He warned that it could take up to a couple of months for volumes to come back and up to a year to return to pre-pandemic levels, but he added that the crisis had only served to highlight another deep-rooted problem in the sector.
“I think it’s a great business and it’s been highly refined over the years, but it’s tied to one market – a counter cyclical market. When the economy is good, foreclosures are low, but when the economy’s not so good, foreclosures are higher,” he said.
Given the circumstances, Torrance said he would like to broaden the business so that it is “less tied to the default mortgage space” in order to become more resilient.
Nonetheless, he remained confident. “I think everybody’s going to see a rising tide of volume and things will get better – business will be healthier and work will begin to flow through,” he said.
Having spent a lengthy period doing due diligence before entering the default mortgage space, if anybody can be certain of that, it’s Torrance.