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Client Bulletin: March 10, 2023

Cenlar Upgraded to A+ Rating by BBB

We strive each and every day to be your trusted partner, and part of that commitment to you means consistently providing the very best customer experience for your homeowners. We’re always fine-tuning how we serve homeowners, including strategically making investments in order to adjust to their needs.

The most important measure of our success is, of course, the feedback from you and your homeowners. But we’re also paying attention to external indicators. To this end, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) last week upgrading Cenlar from an A rated business to an A+. When determining its ratings, the BBB analyzes a business’ marketplace behavior, including how the business responds to consumer complaints and how transparent and truthful a business is. The rating reflects BBB’s opinion of the quality of the interaction between a business and its customers.

At Cenlar, we live our core values — trust, integrity, caring and respect — every day. We believe that one of the very best ways to demonstrate our values is by baking them right into our interactions with you and your homeowners.

New Escrow Analysis Statement Now Live

We’re proud to announce that this week, as part of our effort to provide the best service to you and your homeowners, we launched a redesigned and enhanced escrow analysis statement that educates homeowners about their loan in clear language, providing a better experience for them. We previously gave you a sneak peek of this new statement in our Feb. 10, 2023 Client Bulletin.

Escrow-related questions are one of the top reasons homeowners call us, and this new statement and the revamped “How to Read” brochure that accompanies it have been designed to answer the most common escrow questions. The modernized look and feel also features more color callouts for key items.

Among the features of the new escrow analysis materials are:

The “How to Read” brochure includes a QR code that links to a video about escrow, providing another vehicle for homeowners to learn about their loan.
The new cover page clearly, in large font, states whether the homeowner has an escrow shortage or surplus, provides brief explanation of how we arrived at this result and lays out the next steps available to them.
The statement’s second page starts with an overview, repeating the information from the cover page and providing a clear description of the results of the annual escrow analysis and any impact to their monthly payment amount.
The second page also includes a quick summary of their recent activity to help them better understand why they may have a surplus or shortage.
The statement also features escrow account history and escrow projections, both in an easy-to-read itemized table format.
At the end of the statement, along with new payment information, we’ve clearly listed options for reaching us — such as via web, live chat, mail and telephone — for homeowners who need further assistance.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your client manager.

Document Uploads Now Available During Live Chat

In 2020, we launched the first of our chat bots so homeowners could get answers about their loan quickly, 24/7. We’ve continued to hone and enhance our chat options in the ensuing years, all part of our commitment to providing your homeowners tools to manage their most important asset — their home — in the manner that best suits them.
On Feb. 24, we launched the latest enhancement to our live chat experience. Homeowners who visit our website and choose to chat with a live chat agent now have the ability to upload a document directly to the agent via the chat. The process of uploading documents via chat is simple for homeowners. Once live chat begins, the homeowner will be able to click on an “upload document” prompt that allows them to share documents directly to the agent.

This new feature means less time and effort spent for homeowners, providing faster customer support and enhancing their overall experience.

Client Manager Kurt Wnorowski Focuses on Relationships

Kurt Wnorowski’s 18 years at Cenlar can be boiled down to a simple concept: “It’s all about relationships.”

A member of our client management team, Wnorowski started developing this philosophy from his very first days at Cenlar. In 2005, as a member of our call center customer service team, an experience observing his supervisor left a lasting impression on him. He said he’ll never forget the way the supervisor developed a rapport with the homeowner on the line and quickly worked to resolve the homeowner’s issue. It impressed upon Wnorowski early on in his career that good service means listening to people, empathizing and being their advocate.

He later moved onto investor reporting, but soon transitioned to our client management team, bringing with him the lessons he learned as a customer service representative. He’s been in client management for 15 years now.

Working on the client management team requires Wnorowski to be well-versed in topics important to not only Cenlar and our clients but also the larger marketplace. He said he joined Cenlar not knowing much about the mortgage industry but dove into educational opportunities at the company, using Cenlar’s tuition reimbursement program to obtain a bachelor’s degree in finance from Rider University and also graduating from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP) and Resident Certified Mortgage Servicer (RCMS) programs.

“The MBA programs helped me piece together the industry, and how things fit outside of servicing,” Wnorowski said. “It’s helped me develop broad knowledge of the industry.”

Cenlar holds a special place in Wnorowski’s life, for a personal reason, too — it’s where he met his wife. At home, they have two young children he says remind them to find wonder in every day. He also enjoys nearly anything to do with the outdoors — gardening, beekeeping, camping and even growing Christmas trees — and has found a hobby keeping tabs on auctions, especially for farm equipment.

But, mostly, it’s the relationships he’s developed while at Cenlar that keep him motivated. He said he loves to talk about life with clients — how that backyard pool’s coming along, thoughts on the major news of the day. It all may seem unrelated to his role at Cenlar. But developing a partnership with our clients, he said, makes it that much easier to understand them and help them and their organizations achieve their goals.

Like any relationship, it’s all about caring, respect and trust.

“I work for Cenlar but, by the same token, I work on behalf of the client,” Wnorowski said.

Check Out Cenlar Employees in the News

Cenlar’s employees are the source of our strength and expertise. As such, they frequently appear in industry news stories. Here’s a few of the recent appearances of Cenlar employees in the media:

Jim Daras digs in as Cenlar’s new CEO

Jim Daras, appeared in several trade publications, including DSNews, HousingWire and ROI-NJ, following the announcement he had been named as Cenlar’s CEO.

“I am thrilled and honored to have been named CEO at this point in Cenlar’s journey,” Daras said in HousingWire . “Cenlar was built on collaboration, expertise, client and homeowner care, and the ability to transform itself during each part of its journey, and I am confident in Cenlar’s long-term success.”

The HousingWire article breaks down the more-than-four decades Daras has spent building his impressive reputation in the industry, and quotes Cenlar’s Chairman of the Board Dave Applegate as saying, “Jim is an accomplished and exceptional executive leader with a great deal of experience who will ensure Cenlar continues its commitment to providing high quality service to our customers.”

Josh Reicher discusses the homeowner digital experience

Cenlar’s Chief Digital Officer Josh Reicher made news of his own in the mortgage origination publication, MReport. Reicher, along with a panel of other industry experts, discussed the state of mortgage technology.

“The important part of a digital experience is to remember that it is the customer’s experience,” Josh said in the publication. “That means meeting the customer on their terms. Digital adoption ensures that processes are consistent, streamlined, and cost-effective. However, maintaining the human element is key to building trust-based relationships with tech-weary consumers. In the end, welcoming consumers means being able to demonstrate flexibility and empathy for their needs—whether automated or with a bit of the human touch.”