Real Estate Loan Adjuster III (Hybrid in Syracuse, NY)

Empower FCU Purpose: At every stage of life, positively impact members by providing affordable financial services.

Empower FCU Core Values: Fairness, Integrity & Honesty

Empower FCU Strategic Pillars:

• World-Class Employee Experience
• Best-In-Class Member Experience
• Growth for Impact
• Shared Value in the Community

Empower Federal Credit Union offers excellent benefits including...
Medical and Dental Insurance, 401K with Employer Match, Holiday Pay, Paid Time Off and more!

A World-Class Employee Experience: We are at our best when we are developing genuine relationships, looking out for one another, freely and honestly sharing information, and working together. We succeed when we rise above our departments, roles, and individual interests to come together, to move forward together. Each of us plays a crucial role in creating a positive work environment and we encourage all our employees to actively contribute to embracing Empower’s values and supporting those around you.
Be Yourself, Belong with Empower: The strength of Empower is in the unique backgrounds, voices, talents, & experiences of each person. With a culture of belonging, we enable teamwork, spark innovation, and fuel success.

Please note: All candidates will be subject to a background check to determine employment eligibility. For roles that require an NMLS you may be subject to a credit check.

Role:

The Real Estate Loan Adjuster III is a senior-level collections professional responsible for independently managing an assigned portfolio of delinquent first mortgage, home equity, and other real estate-secured loans through resolution or appropriate default action. The role works directly with members to identify the cause of delinquency, evaluate repayment capacity, collect payments, develop sustainable repayment arrangements, and complete timely follow-up. Responsibilities also include assigned hardship and loss-mitigation processing, loan modifications and forbearance plans, foreclosure preparation and follow-up, bankruptcy-related account administration, delinquent property tax and collateral matters, secondary-market and investor requirements, and coordination with Legal and Mortgage Servicing. The employee is accountable for accurate documentation, required notices, critical deadlines, and completion of assigned work within established procedures, training, and approval authority. Decisions requiring management or Legal authorization must be escalated without relinquishing responsibility for assigned follow-up.

Location: Our headquarters are based in Syracuse, NY. We work in a Hybrid Model requiring a minimum of 5 days in office per month.

The hourly pay range for this position is: $24.89-$37.33

Essential Functions & Responsibilities:

40% Real Estate Delinquency & Portfolio Management:

-Independently manage an assigned portfolio of delinquent first mortgage, home equity, and other real estate-secured accounts in accordance with established procedures, authority, and performance expectations.

-Conduct timely outbound and inbound member contact and determine the appropriate next action based on account status, member circumstances, prior commitments, and available resolution options.

-Secure payments and establish payment arrangements within assigned authority; monitor commitments and complete timely broken-promise follow-up.

-Prioritize higher-risk, higher-balance, aging, and time-sensitive accounts; take appropriate action and elevate matters requiring management, Legal, or other formal approval.

-Maintain clear account ownership, dated next actions, and consistent follow-through through cure, an approved workout, foreclosure, recovery, or another documented resolution.

20% Financial Review, Member Resolution & Loss Mitigation:

-Identify and document the reason for delinquency and evaluate the member's current financial circumstances, repayment capacity, and ability to sustain proposed arrangements.

-Discuss available collection and repayment options within established authority and procedures, using sound judgment to pursue practical and sustainable resolution.

-Complete hardship intake, obtain and evaluate required documentation, and prepare and process loan modifications, forbearance plans, repayment plans, and other eligible loss-mitigation options in accordance with established requirements. Obtain required approvals before implementing terms.

-Recognize when repayment arrangements are not viable; document supporting facts, recommend the appropriate resolution or default action, and complete follow-up through decision and implementation.

20% Real Estate Default & Servicing Responsibilities:

-Perform assigned foreclosure and default work, including reviewing required notices and deadlines, preparing referral documentation, monitoring attorney and legal milestones, and following up on payoff, reinstatement, property, and collateral matters.

-Complete assigned bankruptcy-related account administration and controls, including recognizing automatic-stay or discharge restrictions, updating account treatment and documentation, and coordinating legal questions with counsel.

-Review and address delinquent property tax, insurance, collateral-protection, valuation, lien, and property-condition matters; complete required account actions, documentation, and follow-up within assigned authority.

-Complete assigned secondary-market and investor-specific default and servicing steps, including notices, reporting, documentation, program requirements, and timely follow-up.

-Work with Mortgage Servicing, Legal, outside counsel, investors, and approved vendors to complete assigned work; track outstanding items through documented resolution.

10% Documentation, Controls & Reporting:

-Document member contacts, financial information, commitments, notices, approvals, legal restrictions, decisions, referrals, and dated next actions accurately and promptly.

-Complete assigned worklists, queues, follow-up, workout and default processing, required notices, and reporting within established timeframes and procedures.

-Meet applicable department quality, productivity, account-work, member-contact, and scorecard expectations.

-Escalate control gaps, conflicting information, missed dependencies, member complaints, or other issues that may create financial, legal, compliance, or member risk.

5% Cross-Training & Business Continuity:

-Maintain the knowledge and training needed to perform assigned Real Estate collection, loss-mitigation, foreclosure, bankruptcy, property-tax, collateral, and investor-related work.

- Provide reliable coverage of assigned accounts and Real Estate workflows during PTO, vacancies, training, or volume increases while maintaining required documentation, controls, and follow-up.

5% Training, Quality & Process Improvement:

-Maintain current knowledge of procedures, systems, regulatory requirements, and department expectations applicable to the role.

-Share practical knowledge with peers and support onboarding or training when assigned.

-Identify recurring account, workflow, documentation, or process issues and raise them to management for review.

-Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

5% Portfolio Trend Analysis:

-Identify and communicate trends related to delinquency, collateral performance, underwriting practices, and recovery outcomes.

-Provide recommendations to management regarding opportunities to reduce losses and improve portfolio quality.

-Assist in monitoring portfolio performance and recovery metrics.

5% Professional Development & Additional Duties:

-Maintain current knowledge of collection practices, bankruptcy regulations, foreclosure processes, recovery strategies, and applicable laws and regulations.

-Participate in ongoing training, professional development, and cross-functional learning opportunities.

-Perform all other job-related duties as assigned.

Performance Measurements:

See Dayforce (HRIS) Performance Management for Goals upon start in role, and annually.

Knowledge and Skills:

Experience: 3 to 5 years of progressively responsible experience in collections, mortgage servicing, real estate default, loan servicing, or asset recovery.

-Experience independently managing delinquent accounts and resolving complex member or borrower situations is required.

-Mortgage collections, mortgage servicing, real estate default, or loss-mitigation experience is strongly preferred.

Education: A high school diploma or GED is required. Additional education, specialized training, or relevant industry certification is preferred.

Interpersonal Skills:

Member Experience, Professional Conduct, and Quality Expectations:

- Employees in this role are expected to represent Empower FCU with professionalism, integrity, fairness, and accountability in all interactions with members, internal partners, vendors, attorneys, and third parties.

- This role supports Empower FCU's commitment to Member Experience, Employee Experience, Growth for Impact, and Community Value by ensuring assigned work is completed accurately, timely, and in accordance with department expectations, applicable procedures, quality standards, and performance scorecard goals.

- Employees are expected to communicate professionally, use sound judgment, support appropriate issue resolution, and maintain the level of documentation required to support accurate account handling, quality review, regulatory compliance, and business continuity.

- Employees are expected to remain flexible in supporting department priorities, cross-training, backup coverage, and time-sensitive work as needed to ensure continuity of service and effective support of Empower FCU's members.

Other Skills:

-Strong understanding of collections practices, delinquency management, payment arrangements, and account resolution.

-Ability to review financial information, identify material facts, evaluate repayment capacity, and recognize when management, Legal, or other formal approval is necessary.

-Strong organization, time management, attention to detail, documentation, and follow-through.

-Effective oral and written communication and the ability to manage difficult member conversations professionally.

-Ability to work independently across assigned Real Estate collection and default responsibilities within documented training and authority, while seeking required approvals before taking restricted actions.

-Proficiency with standard office technology and ability to learn collection, servicing, communication, and workflow systems.

-Working knowledge of applicable collections and mortgage-servicing requirements, and ability to learn and follow procedures for loss mitigation, foreclosure, bankruptcy restrictions, property-tax and collateral matters, and investor requirements.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit of long periods at a time, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, and to talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to walk; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

This Job Description is not a complete statement of all duties and responsibilities comprising the position.