Page 233 – Safeguard Properties

Tornadoes, Severe Storms Ravage Areas from Ohio Valley Through Lower Mississippi Valley

Posted on March 15, 2019March 15, 2019 by Safeguard

Disaster Alert
March 15, 2019

Source: AccuWeather

Additional Resource:

Detroit Free Press (More Than 70 Homes Damaged by Mid-Michigan Tornadoes)

Approximate locations containing home damage:

Alabama
Springville (St. Clair County, 35146)
White City (Autauga County, 35077)

Kentucky
Paducah (McCracken County, 42001, 42002, 42003)

Michigan
Vernon Township (Shiawassee County, 48476)

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

Severe thunderstorms steadily marched across the Ohio and lower Mississippi valleys on Thursday, spreading showers and thunderstorms that produced damaging wind gusts and tornadoes.

“An unusually warm air mass ahead of a strong cold front helped lead to widespread severe thunderstorms, reaching as far north as Michigan,” AccuWeather Metrorologist Brett Rathbun said.

“There was enough rotation in the atmosphere for several thunderstorms to either be tornado warned or produce tornadoes.”

A tornado just missed hitting the National Weather Service forecast office in West Paducah, Kentucky, during the late-morning hours on Thursday. Tornadoes were also reported in central Alabama and at least one in central Michigan late Thursday afternoon.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Storm Damage Reported Throughout New Mexico and Texas

Posted on March 13, 2019March 14, 2019 by Safeguard

Updated 3/13/19: AccuWeather issued a report outlining tornadic activity in New Mexico.

Link to report

Approximate locations containing home damage:

New Mexico
Dexter (Chaves County, 88230)

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

Disaster Alert
March 13, 2019

Source: CBS 11

Approximate locations containing home damage:

Texas
Godley (Johnson County, 76044)

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

(CBSDFW.COM) – It was a rude awakening for North Texans Wednesday morning as severe weather and powerful winds moved through the area.

Throughout the early morning hours, residents said they heard emergency sirens wailing to warn of the threat of damaging winds. There were no tornado warnings issued in the Metroplex during the round of storms.

There were reports of damage throughout the area due to the damaging winds that reportedly reached up to 70 miles per hour in parts of North Texas.

Emergency officials reported damage to homes in Johnson County and tweeted pictures of a mobile home that overturned on to a car near Bramblett Road and Highway 4, southeast of Cleburne. One person inside the home was injured and taken to the hospital.

For full article, please click the source link above.

Ohio Governor Declares State of Emergency in Response to Flooding

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Safeguard

Disaster Alert
March 11, 2019

Source: Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

Additional Resource:

Associated County ZIP Code List

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced today that he has declared a state of emergency in 20 Ohio counties impacted by damaging flooding last month.

Ohio counties included in the governor’s emergency proclamation include: Adams, Athens, Brown, Gallia, Guernsey, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, and Washington.

“Many of these counties were still recovering from last year’s severe flooding when they were hit hard yet again,” said Governor DeWine. “This is a key step in getting these 20 counties the assistance they need.”

The counties suffered from significant infrastructure damage as heavy rains poured down on already-saturated soils, damaging public infrastructure like roads and culverts. Beginning February 5 and lasting through February 13, severe storms and excessive rainfall created “dangerous and damaging conditions affecting the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Ohio,” according to the governor’s proclamation.

The state of emergency proclamation authorizes various state departments and agencies to coordinate the state and federal response and to assist local government in protecting the lives, safety, health, and property of the residents of Ohio.

Representatives from FEMA and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency will be meeting with county and township officials in each of the 20 counties this week to assess the extent of damages in a process called a “joint damage assessment.”

Heavy rains and severe storms in February 2018 led to an emergency proclamation and a Major Presidential Disaster in 20 Ohio counties (14 of which are included in this year’s proclamation).

Winter Storm Prompts Governor Declaration in Oregon

Posted on March 11, 2019March 11, 2019 by Safeguard

Disaster Alert
February 28, 2019

Source: Office of Oregon Governor Kate Brown

Additional Resource:

Associated County ZIP Code List

Salem, OR—Governor Brown today declared a state of emergency in ten Oregon counties due to severe winter storm conditions: Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Linn, and Marion. This declaration comes at the request of local officials and is based on the recommendations of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM).

“As our state and local authorities continue to work hard to clear roads, reconnect power, and ensure the safety of the community, this declaration will provide additional resources and the potential for federal highway system funds in the future,” said Governor Brown. “I urge all Oregonians to follow the recommendations of local authorities, and avoid travel while ODOT crews work on the roads and restore core services.”

Governor Brown’s declaration directs OEM to coordinate the deployment of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Oregon State Police, and the Oregon National Guard to support local communities as needed. OEM will facilitate the access and use of state resources, personnel, and equipment to protect communities, property, and the environment, and aid in the recovery from heavy snow and ice accumulation, high winds, flooding, and landslides. The declaration will also enable ODOT to activate the Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief Program to help repair transportation systems. The state of emergency will be in effect for 30 days, unless terminated sooner by the Governor.

The Office of Emergency Management will continue to provide regular updates, which will be made available here: https://twitter.com/oregonoem}(https://twitter.com…

Ogdensburg Land Bank Up and Running

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
February 14, 2019

Source: The Journal

OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg Land Bank Corporation officially acquired 13 tax delinquent properties from the city on Monday, marking a historic first step in the fledgling organization’s effort to fight neighborhood blight and improve the community’s tax base.

City officials were notified by Empire State Development in May 2018 that the municipality had been accepted into the state Land Bank Program. Since then the state has also awarded the city $600,000 to get the program up and running.

Land banks are public nonprofit authorities designed specifically to deal with vacant, abandoned and tax-delinquent properties. Once a state land bank is approved in a municipality, special state funding is made available to rehabilitate delinquent properties, making them more appealing to prospective buyers.

Ogdensburg City Council voted unanimously Monday to sell 13 municipal properties acquired for non-payment of taxes to the Ogdensburg Land Bank at a price of $1, plus attorney and filing fees.

For full article, please click the source link above.

Land Bank Will No Longer Oversee Beleaguered Detroit Demo Program

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
March 7, 2019

Source: Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Land Bank Authority will no longer oversee the city’s demolition program by the end of this year, Mayor Mike Duggan announced Thursday during his annual budget presentation, saying demos will transition to being fully administered by the city.

The move represents a major shift for the beleaguered program, which has faced intense scrutiny in recent years for its practices.

The program has been fueled by more than $250 million in Hardest Hit Fund dollars from the U.S. Department of Treasury and is currently jointly overseen by the Detroit Building Authority and Land Bank. So far, more than $176 million has actually been spent but Duggan said the remaining dollars will be disbursed by the end of the year.

A timeline of the transition period wasn’t immediately clear.

“The Land Bank will be out of the demolition business,” Duggan said, while addressing the City Council. “At this point … we’re done.”

For full article, please click the source link above.

Pottstown Land Bank Getting Underway

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Safeguard

Land Bank Update
March 7, 2019

Source: The Mercury

POTTSTOWN — The new land bank in town is getting underway, adopting guidelines and selecting staff.

Peggy Lee-Clark, the director of PAID, Pottstown’s economic development organization, will also be the director of the land bank.

Although her appointment is not yet formalized, Borough Manager Justin Keller confirmed the arrangement and was discussed in January, according to the minutes of the Jan. 28 land bank board meeting.

The law firm of Wolf-Baldwin Associates, which employs Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr., will also provide legal services to the land bank and Assistant Borough Solicitor Matthew Hovey was at the Feb. 25 land bank board meeting fulfilling that role.

For now, the borough is covering the legal costs for the land bank as well as providing $25,000 worth of seed money, Keller said.

For full article, please click the source link above.

USDA: Help Resources

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Safeguard

Investor Update
March 8, 2019

Source: USDA

In order to provide our lenders and servicers with the highest level of customer service, we encourage use of the USDA LINC Training and Resource Library at https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/lenders/usda-linc-training-resource-library. Lenders and servicers will find almost every issue addressed in the library including web-based training on origination and servicing issues, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and user guides for our information technology systems {ex. GUS, Electronic Status Reporting (ESR), and Annual Fee}.

If you are unable to find the information on USDA LINC, please send an email outlining your question to: sfhgld.program@wdc.usda.gov. Do not send specific applicant or borrower information without proper protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). We will route your question to an employee with the appropriate skill set and availability to respond to your request. We believe that use of this central email box will allow us to respond to questions with greater accuracy and speed.

Questions regarding this notice may be directed to the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Division at (202) 720-1452.

Help Resources

USDA ITS Service Desk Support Center
For e-Authentication assistance
Email: eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov
Phone: 800-457-3642, option 1 (USDA e-Authentication Issues)

Rural Development Help Desk
For GUS system, outage or functionality assistance
Email: RD.HD@STL.USDA.GOV
Phone: 800-457-3642, option 2 (USDA Applications); then option 2 (Rural Development)

Fannie Mae: Lender Letter LL-2019-03: Interest Rate Spread for Fixed-Rate MBS and Servicing Fee Requirements for Fixed-Rate Loans

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Safeguard

Investor Update
March 5, 2019

Source: Fannie Mae

As we continue to prepare for the implementation of the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security (UMBS™), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) to undertake activities that promote aligned investor cash flows for their TBA-eligible mortgage-backed securities. Pursuant to FHFA’s instruction we are changing the allowable interest (note) rate spread in fixed-rate MBS and changing the maximum servicing fee permitted for fixed-rate loans.

Interest Rate Spread
For most fixed-rate loans the maximum allowable interest rate is 250 basis points above the pool’s pass-through-rate. We are updating this policy to limit the interest rate for each fixed-rate loan in a pool to no more than 112.5 basis points above the pass-through rate of the pool.

This updated policy is effective for loans delivered into pools with issue dates on or after June 1, 2019.

FHFA has instructed the GSEs to monitor the weighted-average coupon (WAC) of MBS and take actions as appropriate such that MBS WAC would be generally consistent with historical WAC levels. FHFA and the GSEs are working to determine an appropriate target MBS WAC, such as 80 bps or slightly higher (given current guaranty fees and minimum servicing levels).

Servicing Fee
We are updating our servicing fee policies to limit the servicing fee to a maximum of 50 basis points for all fixed-rate loans delivered to us. In other words, the maximum servicing fee shall not be more than 25 basis points above the standard 25 basis point servicing fee. The 50-basis point maximum is inclusive of any lender-paid mortgage insurance (LPMI) premium.

This updated policy is effective for whole loans delivered, and loans delivered into pools with issue dates, on or after June 1, 2019.

NOTE: We will publish these changes in the Selling and Servicing Guides in future updates.

Lenders who have questions about this Lender Letter should contact their Fannie Mae account team.

Carlos T. Perez
Senior Vice President and
Chief Credit Officer for Single-Family

Fannie Mae: Modification Interest Rate Adjustment Update

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Safeguard

Investor Update
March 7, 2019

Source: Fannie Mae

The Fannie Mae Modification Interest Rate is subject to periodic adjustments based on an evaluation of prevailing market rates. The servicer must use the current Fannie Mae Modification Interest Rate indicated below when evaluating a borrower for a conventional mortgage loan modification.

NOTE: As a reminder, the interest rate used to determine the final modification terms must be the same fixed interest rate that was used when determining eligibility for the Trial Period Plan and calculating the Trial Period Plan payment.