Page 238 – Safeguard Properties

Largest Provider of Default Services Utilizes Tech to Push the Field Services Industry Forward

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Safeguard

Safeguard in the News
February 1, 2019

Safeguard Properties continues to enhance its SafeView Field Services Platform with next-gen multimedia mobile application

As the largest provider of mortgage default field services, Safeguard Properties leads the industry by delivering a full spectrum of services on vacant, defaulted and foreclosed properties across the country. As an industry leader, Safeguard’s commitment to technology has pushed the field services industry forward.

“Safeguard is more than a property preservation company — we protect the communities where you work and call home,” said Alan Jaffa, CEO at Safeguard. “To maintain our longstanding reputation as an advocate within the housing industry, a variety of tools have been created to protect and partner with jurisdictions, addressing the challenges facing properties within communities across the country.”

Safeguard continues to enhance its SafeView Field Services Platform with advanced video and audio capabilities and a next-generation multimedia mobile application, utilized by Safeguard contractors out in the field.

“We have added these capabilities to our suite of systems and included mobile offerings that remain at the forefront of the mortgage field services industry over the past couple of years,” Jaffa said. “The addition of video, audio and panoramic will provide servicers with valuable information necessary to assess property damage and validate bids.”

Designed to meet the ever-changing needs of the mortgage servicing industry, the platform improves the timeliness and quality of all Safeguard services. SafeView provides order processing, routing, invoicing and reporting services to ensure quality results to clients through a dynamic rules-based engine.

Consisting of five modules, the platform delivers end-to-end automated order management, mobile data collection, workflow, billing and analytics through its integrated field services software. Those five modules include:

•SafeView Connect: Serves as the integration gateway, allowing configurable work orders, results and invoicing data exchange to connect vendors, clients and other partners.

•SafeView Inspect: An integrated mobile inspection app and administrative portal designed to provide full-service field support to the company’s inspectors.

•SafeView Preserve: An integrated mobile property maintenance app and administrative portal utilized by contractors to receive, assign and complete property preservation work orders.

•SafeView Access: Designed for clients to manage their portfolio by providing the property-level details including the status of work orders, bids and the results of work that has been performed.

•SafeView Analytics: Provides customizable current, historical and location-based data analytics and reporting of field services operations through the life cycle of property inspections and maintenance.

Safeguard has optimized technology through mobile location, business intelligence and tracking to help identify location accuracy, quality-check data and ensure the right work is being done to support compliance requirements. The company is also the first to begin utilizing multimedia capabilities within its app.

“Advancements in video and enhancing our SafeView Field Services Platforms will continue to be our focus in 2019,” Jaffa said.

Additionally, Safeguard has built strong relationships and partnerships with local communities and key industry members, such as city officials and code enforcement officers, to provide education and assistance.

For the past 14 years, Safeguard has hosted the annual National Property Preservation Conference, bringing together industry leaders to discuss current issues in the industry and to develop solutions.

“Since our founding, Safeguard has developed and maintained a reputation as an industry leader to advance best practices through innovation, raise the profile of the industry and open lines of communication between the servicing industry and government officials across the country,” Jaffa said.

The Executives

Alan Jaffa, CEO

Alan Jaffa joined Safeguard in 1995, learning the business from the ground up. He was named CEO in May 2010 and under his leadership has steered the company as the mortgage field services industry leader. He also serves on the board of advisors for SCG Partners, a middle-market private equity fund focused on diversifying and expanding Safeguard’s business model into complementary markets.

Michael Greenbaum, COO

Michael Greenbaum joined the company in July 2010 as vice president of REO and was promoted to COO in 2015. Under his leadership, all operational departments of Safeguard have reviewed, updated and enhanced their business processes to maximize efficiency and improve quality control.

Linda Erkkila, General Counsel and Executive Vice President

Linda Erkkila oversees responsibilities for the legal, human resources, training, compliance and audit departments. Her previous experience at a former Fortune 500 financial institution during the subprime crisis helped develop Erkkila’s proactive approach to change management during periods of heightened regulatory scrutiny. She was also named an HW Women of Influence in 2017.

CFPB: A Snapshot of Mortgage Complaints

Posted on January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 29, 2019

Source: CFPB

Every day, people submit complaints to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection about a wide variety of consumer financial products and services. Today, we released our Complaint snapshot: Mortgage . It takes a deeper dive into the mortgage complaints we’ve received and highlights some trends we’ve observed.

This report reveals many interesting data points about complaints submitted by consumers:

•Between November 1, 2016 and October 31, 2018, approximately 11 percent of complaints were about mortgages.

•Most mortgage complaints were about “trouble during payment process” (42 percent) and “struggling to pay mortgage” (36 percent).

•Compared to the monthly average during the past 24 months, people submitted 18 percent fewer mortgage complaints in October 2018.

•There were 15 percent fewer mortgage complaints from August 2018 to October 2018 compared to August 2017 to October 2017.

Complaints received by the Bureau help its work to regulate consumer financial products or services under existing federal consumer financial laws, enforce those laws judiciously, and educate and empower people to make better-informed financial decisions.

The Bureau offers useful tools and resources for homeowners and homebuyers. Whether you’re thinking about buying a home, have a mortgage, or are having trouble paying, these resources can help you. You can also call us toll-free at (855) 411-2372, with your questions about consumer financial products and services.

CFPB: Changes to Senior Leadership

Posted on January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 25, 2019

Source: CFPB

Washington, D.C. — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathleen L. Kraninger today announced leadership changes within the Bureau. The positions being announced today are:

Policy Associate Director for External Affairs; West Regional Director; Acting Chief Communications Officer; Deputy Associate Director for External Affairs; and the Director for the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.

The following individuals were announced today as joining the CFPB leadership team:

Andrew Duke will serve as the Policy Associate Director for External Affairs. Mr. Duke has 27 years of experience in public policy, including 20 years on Capitol Hill serving with three different members of Congress. He received his B.A. in Economics from Hampden-Sydney College.

Laura Fiene will serve as West Regional Director. Ms. Fiene joined the CFPB at its inception in 2011. She brings over 31 continuous years of experience in regulating financial services companies, including 27 years dedicated to supervising and examining compliance with federal consumer financial laws and regulations. She graduated from Southern Illinois University. She holds an MBA from Golden Gate University and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Marisol Garibay will serve as the Acting Chief Communications Officer. Ms. Garibay has 14 years of experience in policy communications focused on financial issues and served most recently as Senior Advisor and Acting Communications Director at the Office of Management and Budget. She received her B.A. from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Delicia Reynolds Hand will serve as Deputy Associate Director for External Affairs. Ms. Hand joined the Bureau in 2012 and has 17 years of experience, having worked in consumer advocacy, community development, and on Capitol Hill. She holds a JD from the American University’s Washington College of Law, and M.A. from Cambridge University, U.K.

Lora McCray will serve as Director for the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. Ms. McCray’s career includes 15 years of experience in diversity practice and management, most recently as the Assistant Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. She holds an M.A. in Applied Anthropology from the University of Memphis; a J.D. from the University Of Washington School Of Law; and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

‘Zombies 2.0’: Attorney General James announces $9 Million in Grants for Communities Dealing with Vacant & Abandoned Properties

Posted on January 29, 2019January 30, 2019 by Safeguard

Industry Alert
January 28, 2019

Source: Office of NY Attorney General Letitia James

SYRACUSE – Attorney General Letitia James today announced “Zombies 2.0,” the expansion of a grant initiative to address the growing statewide issue of “zombie homes”– vacant and abandoned homes that are not maintained during a prolonged foreclosure proceeding.

“Zombies 2.0” will provide up to $9 million in grants to municipalities across the state to address housing vacancy and blight. The grants will provide funds to municipalities to increase housing code enforcement, track and monitor vacant properties, and bolster legal enforcement capacity to ensure banks and mortgage companies comply with local and state law.

“Far too many communities throughout New York continue to be blighted by zombie homes,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “These abandoned houses significantly decrease property values and threaten the safety of surrounding neighborhoods. Zombies 2.0 will be a key resource for cities and town across the state to combat this nuisance, and make communities whole.”

These grants are a continuation of the 2016 Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative created by the Office of the New York Attorney General, which provided nearly $13 million in grants to 76 New York municipalities. This year’s grant will allow previous recipients to continue their previous work, or will give first-time grantees the opportunity to secure funding to support their zombie and vacant property efforts.

Through the grants provided by the Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative, municipalities:

•Improved data collection and analysis to track vacant and abandoned properties;

•Invested in new technology to better collect and analyze data to address the collective impact of vacant properties on neighborhoods;

•Created “Zombie Coordinators” and Taskforces to coordinate code enforcement activities and resources;

•Boosted capacity of code enforcement and legal departments to enforce relevant laws to hold lienholders accountable or seek remedies to improve housing quality; and,

•Connected at-risk homeowners to foreclosure prevention resources.

The “Zombies 2.0” funding is a result of the Office of the New York Attorney General’s $500 Million Settlement with the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2018 over the bank’s deceptive practices and misrepresentations to investors in connection with the packaging, marketing, sale, and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) leading up to the financial crisis. The settlement marks a total of $22 Million investments in zombie grants funded by settlements from banks.

“Zombie properties leave an undue burden on the communities that surround them,” said Assemblymember Pamela Hunter. “Neglected properties that fall into disrepair because of absentee banks attract crime and lower the property values of surrounding homes. The program announced today will give municipalities and homeowners the resources they need to mitigate blight and put communities back on track.

“I thank Attorney General James for continuing to help our municipalities battle the scourge of “zombie” properties,” said Assemblymember Bill Magnarelli. “Even though it has been a decade since the “mortgage foreclosure crisis”, our Upstate municipalities continue to deal with abandoned and blighted properties that damage neighborhoods. These new funds made available by the Attorney General will allow our cities, towns and villages to take action on these properties and return them to productive use.”

“Communities all across New York State are affected by abandoned homes and zombie properties,” said Cortland Mayor Brian Tobin. “I thank the Attorney General’s Office for their support as we continue to move forward we need to be aggressive in bringing properties that are not in compliance so that they are no longer a drain in their communities.”

“Municipalities all over the state are reducing their number of vacant homes, energizing their local economies and improving their long-term quality of life,” said Helene Caloir, director of LISC’s New York Stabilization Fund, which also administered the state’s first round of zombie grants. “One vacant house gets spruced up and soon there are prospective purchasers; surrounding neighbors start investing more in their homes as nearby properties improve; and the entire community is lifted. House by house, block by block, neighborhoods are on the upswing.”

“Enterprise is pleased to provide resources to continue the successful work LISC and the OAG have undertaken to address “zombie” properties in communities throughout New York State,” said Judi Kende, vice president and New York market leader, Enterprise Community Partners. “Empowering municipal leaders to alleviate blight will create economic opportunity and turn vacant and abandoned properties into valuable assets for communities still recovering from the foreclosure crisis.”

The Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative coincided with the passage of the New York State Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act of 2016 (the “Zombie Law”) which requires banks and other mortgagees to externally maintain vacant one-to-four family houses during the foreclosure process or face a potential penalty of up to $500 per day per property. Zombie grantees used funds to bolster legal efforts to enforce the Zombie Law by issuing citations to noncompliant mortgagees or in some cases taking mortgagees to court to enforce the law.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is managing Zombies 2.0 with funds administered by Enterprise Community Partners. LISC will issue a Request for Applications by invitation to municipalities based on the number of abandoned residential properties within the municipality; the proportion of such properties compared to the overall number of residential properties; and its level of general economic distress. All invitees must have populations of at least 5,000 residents and at least 100 vacant and abandoned properties, or multiple municipalities can apply jointly to equal or exceed the population and vacant residential properties minimums.

Applications are due Friday, March 8, 2019. Awards are expected to be announced April 12, 2019.

LISC expects to award grants in amounts ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 based on the scale and severity of their “zombie” and other vacant one-to-four family house problems.

Senate Expected to Pass Bill to End Shutdown

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 25, 2019

Source: The Hill

The Senate is expected to take up a three-week stopgap bill to end the partial government shutdown later Friday after President Trump agreed to end the shutdown.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that with “cooperation” the Senate can pass the continuing resolution (CR) on Friday, minutes after Trump announced the deal from the White House.

“With cooperation, we can pass legislation opening the government and send the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] appropriations bill to a conference with the House today,” McConnell said.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that he expected the CR to “clear the House and be signed by the president today.”

“As soon as the president signs the legislation to open government, we in Congress will roll up our sleeves. I genuinely hope that this process can produce something that is good for the country and acceptable to both sides,” Schumer said.

McConnell will technically need to get unanimous consent to pass the stopgap funding measure. But several senators leaving a closed-door GOP lunch predicted it would pass easily by a voice vote, meaning only a few senators will need to be on the floor.

The agreement locked down by Trump and congressional leadership would open up the quarter of the government that has been closed since Dec. 22 and fund it until Feb. 15. In exchange, Congress would agree to go to conference on the DHS funding bill.

Fannie Mae: Enhancements Reduce Manual Work on FHA Loan Payoffs

Posted on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by Safeguard

Investor Update
January 25, 2019

Source: Fannie Mae

Starting Jan. 27 you won’t need to contact Fannie Mae Investor Reporting analysts to request shortage surplus adjustments for Actual/Actual Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan payoffs. Our system will automatically calculate the interest due at the time of payoff on FHA mortgages closed on or after Jan. 21, 2015.

FHA Policy
Fannie Mae Investor Reporting Manual

VA: VALERI Servicer Newsflash

Posted on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by Safeguard

Investor Update
January 25, 2019

Source: VA (full release)

VALERI Down Time – On Saturday, January 26, 2019, the application will be unavailable from 7:00 PM EST until 11:00 PM EST.

Development Updates

On Saturday, January 26, 2019, VALERI Manifest 18.4 will be released and will include CQ 13638. This enhancement will update the logic in the redemption expiration date business rule on the Transfer of Custody event for the State of Utah on non-judicial foreclosures.

Reminder

ALAC Mailbox – The alac.vbamla@va.gov mailbox is still inactive. Until further notice, all payment related inquiries should continue to be directed to Rochele Galbizo at Rochele.Galbizo@va.gov and Kevin Brice at Kevin.Brice@va.gov

VALERI HelpDesk
VA Central Office Loan Management

Foreclosure Prevention Report – October 2018

Posted on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by Safeguard

Investor Update
January 22, 2019

Source: FHFA

October 2018 Highlights

The Enterprises’ Foreclosure Prevention Actions:

•The Enterprises completed 15,272 foreclosure prevention actions in October, bringing the total to 4,258,046 since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008. Over half of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.

•There were 10,484 permanent loan modifications in October, bringing the total to 2,298,636 since the conservatorships began in September 2008.

•Twenty-eight percent of modifications in October were modifications with principal forbearance. Modifications with extend-term only accounted for 64 percent of all loan modifications during the month.

•There were 633 short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure completed in October, up slightly compared with September.

The Enterprises’ Mortgage Performance:

•The serious delinquency rate dropped from 0.79 percent at the end of September to 0.76 precent at the end of October.

The Enterprises’ Foreclosures:

•Third-party and foreclosure sales increased from 3,705 in September to 4,416 in October.

•Foreclosure starts increased from 9,419 in September to 12,752 in October.

Destructive Tornado Damages Homes in Alabama

Posted on January 21, 2019January 21, 2019 by Safeguard

Disaster Alert
January 20, 2019

Source: The Weather Channel

Approximate locations sustaining property damage:

Alabama

Wetumpka (Elmore County, 36092, 36093)

NOTE: This is not yet a FEMA Declared Disaster.

A line of strong thunderstorms on the wet side of Winter Storm Harper spun up several tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Saturday, including an EF2 tornado that caused extensive damage in Wetumpka, Alabama. A total of seven tornadoes have been confirmed.

Reports on social media say the tornado brought down trees, damaged homes, destroyed a historic Presbyterian church and damaged the Wetumpka Police Department. Only one minor injury was reported.

“We have several buildings downtown with serious structural damage,” Sheriff Bill Franklin told the Montgomery Advertiser. “People may not be able to see that damage. The buildings are in danger of collapsing. We don’t want anymore injuries than we already have.”

Mayor Jerry Willis said at a Sunday morning news conference that the town “suffered a tremendous amount of damage.”

“Something that we’ve never had here before,” he added.

The National Weather Service also confirmed Sunday an EF1 tornado in Autauga County and an EF1 tornado in Coosa County near Rockford.

Earlier in the day, an EF0 tornado in Rankin County, Mississippi, knocked down several trees. A second EF1 tornado in Rankin County knocked down trees and power lines.

Buildings on Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida were damaged by an EF1 tornado early Saturday evening, according to base officials. The tornado moved a car, ripped roofs off of barracks and flipped dumpsters.

The National Weather Service office in Birmingham is sending two survey crews to the affected areas in four counties on Sunday to determine the severity of tornado damage.

Cuyahoga County Considers Sweeping Housing Program to Stabilize Neighborhoods

Posted on January 18, 2019January 18, 2019 by Safeguard

Updated 1/8/19: Ordinance 02019-0001 was introduced by the Cuyahoga County Council and had a first reading. It has been referred to the Community Development Committee.

Link to ordinance text

Land Bank Update
January 4, 2019

Source: cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cuyahoga County proposes to launch a $30 million, six-year effort to stabilize home values, eliminate blight and to encourage renovation and construction of affordable housing.

If approved by County Council, the Cuyahoga County Housing Program also would refocus the county’s land bank from demolition to rehabilitation. Legislation will be introduced Tuesday, according to a council agenda posted Friday.

The legislation is sponsored by Council President Dan Brady, Vice President Pernel Jones Jr. and council members Dale Miller and Cheryl Stephens. It was drafted in concert with the county land bank, formally known as the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, and the county’s Department of Development.

Brady told cleveland.com that the program adopts recommendations from a 2016 housing study that suggested reinvestment in existing housing, and support for affordable housing countywide.

If approved, the program would begin in 2020.

What would the program do?

The aim would be to end years of disinvestment in some county neighborhoods brought on by aging houses, population decline and a foreclosure crisis that caused houses to be abandoned.

If approved as drafted, the program would address each of three housing needs in a county where 18,000 homes — over 4.2 percent of the county’s entire housing stock — are vacant.

The county land bank would oversee the renovation of homes and development of affordable and mid-level housing markets.

The Department of Development would provide loans, grants or technical assistance to homeowners for home repair, as well as assistance in obtaining mortgages.

Ninety percent of the money for home renovations would be used in either affordable or middle market neighborhoods.

How is this program different from others?

Brady said the new program would build on the work already completed by the county land bank and the expertise it has acquired.

Since 2009, has demolished more than 7,000 homes and rehabilitated about 1,800 others. It has also developed data, mapping and other techniques to improve neighborhoods by identifying homes for demolition or rehabilitation.

“Finding which house to improve to improve a whole neighborhood, to affect the valuation of the neighborhood most effectively — that’s where the [county land bank’s] strategy comes in,” said Kahlil Seren, research and policy analyst for Cuyahoga County Council.

Will the land bank stop razing homes?

No, but demolition will be greatly reduced. Cuyahoga Land Bank President Gus Frangos told cleveland.com that the time is right for his agency to begin pivoting to rehabilitation efforts because federal and county money for demolition is dwindling. Money already set aside for demolition will continue to be used for demolition and will not be affected by the housing program.

Frangos estimated that 3,000 to 5,000 homes are candidates for demolition in Cuyahoga County, down from 20,000 in 2009. He hopes more state money will be made available to continue demolition efforts. In the meantime, county dollars tagged for rehabilitation will drive the bulk of the county land bank’s work.

The housing program would require the county and county land bank to commit $30 million to rehabilitation, or $5 million each of the next six years. Most of the money, $21.5 million, would come from fees collected on delinquent property taxes. Another $5 million would come from the county’s portion of casino tax revenue, and $2.5 million would come from the county’s general fund.

Some money also might be generated by the rehabilitation of homes, or as the result of contributions from community development organizations, charitable organizations, banks, real estate developers or municipalities. Those profits would be reinvested into the program, Frangos said.

How would the renovation component work?

Homes in the county land bank’s inventory of vacant properties could be renovated by the county land bank, then sold to buyers, or could be renovated by the buyer.

The county land bank would identify properties suitable for a buyer to renovate, develop a renovation plan and post the property for sale. Prospective buyers would be screened to determine if they can handle the renovation. The county land bank would hold the deed in escrow until the buyer pulls permits and completes the required renovations.

What is the homeowner-assistance component?

Financial and technical assistance would be provided to current and potential homeowners who want to find affordable housing or maintain the housing they already have.

The financial assistance would be for home repairs, or mortgages of $70,000 or less. Banks often won’t give so-called smaller-dollar mortgages, even if the prospective buyer is creditworthy, Seren said.

The aim would be to making home ownership more accessible for lower- and middle-income people, young families, and first-time buyers.

What is the housing-market component?

Efforts to improve the housing market in county neighborhoods would be three-pronged: spurring investment in emerging markets, constructing homes on vacant lots, and laying the groundwork for investment in future markets.

For neighborhoods that are considered emerging markets, the goal would be to improve housing values and jump-start private development, in part by showing banks that an area can be worth investing in. The county land bank could do that by strategically choosing properties to rehabilitate, thereby creating comparable homes in the neighborhood and improving chances that private investment takes place.

The second part would involve constructing homes on vacant lots in neighborhoods with primarily older homes. Many buyers want newer homes with updated designs and modern amenities. In Cuyahoga County, that often means moving out of the city or inner-ring suburbs, where much of the land has already been developed.

“Those amenities are sometimes the reason people move to newer areas. In-fill construction will give choices to people who like the feel of an older neighborhood but want a newer house,” Seren said.

The final piece is the cultivation of future markets. Some neighborhoods are in such bad shape that groundwork needs to be laid before investment can occur.

The county land bank would prepare those areas through strategic planning, including the commissioning of feasibility studies, developing concepts for neighborhoods and piecing together parcels for future development. Such activities would be coordinated with the Department of Development, local municipalities, community development corporations and others.