This article originally appeared in the August 2025 edition of MortgagePoint magazine, online now.
While many are debating how artificial intelligence will impact the industry, Jerry Mills, an Asset Manager with Phoenix Asset Management, remains firm on one point: there’s no substitute for boots on the ground and personal relationships. In this Exchange Q&A, Mills discusses where AI is proving useful, how agents can stay relevant in a shifting REO landscape, and why trust—not tech—remains the cornerstone of successful partnerships.
Q: How is your organization currently using AI in asset management operations, and what specific benefits have you seen so far?
Mills: In several areas:
- Asset Onboarding & Property Valuation
- Property Preservation & Maintenance Management
- Listing Strategy & Disposition
- Buyer Matching & Sales
- Compliance, Reporting, and QC
- Risk & Portfolio Management
Q: How do you balance leveraging AI for efficiency while maintaining human connection, and how do those two factors play into decision-making right now?
Mills: We use AI as simply a tool to support our business. Personal connection along with eyes and boots on the ground are keys to success in this industry. As an agent myself, I put more emphasis on my agent expertise than I do on AI. AI is great to give me property characteristics along with who the target buyer is, or what hurdles we may encounter when marketing, but the agent works their market every day.
Q: How do you see REO volumes shifting in the next 3-6 months and also over the next year? What key economic indicators are you watching most closely?
Mills: We see an uptick coming for sure, but don’t have accurate forecasting as to what that looks like right now. Third-party sales are unpredictable but appear to be slowing down, with a higher percentage of foreclosures coming through to REO. The biggest things I see as having an impact are increases in property taxes, increases in insurance costs, and legislation for short-term rentals, especially for homes bought in the last five years.
Appreciation jumped considerably, and many folks maxed out their purchasing power to overbid other buyers. Now, their mortgages are adjusting to the increase in insurance and taxes, which is putting them behind or draining savings accounts. Credit card debt is still increasing as well, and people aren’t able to leverage their equity to pay off debt.
Q: How should agents position themselves now to stay competitive given these projected changes?
Mills: Be present. Go to industry-related conferences and make sure asset managers know who you are. Provide updates in your market area to asset managers who ask for it. We are all busy, but to gain knowledge is always a benefit to me. A quick email with some stats about delinquency and filings in the area is something I will always take the time to review.
That being said, don’t pester your asset managers with weekly phone calls asking for business. Provide relevant information, and it will go a long way towards getting assignments when available. Most importantly, tell us what we need to know, not what we want to hear.
Q: How do you reset your expectations for REO agents and vendor partners in this new market environment?
Mills: Communication is key, no matter the condition of the market. Every property is different. I need to know what it is going to take to liquidate the property, keep squatters out, and maximize the return for my clients. Does it need repairs? Does it need a board-up? I live in Colorado, I know the things that need to be done here, but it may be very different where you live. Give me the details, because my clients are going to want to know. Clients are spending more time looking at property-level loses and doing more.
Q: What new skill sets or certifications will be especially important for agents to have?
Mills: It is important to communicate efficiently. I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about certificates. There are some great industry people out there providing training and certifications. I will certainly pay more attention to those organizations and agents I have worked with, but to me, this is a relationship and trust business. Agents need to understand what our team needs from them to be successful for our clients. Knowing who you are, and your expertise, is more important than your certifications. We go to a lot of conferences and engage with the agent network as much as we can. Stop by and say hi when you see us.
Q: How have your asset management platforms changed over the past year, and how do you expect them to change within the next 2-3 years? What’s driving those changes?
Mills: Ours have not. New tasking and timeline management is what we are seeing the most of. Everyone yearns for more data. Better reporting is what we see being a focus for asset managers and our clients, not much on the agent side of things. That being said, AI will likely start to have a role in our systems and will likely be used to verify information provided by our agents, appraisers, and contractors. This is still real estate done by real estate professionals. The person-to-person interaction will always drive the best execution.
Q: What features or capabilities do you expect will be critical in next-generation asset management systems?
Mills: It all goes back to AI verification of information provided by the agent. I believe there will be companies out there that try and go with a strictly AI-driven platform, and data is important to our clients for projected losses and expenses. Clients are always trying to find ways to limit those, and I believe AI will assist with that.
