt to the harsh realities of increasing vacant properties and abandoned properties, we are rapidly creating an affordable, single-source online property preservation reference and world-class property preservation training center. It is our intent to offer every kind of assistance possible and be with the lenders, servicers and contractors every step of the way - from initial inspection, to foreclosure, to conveyance and beyond.

Our developing property preservation training helps preserve the precious knowledge of an older generation of property preservation contractors - knowledge that can rapidly disappear with passing generations. Many of the "old-time" techniques are too quickly cast aside or overlooked as the new generation swarms into the business. We intend to preserve as many of the traditional methods as possible in our training as they often can offer a tried-and-true alternative to trying something new. As we continue to see more and more foreclosed properties and other vacant properties in need of knowledgable property preservation contractors, the old, proven techniques will become more and more important to know and master.

A partial list of subjects to be covered in the training material, include:

starting a property preservation business
putting a property into conveyance condition
hazardous material removal
gain access to vacant properties without causing damage
winterization of properties using HUD guidelines
how to tarp a damaged roof
what to do with dump receipts
servicing a well water supply system
how to install a sump pump
how to closely estimate debris in cubic yards
when do the VA guidelines come into play
how to perform an initial secure
identifying personal property and debris
what's the difference between a protecto lock and a master lock
what are health hazards
what are safety hazards
what is a trashout
what about REO work
what is considered exterior debris
what is considered interior debris
do you need a business license
do you need a contractor's license
work orders for occupied properties
property preservation business software
what is E&O insurance
where do you get E&O insurance
what type of locks are required
what keycodes do you use
bidding cubic yards
what about liability insurance
understanding HUD pricing guidelines
covering a pool
what equipment is needed for property preservation
what is property preservation
boarding windows and doors following HUD specifications
travel considerations for property preservation contractors
what is a discount
what does cost per unit mean
what is a unit
what do you do with abandoned vehicles
how to determine if you have overbid or underbid
what are common water lines
what does pre-sale and post-sale mean
what is property management and property preservation
who is the mortgagee and mortgagor
how often to you do grass cuts
when do you get paid
what is an initial cut
what is a perimeter cut
is there a property preservation glossary
is field training or hands on property preservation training available
do you need prior approval
in which states is grass cutting year round
FHA specifications for securing above ground pool
what thickness of plywood do you use for boarding windows
when do properties need to be winterized
do you have to paint the plywood used in boarding
how do you secure a hot tub
what about mold
what is a multi-unit property
what is the maximum allowable cost per property
what about HUD homes
what about decks around pools
what is a trip charge
working for real estate brokers
working with real estate agents
servicing bank owned properties
what is REO property management

A Discussion About Property Preservation Certification

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:59:31 GMT

by Terry Platt.

The interest in Property Preservation Testing and Property Preservation Certification has become much more common and publicized in 2008. Several reasons for the increased interest of testing and certification have been identified and in this discussion I will attempt to give you as much information as possible from my point of view.

There are many industries effected by the HUD requirements to preserve and protect properties. To mention just a few industries that may be involved, I am sure you would agree that the list could include property management companies, real estate companies, attorneys and others in the legal profession, surveying companies, pest control companies, building contractors and the list goes on.

With such a wide reaching effect, it would be natural that many of these industries would have an interest in the general well being of the property preservation industry. My contact with other effected industries disclosed one prominent concern from all: determining who is actually qualified to do the work. Most agree that it is much too easy for unqualified contractors to enter into the property preservation field and thereby jeopardize the well being of others involved in one way or another.

The majority of companies that use the services of independent contractors for property preservation have their own contractor qualifying procedures in place. The company's qualification determination may be nothing more than a conference call with the contractor or it may be as involved as an online test or face-to-face interview. Of course, each company strives to ensure they are hiring competent contractors and design their qualification determination procedures accordingly. This is the point at which the effected industries start having their concerns. The HUD regulations may be interpreted one way by one company and another way by yet another company. Most of these interpretation differences are minor but the potential for problems is compounded as more companies with more differences are added to the mix. Each company's procedures are put in place for the benefit of that company which is quite natural and is to be expected. However, again this procedure may not take into consideration the effect, good or bad, on related industries.

The non-existance of a central authority and the lack of an industry leader to step forward and take control has been endured too long by some industries. It is not that the effort has not been made - many companies have made the attempt at setting industry standards, testing procedures and certification procedures. However, it appears that most companies are unwilling to accept the efforts of one of their competitors.Some companies are reluctant to take any action toward training and testing in order that they may help insure continued existance of the independent contractor status. Hence, continued fracturing of the industry.

There are on-going efforts by some individuals and organizations to create standards that would be accepted by the industry as a whole. There are continued efforts by some to have the industry accept materials or procedures they have put in place. These efforts have been going on for years and still there is no agreements or acceptance. Effected industry interests have, in some cases, created the procedures , training or testing needed to secure their own position within the industry. Some representatives of these industries sought third party assistance to prepare and present the needed materials or procedures. That is the motivation behind the efforts of Terry Platt and Gulf Thunder Corporation to create and maintain www.WebExam.us and www.CubicYard.us. We were asked to create and maintain certification exams for these industries representatives.

So what does the current state of affairs do to the contractor in the field? It pretty much gives the contractor the option of doing nothing and accepting things as they have always been or do as some contractors are now doing and promote themselves as individuals and companies that have taken it upon themselves to promote change.

Who accepts the testing and certification at www.WebExam.us? Obviously it is being accepted by the organization, industry or person that sends the contractor to the site for certification testing. Other than that, there has been no endorsment to Web Exam's materials other than from individual contractors. These contractors tell me they are presenting their certification to potential employers in hopes that the certification awarded by Web Exam will have some merit. Over one hundred contractors have tested for certification. We must be headed in the right direction.

The Network Effect

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:58:11 GMT

by Terry Platt.

WebExam reached a small but significant milestone yesterday, March 7, 2008. The 100th student enrollment for online testing or certification.

It appears that WebExam is experiencing The Network Effect - a characteristic that causes a service to have a value to a potential customer which depends on the number of other customers who are users of the service. One of the results of the network effect is that the use of a service by one individual indirectly benefits others who use the service. Wikipedia has a nice discussion of The Network Effect here.

The first testing and certification class on WebExam has become the most popular exam, Property Preservation Certification. It appears that as more students test for certification and present the results to potential employers, the more the potential employers direct additional applicants to WebExam.

We are now seeing a few employers requesting a peek "behind the scenes" and offering their recommendations and requests. Their participation is welcome and appreciated.

I would like to give credit for reaching this milestone to the students that have taken the initiative to test for certification and put forth an effort to market their services to an industry that has yet to agree on standards for certification. It appears that the people in the field, the preservation contractors, are seeing benefits from their own promotion of testing and certification and their efforts towards marketing their newly measured skills.

I look forward to your continued involvement in the success of WebExam and the adoption of certification standards for the industry.

Terry Platt
President, Gulf Thunder Corporation