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Report Connects Foreclosure Rates to Bank Understaffing, Disorganization

A new study finds that disorganization and understaffing at the nation’s largest mortgage servicers contributed to low modification rates over the last few years, leading to 800,000 more foreclosures than necessary between 2009 and 2012.

New Study Implicates Nation’s Largest Banks

The new report found that 800,000 more homeowners would have been eligible for a loan modification between 2009 and 2012 if the nation’s largest banks had been adequately staffed, properly organized and had devoted resources to training staff members responsible for processing modification requests.

Officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Ohio State University, Columbia Business School and the University of Chicago authored the report. They analyzed the impact HAMP–the Home Affordable Modification Program–had on foreclosure and loan modification rates over the past few years.

Though it did not name the banks with the lowest loan modification rates, the study did mention that the nation’s largest banks processed loan modifications at half the rate of smaller banks, which had larger, better-trained staffs. The nation’s largest banks include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citi.

The experts theorize that these banks dragged their feet on increasing loan modifications, because improving modification rates would shift their focus from loan payment processing to actively negotiating with homeowners.

HAMP Increased Loan Modifications, but Fell Short of Goals

President Obama announced the HAMP program in 2009 and predicted that the program would lead to three to four million loan modifications by the end of 2012. The program gave monetary incentives to the nation’s banks in an effort to remove the economic barriers that the banks claimed barred them from processing more loan modifications.

The report found that though it marginally increased the number of loan modifications, HAMP fell far short of its goals. Instead of the three or four million modifications, only 1.2 million modifications are predicted to be complete by the end of this year. The study estimates that 800,000 homeowners would have qualified for loan modifications if the banks had had their acts together. Instead, these homeowners suffered through foreclosure.

Report’s Authors Suggest an Alternative: Private Servicers

Due to the poor performance of HAMP, the report’s authors suggest the government use the money slated for bank incentives for another purpose. Instead of paying banks a subsidy that may or may not compel them to increase loan modifications, the authors recommend the money be used to fund private mortgage servicers that would be better staffed and more efficient. The big banks could transfer their loan modification applications to the new servicers. The experts predict this system would help improve the nation’s foreclosure rate.

Though the study provides little recourse for homeowners who have been foreclosed on or have been threatened with foreclosure, at the very least it provides an explanation for the low loan modification rates over the past few years. If your bank has threatened you with foreclosure, contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney who can help you determine if bankruptcy or a loan modification could help you keep your home.

Article provided by Price Law Firm PLC
Visit us at www.cpricelawfirm.com

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Making Research Useful Data Visualization to Create Reports

Data Visualization is a powerful tool for qualitative reporting. Visual elements, like graphics, not only break up the monotony of long text pages in the reports, but they also communicate the information in an interesting way. This helps readers understand things quickly and makes the data more memorable. However, it is helpful only if done right.

If you go through the trouble to create a report, but no one finds it interesting or don’t want to read it, will it do anything good? Certainly not! Therefore, it is necessary to research useful data visualization for creating reports. Whether you want to provide your team with better insights, or get your team’s support for a new initiative, read on to know how to make data visualization to create qualitative reports.

Know The Basics Of Data Visualization

Before you create graphics for your report, it is necessary to check the data for accuracy. Incorrect data in the reports may lead to an incorrect decision. So, make sure to deliver the right, valuable information. Below are the three basic principles of creating data visualization for a report-

Pick the right graphics based on your goals.
Ensure that the message in your graphics is relevant to the audience.
Choose the right design for the graphic.
You also need to consider:

Purpose: Data analytics basically creates and analyzes the raw and unused Dara by transforming it into actionable data. These reports contain insights and also present data metrics, analysis, and conclusion in a visual format. This makes it easy for everyone in the organization to access and read data to make data-driven decisions.
Accessibility: Previously, creating reports with lots of data was a resource-driven and time-consuming task. Also, data pull requests were the most important thing for IT professionals, with lots of time analyzing, formatting, and representing data. However, with real-time, cloud-based reporting has changed the reporting game. The modern data visualization tools allow businesses to collaborate on various subject matter experts (SME). You can also export stunning reports that can be shared via automating emails.
Data types: Business data reports cover lots of topics and hold various organizational functions. These data reports are of varied length, format, and content. So, identify which data types you are using in your organization. Whether you want to present annual reports or accounting reports, you can use these reports by offering predictive and real-time insights to show in your organization.
If the message is right, but the graphic is dull, or there is a wrong insight, you won’t get the desired results.

Choose The Right Type Of Graph

Choose the wrong graph type, and the viewers will get confused. Therefore, it is important to know the data you want to visualize and the purpose behind it. Do you want to compare data points? Or, do you want to show the structure of something using data? Here are the popular chart types you can choose to achieve your goals-

Sankey Diagram (used to show the flow in system)

Line chart (used for comparing changes within data sets)

Bar chart (when you want to compare several data sets)

Pie chart (shows the shares of each component in the data set)

Histogram (shows the distribution of data sets across a definite period of time)

Bubble chart (used for comparing two parameters via the means of the third)

5 point likert scale (used for getting response from respondents in survey analysis)

Adding the right design principles and choosing elements, like ordering, comparison, shape, size, color, etc., make a big difference in how people perceive the data.

Make The Correct Use Of Visuals

Another important thing you need to consider while making research useful data visualization is to choose the right message. The readers should be familiar with the data you include in the report. Also, make sure that the parameters you are going to visualize can be combined.

Besides, take into account the scale and scope. For example, most viewers are used to reading the measurement from the bottom or left of the axes. If you happen to change this direction, the audience may get confused. However, if you must reverse the order, you need to use some tactics so that it is clear and easy to understand.

Keep It Simple And Compelling

The simpler the chart, the easier it is to understand. You don’t have to use extra elements, different colors, structures, etc., to a standard report. Avoid displaying all the charts on the same dashboard by reducing the size of the visualizations. Ideally, don’t use more than three charts on one page. Furthermore, if it is a non-standard task, don’t hesitate to experiment with different visuals.

Compare And Pick The Right Visualization Tool

There are several data visualization tools available on the market. Some of these tools work online, while others need to be installed on the desktop. Many tools are free to use, whereas you need to pay for some. The best visualization tool is the one that caters to your needs and helps you create visuals with great insights. Some of the popular tools are Tableau, Databox, Google Charts, etc.

Conclusion

These are some of the ways to make data visualization and create engaging reports and communicate the key findings more effectively. If your report contains valuable information and compelling visuals, the in-house team, as well as the readers outside the company, will find it interesting. However, creating catchy and useful data visualizations is the first step to create high-quality reports. You can use a good data visualization tool and solution to create visuals that create the most impact. These tools will help you create the most insightful visuals for your report effortlessly.

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Best Approaches for Healthcare IT Training

New and better technologies are essential for providing quality medical service to patients. Many health facilities are implementing enterprise systems software in order to better service delivery and improve their record management. There is need to ensure that the staff members are well trained in order to use these technologies effectively. There are a number of companies that offer IT training to health practitioners. It is essential that you select the best consultants in order to be assured of high quality results. Here are the approaches used by the best EHR training consultants.

Organic approach: The best IT consultants use an organic approach to administer the training. This entails clinical transformation from the ground up. It is meant to ensure that the system will answer the organization’s needs. It also ensures that your staff members are confident in using the new technologies. All the staff members should be prepared to adopt the new technologies in their normal operations. There should be sensitization to ensure that nobody interferes with the implementation process. The staff members should also be encouraged to offer their input in the software implementation process.

Advance planning: Advanced training is essential before embarking on the healthcare IT training. The best training consultants will develop a training schedule that will not interfere with the normal operations of the medical facility. It is worth to note that simply updating the technology is not adequate. There is need for true transformation through better technology and proper implementation. The best EHR training consultants should analyze your current capabilities and develop a sustainable transformation roadmap.

Peer training approach: The best healthcare IT consulting company should also use peer training in its implementation process. Peer training is meant to enhance the results and also reduce the disruption of normal healthcare provision. They will use handpicked educators to train staff who are available. The training will also be fast racked in order to minimize the training period. The staff members who are trained will be involved in further training of the rest of the members. The best healthcare IT training consultants will also make a schedule for training different departments in order to minimize the disruptions.

Post training support: The enterprise software deployment healthcare consultant will also offer post training support. This is aimed at ensuring that all the members are comfortable with the new system. The consultants will conduct an analysis of the usage of the new system after the training. They will also seek clarification regarding the comfort level of the staff while using the new system. Staff members are also required to seek further clarifications on the use of the system. The EHR training consultants will always ensure that everyone is comfortable with the new subsystem before they finish the training process.

In conclusion, health facilities are adopting IT technologies in order to enhance their service delivery to the clients. There is need to ensure that you get good healthcare IT training consultants in order to be assured of a good transition.

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