The Road to Success

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By Paige Tepping

RISMEDIA, Jan. 14, 2008–Rosey Koberlein, CEO of Long Companies, was recently handed a big challenge when the company’s then-mortgage partner First Magnus announced its bankruptcy.

Although the first word that came to mind for the Tucson, Arizona team was “crisis,” thanks to Koberlein’s quick thinking and the support of parent company HomeServices of America’s lending unit, the company emerged from the situation on a high note. Koberlein and her team successfully managed to get all of their pending loans closed, keep their consumers happy and confirm to them that Long Companies is a real estate company they can trust.

Calling It Quits

Long Companies and First Magnus seemed to have the perfect business partnership. Long Companies recognized a need for their customers to have access to competitively priced mortgage products from a company they could trust. They partnered to form Long Mortgage Company to provide the one-stop shopping experience their clients expected. As a result, they saw strong growth from this strategic expansion, confirming that there was a market need.

“While Long Mortgage Company centralized its processing and underwriting services, the loan officers were located in our branch offices and worked closely with our customers to find the mortgage solution that best met their needs and got them to close on time so they could begin enjoying their new home,” says Koberlein. “First Magnus, as our partner, provided secondary market services from their team of professionals.” This partnership was going well until the evening Koberlein received the dreaded call.

“I received a phone call the night before First Magnus was going public with their bankruptcy,” says Koberlein. Recognizing that the bank’s bankruptcy would impact the partnership with Long Companies and the customers expecting to close on their new homes, Koberlein quickly gathered her senior management team together and assessed the situation. “We went into triage mode and assessed the status of our pending loans that were scheduled to close within the next 24-48-72 hours. We assessed the situation quickly and proceeded to have conversations with the leadership at HomeServices and their lending unit through the evening,” she says.

HomeServices was extremely responsive to Long Companies’ needs as this situation unfolded. “HomeServices honored all of the loans that we had pending with our customers,” says Koberlein. “[Our] consumers were not affected in any way. They didn’t have to reapply or resubmit their loan applications.” At the time, Long Mortgage was offering a promotional program called the “Real Deal 1% Off Program,” a 1% buy-down program. HomeServices stepped in and continued to honor the program for Long’s customers.

Putting the Consumer First

Providing consumers with peace of mind during this stressful situation was important to Koberlein and the entire Long team. “Our agents were wonderful throughout the entire process. They were able to go to the consumer with confidence because there was a good line of communication between the branch management team and the agents,” says Koberlein. Communication was crucial at this time and agents were given solid information and peace of mind as well. “We told our agents that they didn’t need to worry because all of their pending loans would be taken care of,” she explains.

“On the day First Magnus filed for bankruptcy, we had a plan to ensure our customers could close on their new homes. We were ready to communicate this plan to our agents and customers and reassure them that Long could provide a comparable mortgage solution at no additional cost,” adds Koberlein.

“We were able to pull our plug out of one outlet, transfer it and plug it into another, stronger outlet with more depth, and do it in quite a seamless way with very little disruption to our sales associates and consumers,” Koberlein says of the way she and her team handled the situation.

The hard work and dedication that the Long team showed its customers did not go unnoticed. “There was a lot of relief and amazement from our customers that we were able to get their loans closed on time,” says Koberlein. “No one thought that the issue would be resolved in such a swift and seamless way, so our customers and the community were astounded at how quickly we were able to execute our plan of action and demonstrate why we are the trusted market leader.”

First Magnus’ bankruptcy was a huge trauma for Tucson and it took a lot of focus from Koberlein and her team to get through this difficult time. “Out of this crisis has come the opportunity for the consumer to really see our sales associates, Long Realty and Long Mortgage with a sense of quality, depth and confidence that we will get the job done,” Koberlein says. “This crisis was a major life lesson for me. I realized that goodness can come out of tragedy.”

One-Stop Shop

The Long Companies’ commitment to full service was a key factor in the happy ending to its mortgage dilemma.

In 1999, the one-stop shopping dream became a reality for Long Realty. It was at this time that Long Realty merged with HomeServices of America and added Long Title Agency, Long Mortgage Company and Long Insurance Group to become what they are known as today: the Long Companies.

The relationship that Long Companies has with HomeServices Lending has continued to grow. “Long Mortgage has its own dedicated team of processors in HomeServices Lending. They are our new support system that our loan officers do their processing with,” says Koberlein.

According to Koberlein, Long Companies is in a much better position today thanks to its partnership with HomeServices Lending. The company is much stronger and better equipped in terms of the processing and fulfillment of loans. In addition, it can now offer a broader array of products and services to both its sales associates and consumers.

The one-stop-shopping experience has benefited Long Companies in many ways over the years. “It has given our sales associates a depth of tools and systems to be able to offer an exceptional, total real estate service experience,” says Koberlein. “Instead of having a fragmented relationship where the consumer would have to go to several places to complete the real estate transaction, they are able to fulfill the transaction at a centralized location.”

Buyers and sellers benefit from this situation as well. “In this market, there is confusion and uncertainty across the board, which is a scary situation for the consumer,” says Koberlein. “Our sales associates go out of their way to provide the consumer with both a cost-effective and efficient product that they guarantee. They are giving the consumer a system that they can trust, and one that they themselves will stand behind.”

For more information, please visit www.longrealty.com.

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