Who can take the examinations?
Any
field provider regardless of affiliation and / or membership in SIRs may take an examination.
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Who should take these examination?
Any
field provider interested in joining SIRs must be Certified prior to applying
for membership. SIRs Certified providers will be invited to join SIRs upon
notification of successfully passing the exam. Office personnel and/or property
inspectors could take an examination but will need substantial knowledge of "in
the field - hands on" servicing to pass. Lenders, realtors, and vendor
management personnel could also take this examination to grasp the concept of
the knowledge required for certification and to understand the extent of
knowledge and skills a field service provider should posses. This will also
assist you when making a decision of whether to hire a SIRs Certified provider
or a non-certified provider as you will be able to appreciate the effort put
forth and knowledge possessed for certification.
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How much do they cost?
The examination fee is $60.00
(US) for either the Property Preservation or the Field Inspector certification
exam. The Mortgage Field Service Specialist exam is $75.00. You can remit your fee either by mail or through PayPal during scheduling.
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How do you schedule
an examination?
You may schedule your examination over the Internet. We have designated a special page for scheduling.
Click here to schedule an examination or visit
http://www.sirs4quality.org/exm/certreqpubweb.htm
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Where are examinations held?
The examinations
are web-based.. You will complete it from the comfort of your own computer.
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How often are examinations held?
Examinations are
on demand. Sign up for the exam. The next business day, you may take the exam. You will
be allowed 30 days access to the web-based exam. If you fail to take your exam
during that time, your exam fees will be forfeited, there will be no refund.
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What if I start an examination and have a problem or question?
Support is available. If there is a problem, you can email support. Business
days, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm EST, your support question will be
responded to.
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How much time is needed to complete an examination - how long are
they?
The
preservation and inspection exams are 150 multiple choice questions. The
mortgage field specialist exam is 250 questions. An average reader with reference material available will need
from two to four hours to complete an examination.
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How much
time can I take to complete an exam - can it be completed over a few days?
The
exam is web based and available for a 24 hour time frame during which it must be
completed and submitted. Once the exam is accessed, it must be completed. The exam will close automatically when the time limit
is exceeded.
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How difficult are the examinations?
The average
field service provider with 10 or more years in the business will need at a minimum the HUD and VA specifications available for full referencing just to pass their exam. Training is strongly advised for any
field provider with less than 10 years experience.
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What are passing grades?
The
preservation or inspections exam requires a minimum of 70 percent correct to
pass. The mortgage field specialist requires a minimum of 80 percent correct to
pass.
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If I pass an examination, what designation will I receive?
Designations are SIRs Certified Property Preservation Specialist, SIRs Mortgage
Field Service Certified Inspector or SIRs Mortgage Field Services Certified
Specialist.
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Are there other designations?
Other designations available at this time
is "Certified Property Preservation Contractor" and will be available only to licensed general contractors who earn a 70% or higher score on their examination. If you are a licensed general contractor, you will need to fax a copy of your contractors license along with a copy of your drivers license to SIRs. Contact us for further information.
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Who receives this
designation - me or my company?
The person taking and passing our exams is the person that
receives the certification designation. SIRs does not certify companies.
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What
happens if I do not pass an exam?
If you
do not pass the exam the first time, you can re-take the exam on another date.
Sign up to re-schedule a missed exam or to re-take the exam by using the same
form.
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What training should I take or what reference materials should I have available to me to receive a passing grade?
Business Ventures Consulting, Inc. offers a comprehensive training courses that will prepare you for
an examination. Training is advised but not required. A list of reference material is available on the same page you would go to for scheduling. You may print that page to have a "shopping list" of reference materials.
Certification exam scheduling page - click here.
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Is this exam
limited to local HUD and VA regulations for our service area or the entire
mortgagee letter?
To earn a passing grade, the
field provider will need to be familiar with not only his/her own local
variations but all local variations as well as the overall general
guidelines for both HUD and VA specifications. In many instances, clarification
of specific local variations can be determined only by knowing all variations.
Localized specifications will generally be incorrect for an answer.
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Where can I locate the HUD and VA specifications to prepare for the exam?
All specifications are available free on the respective
guarantor's website. Alternatively, one may purchase them from SOFI. An internet
search might reveal other companies that sell this information. SIRs provides
the specifications to its membership as a benefit of membership.
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Is there any other training I could take that would prepare me for
an examination?
Currently the only known independent training available is with Business Ventures Consulting, Inc. However, any firm that wishes to develop training program can submit that program for approval by SIRs. If the program will sufficiently prepare a student for the examination, SIRs will promote that firm and the training program. If you are a firm offering
field service training, please contact SIRs for inclusion in our promotion of
available training.
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Is SIRs Certification recognized or required in the industry?
At
present there is no formal recognition or requirement for certification.
Informally, many companies are recognizing the need for trained and qualified
professionals. Since certification exams were announced in 2004, many firms
have implemented their own quizzes prior to hiring, other firms will place
preference for SIRs Certified field service providers.
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Are there any companies utilizing the training or certification exams?
There are several servicing companies
that are requiring their vendors to be both trained and certified.
There are other servicing companies that are informing their vendors of
the availability of these programs. And there are servicing companies that will
utilize the certification designation as a preference factor to assist in
determining whose services they will contract with.
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Why should I take an examination?
SIRs has prepared these exams to enable the
well trained and knowledgeable field service providers to set themselves apart
from those who are neither trained nor knowledgeable. Providing the
ability to display the "SIRs Certified" designation
will assist clients and prospective clients in distinguishing, sight unseen,
which companies will be able to service them best and which companies will be
able to provide the services required by their lender clients and the various
government guarantors.
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Why should you hire a SIRs Certified Provider?
SIRs cannot guarantee that a Certified
field provider will perform services thoroughly and completely. However, these examinations
are substantially difficult: a SIRs Certified designation validates the field
provider possesses the knowledge needed to perform services both thoroughly and completely
to assist you in satisfying your clients demands for services rendered which
will appropriately protect their assets and guarantor required compliance for
field services.
The average
field provider you hire will, on average, earn anywhere from $10,000 to $250,000 in a year. For $60.00, approximately the cost of a single lawn cut, that
field provider will be able to offer you validation of his/her knowledge and skill. A validation that you can and should entrust your
valued account to him/her.
Considering even McDonald's trains their help and provides a certificate before an employee can make your cup of coffee or hamburger, don't you think a
field provider should provide you with a certificate that states they at least know how and what services they are to provide to you?
By selecting SIRs Certified providers you are making a valid
statement to your client that you are concerned how their account is
serviced.
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