23 September 2008
Lebanese American Saves Families from Losing Their Homes
His firm keeps thousands of houses from going into foreclosure
Washington — It could be a scene from a movie. A young man, the son of immigrants, excels in his studies, attends a distinguished law school and lands a job at a top law firm. One day, he walks into the restaurant where his mother has worked as a cook for years, takes off his gloves and says: "Mom, come home with me. You're never going to have to work again."
But it's not a movie. It is part of the story of Moose Scheib, 28, who today heads a company that has saved thousands of families from losing their homes through foreclosure.
"The main thing is to be able to help people stay in their homes — that is the most exciting thing for me," Scheib said.
SCHOOL AND WORK
Scheib was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and some of his early memories are of the shock and strangeness of a child's life during wartime. In his application to law school, Scheib later wrote, "Such experiences ... instilled in me an unwavering passion for the pursuit of knowledge and justice."
The family of six immigrated to the United States when Scheib was 7, living first in Toledo, Ohio, and then in Dearborn, Michigan. When his father suffered the first of several strokes, Scheib's mother became a full-time restaurant cook.
"My mother never complained," he said. "'Your father can't do it, I will,' she said, and took a tough job at minimum wage. ... All she told us was to focus on our education and make sure to get scholarships, as money for college is something I don’t have for you at this point in our lives.’”
Scheib graduated with honors from Albion College in Michigan, where he founded the Muslim Student Association, then attended Columbia Law School in New York City, where he served as a board member for the Muslim Law Students Association.
Scheib's one escape from the unrelenting pressures of work and study was sports — especially American-style football. "On the field, I shed barriers that language, poverty and race had previously imposed on me," he wrote in his law school application.
THE LEGAL WORLD
Scheib found law school a challenge. "The combination of law school and the big city was a big shock — and Columbia was the most competitive environment I'd ever been in," he said.
But Scheib persevered and succeeded. He received an award for public service from the Arab American Institute in 2004 and served as a clerk for a New York Supreme Court justice.
In 2005, Scheib joined the prestigious New York law firm Proskauer Rose LLP. He valued the business and legal experience he gained there — even though he knew the corporate world didn't represent his long-term future.
“One of the factors that led me to Proskauer is because it’s the largest Jewish law firm in the world,” he said. “I’m all about building bridges between our diverse communities.”
SAVING HOMES
In October 2005, with law school behind him, Scheib decided the long-anticipated day had arrived. He went to the restaurant where his mother had cooked for so many years and gave her the gift of being able to quit work for good.
"My parents sacrificed so much for us," he said. "They gave up a good life in Lebanon for us, their children, and I wanted them to know that all the sacrifices had been worth it."
In 2006, Scheib returned home to Dearborn to launch his business venture, LoanMod.com. LoanMod renegotiates home mortgages to avoid foreclosures in a “win-win” manner that benefits both the homeowner and the bank or financial institution holding the mortgage.
With a successful restructuring of the mortgage loan — usually a simple lowering of the interest rate — the family stays in its home, and the bank avoids the much higher expense of taking control of a foreclosed property.
Scheib believes his company is the first of its kind in the country. "We pioneered this business, starting by helping my uncle out, then friends, and realized that we had a viable business model," he said. (See "Mortgage Markets Boost Home Ownership, U.S. Economy.")
The company has completed more than 5,000 successful negotiations that have allowed families to keep their homes and banks to avoid the high costs of foreclosure. The company anticipates completing 20,000 loan modifications by the end of 2009.
LOOKING AHEAD
With a team of 40 now, Scheib plans to have more than 100 people on staff by early 2009 to meet the increasing need for his services. “We are building our capacity to assist lenders and government agencies to modify mortgages on a massive scale,” he said.
As government puts pressure on lenders and mortgage servicers to modify their portfolios to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, Loanmod.com is well-positioned with its network of 19,000 notaries in all 50 states. “Our counselors will guide homeowners through the loan mod process and our notaries will help them properly execute the paperwork at their kitchen table,” he says.
"Helping people save the most important material thing in their life is the best reward of all," Scheib said. "When you save a home, it helps the neighborhood, the community and ultimately the whole country."
Scheib has big changes happening close to his home as well: a daughter, named Sophia June, who was born September 27. Scheib grew up in the same Dearborn neighborhood as his wife, Natalie, who is half Lebanese and half American Indian.
"I am lucky ... and truly blessed, no doubt," Scheib said. "But I've also found that the harder I work, the luckier I am."
For more on starting a business, see Entrepreneurship on America.gov.
More information on LoanMod.com is available on its Web site.
