Podcast: How Servicers Can Compete Against The Big Dogs In Today's Market

The founder of Clarifire in St. Petersburg, Florida, says midsize mortgage servicers can compete with larger companies if they put the customer experience first.

Jane Mason is the founder and CEO of the privately held, women-owned corporation that uses a Software-as-a-Service model to reduce manual processes and increase efficiencies.

“The middle tier doesn't find us as daunting, because we do have customer service at the forefront of our company, and we know what we're talking about because we have a lot of servicing expertise, so we can not only provide expertise, but we can provide the technology to make it happen,” Mason said.

Mason recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Editor Kimberley Haas to talk about how Clarifire works with servicers to automate their loss mitigation processes. She said their clients want to use artificial intelligence where applicable, but they rely on advanced automation and human interaction.

“They don't want just a virtual AI assistant; they want to be able to have a virtual AI assistant, but click a button that says, ‘I want to speak to a human,’ and have that human right there. Now, that human has everything in one view, a unified view of that particular customer. That means, did they ever file bankruptcy? Did they ever file foreclosure? Have they been in loss mitigation before? Were they in a disaster area? All of that stuff is in one view, which is extremely powerful,” Mason said.

Mason said servicing is one of the most complex parts of the mortgage life cycle. Clarifire has helped servicers navigate market disruptions and regulatory complexities for nearly two decades.

“It has all the ups and downs of regulatory change; it has all of the ups and downs of volume, and volume is very impactful to servicing operations,” Mason said. “So, if you can have technology that is smart, that's going to automate all of that complexity, from the customer touch point all the way to day-to-day, that’s where you’re going to lower your costs.”

Clarifire’s clients are looking for one platform they can manage, and they want to have one trusted partner to work with, according to Mason.

“We’re going to stick with them, and we’re going to make it happen,” she said.

Looking forward, Mason said they are further automating and modernizing. She is watching closely as foreclosures continue to rise, particularly in Florida and Texas, emphasizing the need for default servicers to orchestrate operations this year and into 2027.

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