Fastest-Growing Company in Northeast Ohio Expands in Mentor

In today's challenging economy, the home foreclosure crisis continues to be a difficult problem for neighborhoods and communities. Homes that are vacated due to mortgage defaults deteriorate, attract vandals, and lower property values.

But for every problem there is a solution. , , delivers that solution by maintaining foreclosed properties to protect their value and prevent public nuisances.

“Our clients (mortgage service companies, banks) take a real proactive approach to this problem,” said Greg Robinson, chief financial officer for Safeguard Properties. “Certainly, they want to protect that asset because it is collateral on the loan. But more importantly, our clients want to be good community citizens to make sure the property … is not harming the community, and they deploy Safeguard Properties to help them do that.”

Headquartered in Valley View, Safeguard Properties was founded by Robert Klein in 1990. Since then, the company has grown from a regional preservation company with a handful of employees and contractors in the Midwest to the largest privately held mortgage field services company in the U.S.

The company employs 900 people plus a network of thousands of contractors across the country. The company processes more than a million work orders a month to contractors who inspect, repair and maintain foreclosed properties in almost every zip code in the nation.

Last year, the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland recognized Safeguard Properties as the fastest-growing company among large firms in Northeast Ohio.

To accommodate its business growth, the company invested more than $750,000 to upgrade 40,000 square feet at 8100 Tyler Boulevard, which used to house .

Safeguard plans to add 60 new employees in addition to 40 employees who transferred from the company’s headquarters. Of those 100 positions, the company expects to hire 25 new employees over the next four months, Robinson said.

In addition to filling entry-level positions, the company is looking for candidates with experience in the real estate field services.

The Mentor office will double as a business continuity center in the event the company’s Valley View location is hit by a natural disaster or other unforeseen event. If that occurs, the Mentor office can accommodate up to 400 additional employees to continue the company’s operations as it recovers from a disaster.

“We’re excited to be a part of the Mentor community,” said Robinson. “We hope it will be a longstanding relationship.”