Page 187 – Safeguard Properties

Tropical Storm Josephine has formed in the Atlantic.
Josephine is forecast to track north of the Leeward Islands by this weekend.
This system should also encounter increasing wind shear by the weekend, resulting in gradual weakening.

Tropical Storm Josephine has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, but this storm might be short-lived since it will battle increasingly unfavorable conditions as it tracks north of the Leeward Islands this weekend.

Josephine is located more than 1,000 miles east of the Leeward Islands and is moving to the west-northwest.

Conditions in the near-term future could allow Josephine to gain some additional strength as it tracks over the open Atlantic waters.

This weekend, increasing wind shear should make conditions less favorable for intensification and the National Hurricane Center forecasts weakening to occur. There is the possibility this system could dissipate by that time as well.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Hurricane-Force Derecho Blows Across Midwest

Posted on August 12, 2020September 14, 2020 by Safeguard

Updated 9/10/20: FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi (Iowa) as a result of a derecho that took place on August 10, 2020.

Iowa Midwest Derecho (DR-4561)

Updated 8/17/20: FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Iowa affected by severe storms that took place on August 10, 2020.

Iowa Severe Storms (DR-4557)

Disaster Alert
August 11, 2020

Source: The Weather Channel

Additional Resources
WGN 9 Chicago (7 Tornadoes Touched Down in Chicagoland Area During Monday’s ‘Derecho’ Storm, NWS Confirms)

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (Governor Reynolds issues disaster proclamation for 14 additional counties)

Associated County ZIP Code List

Approximate locations (according to media outlets) sustaining structural damage:

Illinois
– Forreston (Ogle County, 61030)
– Lombard (DuPage County, 60148, 60149)
– Marengo (McHenry County, 60152)
– New Lenox (Will County, 60451)
– Rockford (Winnebago County, 61101, 61102, 61103, 61104, 61105, 61106, 61107, 61108, 61109, 61110, 61112, 61114, 61115, 61125, 61126)
– Rogers Park/Chicago (Cook County, 60626, 60660)
– Spring Grove (McHenry County, 60081)
– Wheaton (DuPage County, 60187, 60189)
– Yorkville (Kendall County, 60560)

Indiana
– Lake Station (Lake County, 46405)

Iowa
– Ames (Story County, 50010, 50011, 50012, 50013, 50014)
– Cedar Rapids (Linn County, 52401, 52402, 52403, 52404, 52405, 52406, 52407, 52408, 52409, 52410, 52411, 52497, 52498, 52499)
– Davenport (Scott County, 52801, 52802, 52803, 52804, 52805, 52806, 52807, 52808, 52809)
– Luther (Boone County, 50152)
– Marshalltown (Marshall County, 50158)
– Newton (Jasper County, 50208)
– Perry (Dallas County, 50220)
– Slater (Story County, 50244)
– Urbandale (Dallas/Polk Counties, 50131, 50322, 50323, 50391, 50395, 50398)

Wisconsin
– Lancaster County (Grant County, 53813)

NOTE: This has not yet been declared a FEMA Disaster.

With gusts up to 112 mph, an intense derecho downed trees, smashed sheds, flattened crops and damaged homes and buildings across a long stretch of the Midwest on Monday.

Power was knocked out to more than 1 million homes and businesses, according to poweroutage.us. More than 475,000 of those were in Illinois and another 400,000-plus were in Iowa.

“It’s one of the worst storms we’ve seen in terms of total number of customers impacted,” MidAmerican Energy spokesperson Tina Hoffman told the Des Moines Register.

Hoffman said all of the utility’s crews are working on repairs and it has asked for help from crews outside the area.

“There is a lot of damage, and unfortunately this is not something that can be repaired very quickly,” Hoffman said. “This is going to be a multiday restoration effort. It’s going to be a while.”

In a span of 14 hours, the derecho moved from far southeastern South Dakota into Ohio – a distance of about 770 miles, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. A derecho is a widespread wind damage event caused by severe thunderstorms.

For full report, please click the source link above.

VA: VALERI Special Announcement

Posted on August 11, 2020August 11, 2020 by Safeguard

Investor Update
August 11, 2020

Source: VA

Due to the high volume of Adequacy of Servicing (AOS) cases expected to generate over the next several months, VA has increased the amount released to 5,000 per day. This increase will begin Tuesday, August 11, 2020.

VA requests that servicers report the Special Forbearance on all loans reported with the Reason for Default (RFD) of National Emergency Disaster (NED), if the forbearance was requested by the borrower. The Special Forbearance event must include the approval date of the forbearance under the CARES Act and the estimated cure date.

For loans with the NED RFD and Special Forbearance event reported, where loan notes are not required, servicers should continue to provide confirmation that the loss mitigation letter was sent per instructions in Circulars 26-19-24, change 1 and change 2.

VA is asking servicers to continue to run the Adequacy of Servicing Action Required report daily to ensure they see all pending AOS processes.

Gas Explosion Levels Northwest Baltimore Homes

Posted on August 10, 2020August 10, 2020 by Safeguard

Disaster Alert
August 10, 2020

Source: WJZ CBS 13 Baltimore

Approximate location containing home damage:

Maryland
– Reisterstown Station, Baltimore (Baltimore County, 21215)
*Impacted properties reportedly located in 4200 block of Labyrinth Road

NOTE: This has not yet been declared a FEMA Disaster.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Residents in the northwest Baltimore neighborhood where a gas explosion crumbled at least three homes say the explosion rocked their homes — blocks away.

“It was catastrophic. It was like a bomb, like you watch things in other countries where they have like bombings and things like that,” said neighbor Jones said. “It was like watching that in real life. Telephone poles split, I mean, houses down the block, broken glass. When I initially got there, I could hear a voice just saying ‘Help,’ it’s crazy. It’s something I don’t ever wanna see ever again; I don’t want to relive it ever again.”

Jones who lived a few blocks away said when he heard the explosion he took off running.

“I had no shoes, somebody had to bring me my shoes. I took off running down the street, neighbors were looking at me like I was kind of crazy like ‘what’s going on?’ and ‘where is it, where is it?’ So once I got to the alley I could see the smoke and I just took off and a couple other neighbors joined with me,” said Jones. “I was just like let’s just see if there’s anybody in there and we started calling out ‘is anybody in there? is anybody in there?’ And I could hear a voice just like ‘help, help’ so we just we just started digging in moving bricks. I mean everything, all kinds of debris like parts of a fence like, we weren’t even thinking, you could hear gas in the background it was crazy.”

“I heard a kaboom and I thought it was a car or something and when I came out, I seen the debris and something’s gone, totally gone,” one man told WJZ’s Paul Gessler, calling it a mess and chaos.

For full report, please click the source link above.

North Carolina’s Strongest Earthquake in 94 Years Shakes Area Along Virginia Border

Posted on August 10, 2020August 10, 2020 by Safeguard

Disaster Alert
August 9, 2020

Source: CNN

Approximate location containing structural damage:

North Carolina
– Sparta (Alleghany County, 28675)
*One home identified as 1058 US-21 (chimney collapse)

(CNN) — A 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit about 2 miles from the town of Sparta, North Carolina, early Sunday, along the state’s border with Virginia, according to the preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.

It’s the strongest quake to shake the state since 1926, according to the North Carolina Geological Survey.

The quake, whose epicenter is in Alleghany County, was felt as far away as Washington D.C. and Atlanta, according to reports to the USGS.

It struck about 8:07 a.m. ET.

Alleghany County Sheriff Bryan Maines was getting ready for church when “stuff started falling off of the wall,” he said. The house appeared to shift, and it felt like it might fall down, he told CNN.

“Started getting some sheet rock damage. My chimney was starting to crack,” he said. “Several houses with structure damage. We have folks out right now. There are houses that have shifted 1 or 2 inches off their foundation. There are folks who have had to leave their homes because it’s not safe inside. It’s a pretty big event.”

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but there is damage in the town of about 1,800 people, Sparta Mayor Wes Brinegar said, adding that the foundation of his home cracked and items fell from shelves inside his home.

“It felt like a big locomotive going by and a big wave coming underneath the bed,” the mayor said. “I’ve lived here my whole life and have never felt anything like that.”

The USGS says earthquakes become destructive at a magnitude of 4.0 to 5.0, depending on variables. A 5.3-magnitude is considered a moderate quake, the USGS says.

The agency issued a green alert, meaning there is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

For full report, please click the source link above.

New York Bill Aims to Add Lender Requirement Prior to HECM Foreclosure

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 by Safeguard

Legislation Update
July 22, 2020

Source: The New York State Senate (full bill text)

Sponsor Memo

BILL NUMBER: S4408

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property law, in relation to the regulation of default and foreclosure of reverse mortgages issued under the federal home equity conversion mortgage for seniors program

PURPOSE:

This bill will regulate certain activities of lenders when defaults take place on reverse mortgages issued in New York State under HUD’s home equity conversion mortgage for seniors program.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Lenders must now notify the Department of Financial Services when engaging in foreclosure proceedings against a borrower, and must also provide proof to the department that HUD has granted prior approval to accelerate the loan, proof of the default and notice to the borrower, and any other information required by the department. The Department of Financial Services must then provide notice of the foreclosure directly

Lenders will also be required to engage in loss mitigation, as specified by the Department of Financial Services, before foreclosing.

This section also prevents lenders from making advance payments on mortgage insurance or tax liabilities. Lenders will only be entitled to pay those moneys which are currently in arrears.

The new requirements will be conditions precedent to bringing a foreclosure action against an HUD reverse mortgage. The provisions will be enforceable by providing treble damages and attorney’s fees to prevailing plaintiffs. Section 2: The act will take effect one hundred and twenty days after it becomes law, but the Department of Financial Services is authorized to immediately take any actions necessary to ensure the law’s implementation.

CURRENT LAW:

Under current law, lenders are not required to notify DFS, and DFS is not required to inform seniors of services available to help them in the event of a default. Lenders are also currently allowed to make advance payments on obligations associated with these reverse mortgages.

JUSTIFICATION:

Reverse mortgages are complicated and expensive financial products. Many seniors do not understand how they work or what their true long- term costs are. Exacerbating this problem are unscrupulous lenders who market reverse mortgages as public services or government- sponsored products. Inadequate regulation of this industry resulted in a sharp uptick in defaults in 2016, as more seniors fell into foreclosure on these products, losing not only their homes, but also their most signif- icant financial assets.

Foreclosures in the reverse mortgage industry have taken place against seniors for making payments mere cents short of their tax, homeowners insurance, or mortgage insurance bills. Lenders eager to tap the equity in these homes are sometimes aggressive to foreclose and see a return on their investment. Seniors can be better protected by providing for stricter regulation of the foreclosure process.

Currently, lenders are not required to notify the Department of Finan- cial Services in the event of a default, and DFS does not regularly provide information to seniors in reverse mortgage default scenarios that can help seniors to keep their homes. This bill will change that by requiring a notification to DFS, and by requiring DFS to help seniors get in touch with a legal services organization to help them manage the process.

Lenders sometimes also make large advance payments on obligations tied to reverse mortgages in the event of a default. Then, to resolve the default, lenders will demand that the advance payments be paid back, resulting in massive financial liabilities to seniors that they may not have the cash on hand to satisfy in order to become current on their mortgage payments and cure a default. This new section would allow lenders to make payments only on obligations that are currently in arrears.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: S.4452 – Referred to Judiciary

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 120th day after it shall have become a law.

New York Bill Aims to Require Servicer Contact Info During Foreclosure

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Safeguard

Legislation Update
July 21, 2020

Source: The New York State Senate (full bill text)

Sponsor Memo

BILL NUMBER: S4190

SPONSOR: KENNEDY

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law and the civil practice law and rules, in relation to including the name and telephone number of the mortgage servicer for a plaintiff in a mortgage foreclosure action on certain documents pertaining to such action

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to require the loan servicer’s name and phone number be included at multiple points in mortgage foreclosure proceedings.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 1321 of the real property actions and proceedings law to have the name and telephone number of the mortgage servicer added to the order of reference for plaintiffs who are involved in a mortgage foreclosure of a one-to four-family residential property.

Section 2 amends section 1351 of the real property actions and proceedings law to have the name and telephone number of the mortgage servicer added to the judgement for plaintiffs who are involved in a mortgage foreclosure of a one-to four-family residential property.

Section 3 amends rule 6511 of the civil practice law and rules to require the name and telephone number of the mortgage servicer added to the notice of pendency for plaintiffs who are involved in a mortgage foreclosure of a one-to four-family residential property.

Section 4 sets the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

Zombie properties put all neighborhoods at risk because abandoned homes invite crime, lower property values and place an undue burden on local governments. The New York State Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act of 2016 addressed many of these problems by requiring a loan servicer, whether a bank or other entity, to maintain the residential property on a delinquent mortgage.

This proposed legislation will fill in some of the gaps by requiring that a mortgage servicer’s name and telephone number be listed f or any mortgage foreclosure of a one-to four-family residential property in a Notice of Pendency (Lis Pendens), the Order of Reference, and the Judgement of Sale.

With this information listed, local municipal officials will have an efficient way to contact the loan servicer to ensure that maintenance obligations are enforced.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.

USDA: Elizabeth Green Named Acting Administrator of Rural Housing Service

Posted on July 29, 2020July 29, 2020 by Safeguard

Investor Update
July 28, 2020

Source: USDA

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2019 — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Bette Brand today named Elizabeth “Beth” Green Acting Administrator of Rural Housing Service following the retirement of former Administrator of Rural Housing Service Bruce Lammers.

Before being appointed to this role, Green served as USDA Rural Development’s State Director for Virginia. During her tenure she led a team of 61 to invest in rural communities across the state. These investments have resulted in thousands of rural Virginian residents, farms, businesses, and households being able to connect to high-speed broadband internet for the first time, hundreds of new essential community facilities across the state, and tens of thousands of families who were assisted in buying their own homes.

Green has lived in Virginia and worked in Federal and State politics for thirty-three years. During that time Green has cultivated relations with many of rural America’s political and industry leaders. She graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Communications and Political Science.

Green will officially begin serving in this new role on August 3, 2020. USDA Rural Development encourages partners and stakeholder groups to reach out to Green in her new role to build on existing partnerships and create new ones.

HUD: Ben Carson Praises Confirmation of Dana Wade as New FHA Commissioner

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Safeguard

Investor Update
July 28, 2020

Source: HUD

Wade’s housing expertise includes her previous role as Acting Federal Housing Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson today applauded the confirmation of Dana Wade to serve as the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Commissioner. FHA currently insures more than 8 million single family mortgages, almost 12,000 mortgages for multifamily properties, over 3,700 mortgages for residential care facilities, and nearly 100 mortgages for hospitals.

“I want to congratulate Dana Wade on her confirmation by the United States Senate to serve as the Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration,” said Secretary Carson. “Dana has been a tremendous asset to the Department and the Administration throughout her years of service, and I have full confidence in her ability to successfully lead FHA.”

“I join Secretary Carson in congratulating Dana on her confirmation and welcoming her back to FHA, where I know she will do an outstanding job serving the American people. We are grateful to have her considerable talents and knowledge to help guide the agency as our nation pulls through this pandemic,” said Deputy Secretary Brian Montgomery, who served as FHA Commissioner from 2005-2009; 2018-2020.

“I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity to hit the ground running during this critical time for our nation’s housing markets,” Commissioner Wade said.

Mrs. Wade previously served as Acting Federal Housing Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing from July 2017 to June 2018, where she oversaw over 2,400 employees and implemented enhanced risk management and monitoring of FHA’s $1.3 trillion portfolio. Wade also served as a Program Associate Director for General Government at the Office of Management and Budget from December 2018 to December 2019, where she led budget oversight for six Executive Branch agencies with a keen focus on financial services, including HUD, and multiple independent agencies.

In Congress, she served in senior roles including Deputy Staff Director for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Deputy Staff Director for the Senate Committee on Appropriations under Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). Wade holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from Georgetown University.