Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition MERS Demonstration & Training

Posted on September 13, 2018October 10, 2018 by Safeguard

Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition MERS Demonstration & Training
March 24, 2010
Safeguard Properties
Cleveland, OH

On March 24th CEO Robert Klein and High Risk Supervisor Dave Mazanek of Safeguard Properties hosted a hands-on demonstration of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) to municipal and non-profit representatives from 21 different city departments and non-profit agencies within the greater Cleveland area.??

The accomplishments realized at this meeting were benefits generated on multiple fronts.? An open format discussion provided for and delivered the strong and clear message that the industry is actively dedicated to and involved with partnering with non-profit agencies to maintain vacant properties and explore creative ways to transfer them for productive re-use.? This information is critical and hopeful for a city such as Cleveland is in forefront of the foreclosure crisis.

Mark Roberge, Central Region Director for MERS, was on hand to share an in-depth introduction of the background, development, and features of the MERS System.? With computer stations provided for each guest, Dave offered a live and interactive demonstration of its capabilities and variables for identifying the direct point of contact information for vacant properties, the most important piece of information for not only code enforcement professionals, but also for those groups implementing community development programs and projects.

As testament to the value and impact of this demonstration, most attendees stayed long beyond the two-hours dedicated for the training session, as they chose to spend additional time exploring MERS to find information on problem properties within their service areas that was once not attainable.? It was confirmed that the most practical value was found in the street level search fields.? The primary concern voiced by the audience, an appropriate issue considering their occupational backgrounds, was locating information for a property that has transferred and/or sold to a third party.? These problems will diminish as more servicers upload their inventories and/or register as members to MERS.

Presentations and demonstrations such as these are imperative to continuing Safeguard?s strident effort to bridge the gaps in communication and build collaborative relationships between the mortgage servicing industry and communities.? This is accomplished, in part, by sharing the benefits of MERS and promoting it as a viable tool for addressing the growing number of vacant properties and the blight they generate within neighborhoods.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 700 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Safeguard’s Good Neighbor Door Hanger Initiative

Posted on September 13, 2018October 4, 2018 by Safeguard

Safeguard?s Good Neighbor Door Hanger initiative proves successful in proactively addressing vacant blight issues

Safeguard Properties has led the servicing industries efforts in proactively partnering with cities and municipalities in dealing with issues that lead to vacant blight. Servicers and local governments are partners in fighting blight, maintaining safe neighborhoods, and ensuring properties are maintained and do not cause a blight on neighborhoods.

As announced in the 1st quarter of 2009, Safeguard initiated a Good Neighbor Door Hanger Initiative whereby a door hanger is left at properties adjacent to vacant and secured properties.? The Door Hanger provided an 800 number enabling the neighbor to contact Safeguard 24/7 if they see any questionable activity or maintenance issue that needs to be addressed.

The Initiative, currently being utilized nationwide for over a year, has been extremely successful.? Since full implementation of the initiative, Safeguard has been receiving over 1,200 calls per day from neighbors who have utilized the call in number to proactively make contact.? The majority of these calls are regarding the property status or reporting questionable activity at the property.at the subject property.? This initiative has resulted in timely remediation of issues that, if left unaddressed, would have resulted in the property being vandalized or a call to code enforcement officials issuing citations. This proactive communication has resulted in a partnership between the community and the Industry in addition to ensuring that the servicer?s collateral interest in the property is maintained.

The correlation between vacant properties and criminal activity has been well documented in communities nationwide.? As foreclosures and vacancies mount, the nation has seen a material increase in the number of copper pipe thefts, arsons and related crimes at these vacant properties.? This ripple effect drastically reduces the servicer?s collateral in their assets and wreaks havoc on the communities where the properties exist.

Safeguard will continue to utilize the Good Neighbor Door Hanger initiative to assist communities and the Industry as a whole to combat vacant blight through proactive collaboration with the community.

Safeguard Properties Promotes Five Staffers to New Positions

Posted on September 13, 2018October 4, 2018 by Safeguard

Safeguard Properties Promotes Five Staffers to New Positions

Five team members of Safeguard Properties were recently promoted to newly-created positions within the company. These new positions are part of an organizational restructuring to better serve clients and accommodate Safeguard?s current and anticipated growth, the company said.

Kellie Chambers was promoted to director, property preservation operations. She joined Safeguard in 2001 and previously held the position of manager, property preservation operations.

Kathy Cogan, who joined Safeguard in 2003, was promoted from her position of manager, REO client account management to director, REO client account management.

Palmer DePetro joined Safegaurd in 2009 as manager, regional coordinators. He was promoted to director, REO regional coordinators and customer service.

Jennifer Jozity was appointed as director, inspections department. She was promoted from manager, inspections department and joined Safeguard in 1997.

Amy Nauer previously held the position of manager, REO operations and was promoted to director, REO operations. She joined Safeguard in 1998.

Nancy Runyon has been with Safeguard since 2000. She was promoted to director, vendor management form her position as manager, vendor management.

Founded in 1990, Safeguard Properties is a privately-held management services company based in Valley View, Ohio. The company inspects and maintains defaulted and foreclosed properties for mortgage service companies, lenders, investors, and other financial institutions.

To view the online article, please click here

Managing REO “Confusion Mounting over PTFA”

Posted on September 13, 2018October 4, 2018 by Safeguard

Numerous lender liabilities have been created as a result of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act.

Confusion is being expressed over whether or not there is a bona fide tenant in the property and if the lender has an oral lease with the borrower. The statute provides no guidance over what to ask for in order to prove occupancy. Lenders can take an aggressive or conservative approach to have borrowers produce evidence of occupancy. They can hire third party vendors, attorneys or use general counsel to collect documentation.

Speakers at the default super session at the MBA?s National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo in San Diego contemplated the best business decision for the lender when it comes to collecting rent. If the tenant is in the property for only 90 days then some of the panelists said it might not be worth it.

?But if the borrower is in the property for two years, then it might be a good decision especially if you cannot get rid of that property or find an investor to take the property off of your hands,? said Cynthia Nierer, a partner with Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates.

The choice may also depend on what state you are in. In liberal states like New York, a landlord is defined as someone who owns the property, so the lender may as well go ahead and collect the rent.

?If you want to remove the tenant, the act of collecting the rent is against you,? said Lawrence Garfinkel, managing real estate attorney, Bendett & McHugh, PC. ?What is your ultimate goal with the property? It also depends a lot on the condition of the home.?

Lenders and foreclosure attorneys might be worrying that the tenant will call at 2 AM to report their need to have someone fix a problem in the home like a broken toilet. Property preservation companies already have eight hundred numbers in place so tenants can make calls 24/7. So far, under the law, Robert Klein, founder CEO of Safeguard Properties said not many tenants are calling or making requests for repairs, and there has not been a significant change in call volume because of the law.

Lenders are not set up to collect rents. The speakers agreed that it is a real paradigm shift happening these days that servicing shops and lenders even have to consider doing this and are being required to do it under law. As part of some legal proceedings, a court appointed receiver might be put in place to collect rents and interview tenants. If property inspections are done earlier to check on non-owner occupancy status, this is a good idea because it is an independent, third party who is collecting rents. It is imperative that all the money is accounted for prior to a foreclosure sale.

Fannie Mae has created a whole new lease with tenant program that keeps the property inhabitable. This formal agreement helps with neighborhood stabilization. As a result of this, FNMA has not experienced any lawsuits yet, said Miquel Gutierrez, director of alternative REO Disposition at Fannie Mae. There are no evictions, and the agreement turns that possible vacant property and foreclosure into a positive situation with a paying tenant. FNMA?s deed for lease program is available in month-to-month and 12-month options.

?With the tenant in place we can market and sell the properties. If it?s lived in, the home shows better,? he said during the session.

Time is of the essence when it comes to maintaining an asset. Foreclosures can be marketed to investors who can sell them occupied with tenants in lease programs or hold them with tenants inside. If servicers can keep a tenant inside the home, it?s likely the property will be worth more. This is a good alternative to REO and it helps markets where it might not be the best time to sell. If borrowers are given the opportunity to stay in the home, there is a strong likelihood that the property will stay safe and clean.

In the meantime, lenders can focus on the massive amounts of real estate owned assets that already exist, scrubbing files and pushing through those assets that truly need to go into REO. Third party sales are increasing, and experts at the show said we have not yet seen the stabilization of prices ? they are still dropping.

To view the online article, please click here.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 700 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Just Do It! HUD Tells Servicers to Fix First and File Later

Posted on September 13, 2018October 10, 2018 by Safeguard

Just Do It! HUD Tells Servicers to Fix First and File Later

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pushing forward with plans to speed up the management and marketing (M&M) of properties in order to create a more orderly return of the property to livability and, subsequently, sale-ability.

The new and multi-faceted approach will aid servicers to quickly reclaim expenses from Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured properties in the event of short sale, foreclosure, etc. The changes will also apply to properties where there is still an occupant, protected by the Tenant Act, which states that, even if a borrower defaults, the servicers must honor the leaseholders? agreement in non-owner occupied scenarios.

Under the new M&M guidelines, representatives from HUD said at a three-hour panel at the Safeguard Properties? National Property Preservation Conference underway in Washington DC, that servicers should take the risk and get any necessary work done on the property, without submitting a bid for approval first. HUD will then verify that claim and repay the servicer for the expense.

HUD is also releasing a massive computer program, the P260, created by property management software provider, Yardi, and using the Marshal and Swift database for approvals, that will make expense submissions entirely electronic. This is opposed to the current method of ?by phone, by fax, by postal courier,? as one panelist put it.

?Go ahead and do what you have to do,? said James McGee, a single family housing program policy specialist for HUD.? M&M Contractors market and manage single-family properties owned by, or in the custody of the Department. HUD also noted that its P260 reps will be trained by day one, with the launch coming sometime in 2010 and expects the transition to be relatively easy.

Safeguard Properties CEO Robert Klein applauded the move of HUD to modernize its operations, though Michelle Stevens-Schultz, a mortgage officer at JP Morgan Chase (JPM: 40.39 +1.92%) worries that bids currently being considered may be sidelined without recompense once the new submission process goes online.

?We are still working on the transition,? said McGee

To view the online article, please click here?????

Higher Unemployment Means Many More Distressed Properties to Come

Posted on September 13, 2018October 10, 2018 by Safeguard

Higher Unemployment Means Many More Distressed Properties to Come

A panel meeting today at the Safeguard Properties National Property Preservation Conference in Washington DC shifted gears to address the ?unexpected? jump in unemployment rates.

Unemployment in the United States now stands at 10.2%, somewhat beyond the forecast of economists.

The US Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan organization that represents cities with populations greater than 30,000, is sending out an industry warning that they expect employment rates to continue to climb in 2010, reaching levels as high as 15% in some municipalities. Servicers in these areas should prepare to face a much heavier distressed asset portfolio as borrowers struggle to cope with lose of income, says Dave Gatton, a director at the firm.

Gatton added that local government received very little amounts of bailout money and will likely not have an infrastructure to support these servicers.

Servicers, investors and regulators will convene later this month in Austin, Texas at a HousingWire-sponsored, invitation-only event ? Distressed Services 2009? to discuss industry challenges posed by the growing presence of distressed properties

To view the online article, please click here

City of Cleveland Ohio House Explosion Fundraiser

Posted on September 13, 2018September 13, 2018 by Safeguard

After a tragic gas explosion and fire in late January at a W. 83rd Street home in Cleveland that damaged 57 nearby homes and left many homeless, the founder and CEO of Safeguard Properties, Robert Klein offered to match all donations raised to help the victims.

Klein made the announcement at a February 7, 2010? fundraiser co-sponsored by Cleveland City Council, Councilman Matt Zone and the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, the neighborhood in which the tragedy occurred.? More than 800 people attended the event, including Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson , Councilman Zone, Cleveland Housing Division Judge Raymond L. Pianka and a host of city council members, other city officials, and officials from community development organizations throughout the area.?

Klein will match more than $11,000 raised at the Feb. 7th event, plus another $10,000 in additional donations received to help the victims, for a total of more than $21,000.? In announcing the donation, Klein said, “Most of us have much to be thankful for, and we have a responsibility to help our neighbors when we can.? This is what it means to be part of a community.”?

To view a video of the event from NewsChannel 5 (Cleveland), please click here

BarCap Sees Limited Use of Fannies Deed-for-Lease Program

Posted on September 13, 2018October 10, 2018 by Safeguard

BarCap Sees ?Limited Use? of Fannie?s Deed-for-Lease Program

Although a new foreclosure alternative program announced Thursday by Fannie Mae (FNM: 1.00 -2.91%) presents a new step in mitigating foreclosure risk among distressed borrowers, it looks to have only a ?marginal? effect on prepayments within Fannie residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), according to market commentary by Barclays Capital (BarCap).

The Deed-for-Lease (D4L) program allows qualified borrowers to voluntarily deed the property back to Fannie and remain in the home on lease for up to 12 months. It targets borrowers that do not qualify for other workout alternatives like the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which allocates federal incentives to servicers that pursue modifications before foreclosure.

In Fannie?s D4L program, servicers must offer the borrowers the market rent on the property, within 31% of gross income. BarCap researchers indicated the D4L initiative is likely to ?see limited use,? as it targets the same debt-to-income (DTI) ratio as a HAMP modification.

The D4L program applies only to borrowers that qualify for a deed-in-lieu (DIL) of foreclosure, which BarCap researchers pointed out is at the bottom of Fanie?s workout heirarcy. Even more important than the program?s limited use is the fact that only DIL transactions ? not D4L transactions ? trigger prepayment within RMBS, where loans are are considered prepayed in full and are removed from securitization.

?So the D4L has no direct bearing on buyout or prepayment,? researchers said. ?To the extent that this initiative helps alleviate homeowner pain and leads to better borrower cooperation with DIL proceedings, it should marginally expedite buyout timelines by increasing the share of DILs at the expense of foreclosure sales.?

Researchers went on to suggest the D4L program is likely a component of the Administration?s Foreclosure Alternative Program, which HousingWire sources indicated would include an incentive program for deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure.

Sources close to the Administration?s deeds-in-lieu plans told HousingWire Fannie?s D4L program is separate from the Treasury Department?s foreclosure alternative plan.

Other aspects of the D4L program, including some strategy and lease structure details, continue to develop following Fannie?s announcement.

At the Safeguard Properties National Property Preservation Conference in Washington DC, a Fannie source told HousingWire the GSE has no set exit strategy for the D4L program and plans to handle that on a case-by-case basis.

The source says Fannie also hopes to resell back to the occupants at some point. But the GSE will not move to one-year leases from the month-to-month lease structure currently employed in its rental portfolio management.

To view the online article, please click here

Properties Magazine – Managing a Move

Posted on September 13, 2018September 13, 2018 by Safeguard

Safeguard Properties’ recent move to their new Valley View, OH location?is the focus of an article in Properties Magazine, Northeast Ohio’s monthly realty, construction and architecture magazine.

Managing a Move

Safeguard Properties relocates to updated, expanded Valley View office building

By Diane DiPiero

An exercise facility, a full-service cafeteria, even a half-basketball court outside: These are among the amenities that Safeguard Properties offers its employees at the company?s new headquarters in Valley View. The facility also features a state-of-the-art technology room and a 20,000-square-foot vertical addition to accommodate future growth.

Safeguard Properties began in 1990 as a regional company with a handful of employees. Today, there are about 775 people providing all aspects of property management services ? including property preservation, REO services, insurance loss inspections, title services, property inspections, valuations and hazard claims services ? to customers in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Safeguard is currently the largest privately held field services company in the country.

Significant recent growth prompted Safeguard to consider a move from its cramped Brooklyn Heights headquarters. ?We wanted our own building, and we wanted something that would feel homey to us,? says Alan Jaffa, Safeguard?s chief operating officer.

Safeguard worked with Greenberg Real Estate Advisors of Solon to find a property that met its distinct needs: parking for roughly 600 vehicles; enough interior space to accommodate a large staff, including about 400 people in the call center; and room for expansion.

Greenberg Real Estate Advisors found a 76,000-square-foot property in Valley View with a large amount of parking and room to add more. ?Soon after they found the property, we got Randy Smith [of Davison, Smith, Certo Architects] involved to make fit-out plans so we could be sure it would work for Safeguard,? explains Kerry Chelm, president of Chelm Properties, a partner in Greenberg Real Estate Advisors.

To read the rest of this article, download the January 2010 issue of Properties Magazine now. [January 2010; download PDF; 7.3 mb]

DSNews “Agency Leaders Address FHA’s Future at Property Preservation Conference “

Posted on September 13, 2018October 10, 2018 by Safeguard

Agency Leaders Address FHA’s Future at Property Preservation Conference

Only a month in, Vicki Bott, the new deputy assistant secretary for single family housing at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), defended against rumors saying FHA loans were the new subprime. ?We will absolutely chase the bad lenders,? she said at the National Property Preservation Conference, hosted by Safeguard Properties in Washington, D.C.

Bott joined FHA on October 5, bringing with her over 20 years? experience in the mortgage industry including senior positions at Wells Fargo and other large institutional lenders.

Bott also put the conference?s general session audience at ease by saying FHA will be around for a long time to come and that the government agency will sustain through this marketplace. ?We absolutely have the money?the fund is there.?

Recently, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) convened a council to provide recommendations to policymakers on the government mortgage insurance agency?s future.

?Currently insuring upward of 30 percent of today?s loan volume, the FHA is an indispensible part of today?s mortgage market,? said MBA Chairman Robert E. Story, Jr., in an October 26 release. ?Ensuring a strong FHA has long been a top priority for MBA. Lenders need a healthy FHA more than ever if we are going to sustain this housing recovery.?

According to Bott, many reports surfacing in the mass media claiming FHA?s demise have it all wrong. FHA maintains reserves like any other private entity, in addition to managing the increased business and paying claims through their finance account. The government agency?s capital reserve fund, which is more than $30 billion, serves as a savings account to pay for their unexpected losses.

Vance Morris, director of single family asset management for HUD, was also on hand at the conference giving an insider?s perspective on what property preservation specialists can expect as the agency makes streamlined changes to its preservation and protection requirements.

As HUD continues to service FHA properties, Morris says his department is expecting a substantial increase in property preservation private contractors by Spring 2010. Taking in additional contractors means a new departmentalized structure of a mortgagee compliance monitor, a field services manager, an asset manager, and an oversight manager.

Reporting into a centralized data repository system (P260), Morris says HUD has purposely separated the roles of the field services manager and the asset manager in order to increase accountability.

HUD has divided the country into 10 contract areas, where they will install multiple mortgagee compliance monitors and field services managers, and according to Morris, whether you continue to do business with the agency will be determined by your performance.

?If you don?t do well, you?ll get less and less assignments,? he said.

Morris says HUD will be issuing 26 asset manager contracts and 35 field service contracts. The deadline to bid for the field service contracts is November 18 and those looking to bid on the asset management contracts can go to fedbizopps.gov.