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y peter suciu A BALANCE OF EMOTION AND ECONOMICS Helping Clients Through Financial Hardship While most 23- year old college graduates were looking for their first post-school apartments, Rhonda Klch was already purchasing her third property. Throughout high school she saved money, invested well and went to college on a business scholarship. What she learned there not only prepared her for a career, but it set her on the road toward property ownership. She utilized the funds she had saved to buy a house, and then bought two more. It was at that time when Klch's attorney introduced her to a mortgage professional who became her mentor. Now, nearly two decades later Klch is CEO of Equity First LLC. Rather than simply helping people who have the money to buy a home, Klch also helps those who are over-extended or THE SUIT MAGAZINE - NOV 2014 who have fallen into hardship make the right decisions for keeping their homes. Breaking into the business wasn't exactly easy for a 4-foot, 11-inch woman – even one owning three properties. It was also a very different time in the world of mortgages. “I was let loose into what I call a man's suit and tie industry at 23 years old,” Klch told The Suit Magazine. “It was very difficult for me to be taken seriously. This was was before subprime and there were generally just two types of programs available – general mortgages and FHA mortgages.” Instead of giving up, Klch hit the pavement. She began talking to attorneys, realtors, CPAs and other professionals in the housing market, and started asking for their “throwaways.” Those were the people to whom others simply said, “No, you can't buy a house,” and those people became her clients. “My personal niche became working with people who needed more assistance and guidance. And that is how Equity First came to be,” Klch explained. “Instead of working with the A level borrower, I was working with clients who needed more help. I worked with them to develop strategies – to work on their credit, to work on their debt and to help readjust their expectations. A lot of the time, these so-called 'throwaways' were the result of the mortgage professional being unable to set the appropriate expectations.” “For the client – they may have been approved for a mortgage or had pre-approval the whole time, but the level they were able to be approved at was just not the level they wanted to be. So by working through their budget and expectations, I quickly devel-
Continuously striving to set new industry standards for businesses and consumers nationally. trigger that has brought them to us,” Klch noted.Once they become clients, many of them will learn a new word – accountability. “Our debt settlement program revolves around their having some accountability. We make them put their own money into a separate bank account. Based on the budget, we help them assess how much they can afford to put into a program,” she added, noting that this can be hard. “A lot of these people stopped learning how to save once they stopped paying their bills. We put them through a program so they can see how much disposable income they have without sacrificing too much of their lifestyle quality at the same time.” “It takes an emotional toll on the clients. We try to prepare them to move forward and we will help them restructure their debt.” All this can result in a payoff, if the client is serious. Once enough money has been put aside, Klch can help clients settle a debt, and then – and only then – does her firm get paid a percentage of the saved money. “If we go through the motions and we don't save them any money, then we do not collect a fee,” Klch emphasized. oped a pipeline and it stuck.” Today, Equity First LLC is built around catering to these clients. While many firms have sprung up since the economic debacle of 2008- 09, this firm is not the result of the housing bubble, and was helping those in need long before the downturn. “A lot of new firms opened up to offer quick relief programs, so you saw a lot of loan modification agents, a lot of debt settlement companies that would – not to say take advantage of marketplace – but there was a shift in their direction,” she added. “We did not open our doors specifically for a time of crisis. We were around before the market collapsed.” Finding clients, especially since the downturn, hasn't been a problem for Equity First, even though it doesn't advertise. Instead, 100 percent of its business comes in via referrals from those in the industry. For Klch not every referral means new business either. She guides potential clients through determining whether they can qualify for industry-standard programs that allow clients to make manageable adjustments to debt. In other cases, Klch may refer them to a bankruptcy attorney. “When we sit with the client, generally there is a budget to assess where they are. This is a realistic budget. We go through their income and their assets – and not everybody is a fit for our business. I work with a number of alliance partners.” She also stressed that many clients aren't simply overextended. Many have faced some sort of crisis or disastrous life event, whether it is losing a job, dealing with the loss of a spouse or even a sick child at home. “Generally there is some sort of 625 Middle Country Road, Suite 100 Coram, NY 11727 Phone: 631-521-7607 info@equityfirstusa.com www.equityfirstusa.com THE SUIT MAGAZINE p.73
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Issue 63 NOV 2014 Top Billing Docs
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publishers note ISSUE 63 | NOV 2014
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BUSINESS / FINANCE 34 Technology Se
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THE SUIT MAGAZINE p.7
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By exposing such massive variations
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estimates that around 90 percent of
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Arragg also sees the nation’s alr
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As of Sept. 2014, NYC is now the wo
Page 22 and 23: n HORMONE AVERTi HEALTHY BREAST PRO
Page 24 and 25: Alternative medicine emerged as con
Page 26 and 27: y amy m. armstrong Intensive Specia
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Page 33 and 34: y peter suciu Compliance is Key for
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Page 38 and 39: y enid burns HELPING SMALL LENDERS
Page 40 and 41: y amy m. armstrong Employee non-Com
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Page 48 and 49: EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF LD AND ADHD
Page 50 and 51: y rodric j. bradford Commitment to
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Page 54 and 55: y mary minor davis Offsetting the T
Page 57 and 58: y gerald h. levin Shifting Markets
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