Page 37 – Safeguard Properties

Transforming Unlivable Properties into Thriving Homes

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Safeguard

One Community Update
January 18, 2024

Abandoned, neglected, and blighted properties with an exterior only a mother could love.

Thirteen-thousand of them sit in neighborhoods across Baltimore City. All are useless to the housing market.

Renovating a vacant home can be a challenge. The first step is finding a loan officer to approve money for the project, and that is where the DASH program steps in.

This is a special program that allows for special interest rates for developers coming into Baltimore City exclusively looking to rehab blocks of homes and individual homes,” explains Kathleen Mitchell, Head of Underwriting for Dominion Financial Services.

Baltimore is the first city where the DASH program is active. Our city is unique with a large number of vacant homes, a major impact from redlining, a push to end the issue, and a local financial company willing to help with loans.

“There is this opportunity to take this existing vacant housing stock and repurpose it for the homeownership aspirations of Baltimore residents,” says Christopher Tyson, President of National Community Stabilization Trust.

So what is DASH? It stands for Developing Affordable Starter Homes, and gives people money, at a lower-than-usual interest rate to renovate vacant homes.

Nathan Robbins is a Developer, “So when I first came to this house I could look through the front window and see the sky through it. There was a big tree growing through the middle.”

Robbins has developed a few properties in Baltimore City, including one in Pigtown. He used the DASH program to get the project across the finish line.

“The DASH fund was unique. They were able to help with the purchase and construction costs so it’s a little more accessible for small developers in the city.”

For Robbins, seeing families move in and enjoy their new space, is the reward.

So far 8 properties have received the loan, six more are in the works.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Top 10 ZIPS with Highest Foreclosure Rates in 2023

Posted on January 23, 2024January 23, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 12, 2024

Source: ATTOM

According to ATTOM’s newly released 2023 Year-End U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, foreclosure filings were reported on 357,062 U.S. properties in 2023. The report noted that figure was up 10 percent from 2022 and 136 percent from 2021, but down 28 percent from 2019 – before the pandemic shook up the market.

ATTOM’s latest foreclosure activity analysis reported that nationwide, foreclosure filings in 2023 were also down 88 percent from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010. Also, according to the report, those 357,062 properties with foreclosure filings in 2023 represented 0.26 percent of all U.S. housing units. That figure was up slightly from 0.23 percent in 2022, but down from 0.36 percent in 2019 and down from a peak of 2.23 percent in 2010.

The year-end foreclosure report noted that states with the highest foreclosure rates in 2023 included New Jersey (0.46 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Illinois (0.42 percent); Delaware (0.41 percent); Maryland (0.40 percent); and Ohio (0.38 percent).

The ATTOM analysis also reported that rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates in 2023, were South Carolina (0.38 percent); Nevada (0.37 percent); Florida (0.37 percent); Connecticut (0.35 percent); and Indiana (0.32 percent).

According to the report, among the 223 metro areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in 2023 included Cleveland, Ohio (0.62 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Atlantic City, New Jersey (0.62 percent); Lakeland, Florida (0.56 percent); Columbia, South Carolina (0.55 percent); and Fayetteville, North Carolina (0.51 percent).

The report noted that among those metro areas with a population greater than 1 million, including Cleveland, Ohio, those with the highest foreclosure rates in 2023 included Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (0.48 percent); Jacksonville, Florida (0.47 percent); Las Vegas, Nevada (0.46 percent); and Chicago, Illinois (0.45 percent).

For full report, please click the source link above.

Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to .23% in December

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 22, 2024

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 3 basis points from 0.26% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior month to 0.23% as of December 31, 2023. According to MBA’s estimate, 115,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.1 million borrowers since March 2020.

In December 2023, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance declined 1 basis point to 0.15%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 8 basis points to 0.39%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased 3 basis points to 0.27%.

“Forbearance as a loss mitigation option is diminishing,” said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “While forbearance is a powerful tool for delinquency surges resulting from natural disasters or major disruptions such as a pandemic, today’s borrowers are not experiencing widespread financial distress. The overall performance of servicing portfolios – particularly government loans – declined in December. Factors such as seasonality, a changing labor market, resumption of student loan payments, and the rise in balances on other forms of consumer debt are likely at play.”

Walsh also noted that MBA anticipates that the unemployment rate, a leading indicator of mortgage performance, is expected to increase gradually to 4.5 percent by the end of 2024 from 3.7 percent at year-end 2023.

For full report, please click the source link above.

National Property Preservation Conference Returned to Washington, D.C.

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Safeguard

Safeguard in the News
January 22, 2024

Source: DS News

Growing up, it seemed like every neighborhood had that one “creepy” house. Maybe it was abandoned, maybe it was home to a quiet introvert who occasionally peeks out through the curtains.

Regardless, these are places that collect mythology like fishing nets collect ocean-borne garbage, gathering stories and rumors that are pretty much always more interesting than reality. But out here in actual reality—those homes are probably just in need of a good property preservation vendor.

The property preservation sector serves a crucial function within the market: helping maintain vacant properties, ensuring the lawns are cut, the windows and doors are secure, and no one is breaking in to squat, strip out copper, or worse. They help prevent urban blight, maintain neighborhood property values, and eventually, help ensure those homes are in good shape when they return to the market.

But the difficulties facing the prop pres sector have rarely been more daunting, ranging from struggles to maintain a sufficient workforce, to the headwinds of inflationary costs, to the simple fact that much of the diminished REO stock is more spread out and requiring more “windshield time” just to get people out to them in the first place.

All these issues and more were up for discussion at November’s National Property Preservation Conference (NPPC) in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Safeguard Properties since 2004, the NPPC was the brainchild of Safeguard’s late founder, Robert Klein, who created the event to fill a perceived gap for an industry event that was solely focused on trends and challenges within the property preservation space, as opposed to just being included as a single panel or two within a more generalized event such as the Five Star Conference. As the official NPPC homepage puts it, Klein’s vision was to “bring together all facets of the mortgage field services industry to discuss pressing issues and develop solutions.”

This year’s NPPC lineup honored that legacy well, bringing together a top-tier lineup of industry speakers from prop pres, mortgage servicing, government agencies, and the GSEs. They all gathered for three beautiful November days at the InterContinental Washington D.C.-The Wharf, filing into a sun-filled ballroom overlooking the Potomac for a packed lineup of panels and speakers.

To access the full story, please click the source link above.

FEMA Emergency Declaration – Connecticut Severe Storms, Flooding, and a Potential Dam Breach

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 13, 2024

FEMA has issued an Emergency Declaration for areas of the Connecticut to supplement response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from severe storms, flooding, and a potential dam breach beginning January 10, 2024 and continuing.

Public Assistance:

Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation
New London

Connecticut Severe Storms, Flooding and a Potential Dam Breach (EM-3604-CT)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Emergency Declaration for Connecticut

Map of Affected Areas

List of Affected Zip Codes

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – Rhode Island Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

Posted on January 18, 2024January 18, 2024 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 7, 2024

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for areas of the state of Rhode Island to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by severe storms, flooding and tornadoes from September 10-13, 2023. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance:

Providence

Rhode Island Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes (DR-4753-RI)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Rhode Island

Map of Affected Area

List of Affected Zip Codes

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

Homeowners Find Ways to Overcome Delinquency – CoreLogic

Posted on January 11, 2024January 18, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 8, 2024

Source: Mortgage Professional America

Mortgage delinquency rates have remained “exceptionally solid” thanks to a rebound in home equity gains, according to CoreLogic.

About 2.8% of mortgage properties in October were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), mirroring the figures from the same period last year and the preceding month.

The report dissected delinquency rates further: early-stage delinquencies saw a minor uptick to 1.4%, while adverse delinquencies stayed steady at 0.4%. More encouragingly, serious delinquencies decreased to 0.9%, continuing a downward trend from the pandemic-high of 4.3% in August 2020. Meanwhile, foreclosure and transition rates remained unchanged, indicating a stable mortgage environment.

“US mortgage delinquency rates remained healthy in October, with the overall delinquency rate unchanged from a year earlier and the serious delinquency rate remaining at a historic low,” said CoreLogic principal economist Molly Boesel.

“Most of the decline in the serious delinquency rate stems from a decrease in later-stage delinquencies. Importantly, there was no increase in the foreclosure rate, indicating that borrowers in later stages of delinquencies are finding alternatives to defaulting on their home loans.”

In a positive turn for homeowners, the report also highlighted a rebound in home equity gains. On average, borrowers saw an increase in their home equity, with a typical gain of $20,000 from the previous year, which could act as a buffer against foreclosure in the near term.

For full report, please click the source link above.

U.S. Foreclosure Activity Increases from 2022 but Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

Posted on January 11, 2024January 18, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 11, 2024

Source: ATTOM

ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its Year-End 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings— default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 357,062 U.S. properties in 2023, up 10 percent from 2022 and up 136 percent from 2021 but down 28 percent from 2019, before the pandemic shook up the market. Foreclosure filings in 2023 were also down 88 percent from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010.

Those 357,062 properties with foreclosure filings in 2023 represented 0.26 percent of all U.S. housing units, up slightly from 0.23 percent in 2022, but down from 0.36 percent in 2019 and down from a peak of 2.23 percent in 2010.

“Reflecting on 2023, we see the recent rise in foreclosure activity as a market correction rather than a cause for alarm. It signals a return to more traditional patterns after years of volatility,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “Our data suggests that while foreclosure activity may fluctuate, it’s unlikely to approach the highs seen in the last decade. Instead, we foresee a market that is more reflective of broader economic trends, with foreclosure filings becoming a more predictable aspect of the housing landscape. This shift offers a silver lining — the opportunity for investors, homeowners, and industry professionals to plan and strategize with greater confidence and insight.”

ATTOM’s year-end foreclosure report provides a unique count of properties with a foreclosure filing during the year based on publicly recorded and published foreclosure filings collected in more than 3,000 counties nationwide, accounting for more than 99 percent of the U.S. population – also available for licensing or customized reporting. See full methodology below.

The report also includes new data for December 2023, showing there were 30,314 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, down 6 percent from the previous month and down 2 percent from a year ago.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Owners of Vacant Property in Phoenix Must Now Register with the City

Posted on January 9, 2024January 18, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 2, 2024

Source: kjzz.org

Some Phoenix property owners are now required to register with the city.

The Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department’s Vacant Property Registry officially opened online Jan. 1.

In December, the Phoenix City Council approved an ordinance creating the registry.

Owners of vacant lots over 10,000 square feet, along with commercial properties and residential properties with more than 50 units that are vacant more than 30 days must register online.

When owners register, the city will provide information and resources on crime prevention through environmental design and property maintenance standards. Owners will also be offered tools to prevent the most common complaints like graffiti and trespassing. For example, a graffiti removal waiver that allows city staff to access the property and a private property outreach waiver to allow Office of Homeless Solutions staff or contractors to access the property to provide outreach and offer services.

Enforcement will begin in February and could involve fines between $500 and $2,500 if violations are not corrected.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Organization Working to Clear Out Vacant Homes Across Montgomery County

Posted on January 9, 2024January 18, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 4, 2024

Source: whio.com

Last year, the Montgomery County Land Bank tore down more than 200 vacant properties. People living in the county are glad to see them go and hope they prevent fires like the one that happened last night in Dayton.

Vacant house fires, like the one that happened Tuesday night on Xenia Avenue, are a major concern for people living around the county. Especially with the Dayton Fire Department saying that 35 percent of fires battled last year were from vacant properties.

“I don’t like it because you get a lot of homeless people breaking in and they set up shop there,” Bryan Bostick, of Dayton, said. “And before you know it, you got a drug problem, you got crime.”

People like Bostick want to see these properties gone as soon as possible. The Montgomery County Land Bank told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott that they’re tearing down these properties as fast as they can.

“The application that we had submitted to our Department of Development, which is a countywide application (and) not just for the City of Dayton, although I would say the city of Dayton has the majority of the units, was 270 total units,” Mike Grauwelman, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Land Bank, said.

Grauwelman said he wants the vacancies gone as much as everyone else.

“It’s just not a good situation to have, and certainly has a huge negative impact on the value of homes in that neighborhood,” he said.

They have a goal of bringing up property values, boosting community morale, and keeping more people safe.

For full report, please click the source link above.