We say goodbye to Don and Hello to a New Era

This month, PIP turns the page to a new chapter. Don Fullman is stepping down as our trusted leader. Don and I have worked together for 11 years, growing from just a small handful of clients and a few hundred thousand dollars in acquisitions to over 600 clients worldwide and tens of millions of dollars in acquisitions. We went from two guys trying to carve out a slice of this industry, to one of the largest and most reputable investor servicers in the country. Don will be greatly missed, but he has certainly earned his retirement and the fruits of his labor.

Don’s departure and the transition into new lead management will be slow and calculated. Don will continue to provide guidance for the next few months, to assist in client questions and as well to transition his responsabilités. We will not allow gaps in service to our clients. This is obviously not a sudden change, but rather, has been in discussion between Don and me, for over a year.

Not only did Don and I want to make sure PIP continued to thrive, we wanted to make sure the transition was smooth and comfortable for our clients – seamless and transparent. The question we could never quite get solved was not really “who replaces Don”, but rather, “who makes certain this transition runs smoothly” and “who becomes the figurehead to keep the business growing responsibly, with proper controls and processes in place.” I am the boots on the ground guy running the troops, so we knew I was not the right person for the job. Although now a large company, Don and I have always run PIP like a family business and we were racking our brains as to how we maintain that identity, as we grow. It is the foundation that has made PIP the company it is today and we knew we needed to preserve that personality before Don left. Had the solution to the problem been a snake, it would have bitten us in the face – My Father-Rich Sells. Bringing in my dad to oversee not only the transition, but the company organization took a lot of soul-searching. After all, he is my dad and he spent the majority of my life telling me to be careful mixing family with business and he did not have a clue about tax liens. Then again, I witnessed him build one of the largest international air cargo companies (before FedEx and UPS became so popular), built multi-million dollar shipping and sort facilities in China and Guam, and developed the largest hotel brand in the world in south Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan). Prior to considering him for the PIP job, he was doing something (no idea what) with a group of hospitals in Oklahoma to boost their profitability. More simply, he did not have a clue about air cargo, 100,000 square foot warehouses, or building a hotel in Pakistan, but he could organize people and make them more profitable, more quickly. Most importantly, I could get him cheap! Long story short, he has spent his career “transitioning” million to billion dollar companies through his consulting firm, Transition Management and clearly would be superb at filling Don’s shoes.

Be assured, Don is not totally out of the picture. PIP intends to engage Don for portfolio analysis, speaking engagements and other part-time projects for as long as we possibly can. Although he will be missed, we are excited about this new chapter in PIP’s history and look forward to the growth and opportunity these new changes will give us.

The dawn of a new day brings lots of new and exciting change along with it. Not just new opportunity, but an entirely new way of doing things. We know our existing and new clients are going to be as excited about the changes as we are and we would like to give you a sneak peek as to what’s to come.

New Client Interface Portal: Some of you have already seen portions of this through The Harbor Foreclosure Management System. This is custom built modular software system that will enable our clients to log-in at any time and review account activity. You will be able to see everything we do, in real time. No more waiting for quarterly reports or repeated calls to get updates. If you have a question, you can ask it directly through the portal. No more waiting for somebody to call you back.

No More Quarterly Statements: The launch of the Client Portal means there is no need to get quarterly updates (or the invoices that are included). Invoicing for service fees will be billed every 4 months and loaded to your client portal for review.

New Investment Models: Everyone loves to invest in IL, but only about half of you like the way our fees are assessed. We are bringing new investment models to satisfy all clients in the investment opportunities we offer.

Platinum Education Group: Soon we will offer an ongoing series of recorded webinars and live events. We will notify investors as well as post in a library of resources on our website. The topics will include subjects like how to get started investing in GA flips, in-depth discussions on the A-Z processes of IL taxes sales, how to calculate your returns and everything in between. All information will be provided to investors and prospects free of charge. We believe the more knowledgeable the investor, the more profitable the investor.

Aggressive Push into GA and SC Foreclosures: For those clients that have been fortunate enough to take a run at GA and SC foreclosures, they have found the profits are coming faster than anything else we have to offer right now. We say an average of 28% in about 9 months, but we are actually blowing those numbers out of the water. Still hung up about being an out of state property owner? Get over it! From a client perspective, this is no different than owning tax liens, yet the predictability of when the returns come is immediate.

More States, More Opportunity, Bigger Profits: Most of our clients have heard whispers of a new company in development, which caters to the Institutional Investor. What has not really been discussed,is how this company will benefit PIP investors directly. Opportunities like acquiring cash flowing properties for deep discounts, quick resale or fix/flips to bulk acquisitions/offload, institutional investors have the products that will benefit our investors.