Page 43 – Safeguard Properties

Cleaning Up Blight on Wilton Properties: How Underlying Issues, Foreclosure Threats and Changing Laws Impact Wilton’s Blight Conditions

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
October 3, 2023

First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice has a list of projects and tasks she is trying to complete as the end of her term approaches. Among them is the resolution of foreclosure proceedings against a blighted residential property that the Town initiated after years of warnings, fines, and offers of assistance.

It’s not the first time during her tenure that the Town has resorted to foreclosure action for unresolved blight on a residential property. Vanderslice made the issue of blight a priority when she first took office, at a time when there were at least a dozen lingering cases.

Most were satisfactorily resolved, but three resulted in foreclosure actions by the Town. In one such case, the Town recouped over $100,000 for unpaid fines, interest and legal expenses. In a second case, the start of foreclosure action motivated the homeowner to finally address the blight, and the Town withdrew the foreclosure action. The third case is still ongoing, but the Town agreed to postpone the scheduled foreclosure sale when the homeowner made good-faith efforts to rectify the situation.

Until now, Wilton’s blight ordinance applied only to residential properties, but with a recently codified state statute that applies to commercial properties, Wilton will have even more leverage to address blight issues in Wilton.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Cities Losing Blight Battle Look Toward New Solutions

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
October 2, 2023

Source: abc3340.com

Many municipalities struggle to deal with overgrown lots and vacant properties that are more than a nuisance. Birmingham leaders are looking to new solutions urging communities to take ownership helping to clear the blight.

On one street in Central Park we found weeds chest high on some lots and the sidewalks covered up by weeds. “This has been ongoing ten years,” explained Vickie Moore. She contacted ABC 3340 News for help. You can count four properties around her home in desperate need of maintenance.

“Central Park is a good neighborhood. When you are overlooked, you give up. If other municipalities can get things taken care of why can’t we?” questioned Moore.

District 8 City Council member Carol Clarke sees it on her own neighborhood street. “It’s a pretty daunting and burdensome thing the city deals with,” remarked Clarke. Her neighbors pitch in to pay to cut lots. “It’s a way we can take control,” said Clarke.

The city told us there are 6,500 active cases of overgrown and vacant lots in their system. Two million dollars is dedicated to clearing the blight with paid contractors.

But it’s a struggle to get to those lots cut even once a growing season with so many. Do the math: nearly 18 lots would have to be cut every day for 365 days a year just to cover the growing number.

Another hurdle, the enormous amount of work to get clearance to go on private property to cut a lot. It can last ninety days.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Highland County Land Bank Board Selects More Properties for Demolition, Clean-up

Posted on October 10, 2023October 10, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
September 22, 2023

Source: The Highland County Press

The Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation is continuing to make headway in their fight against blight in the county, as the land bank board selected a tentative list of new properties to target using state cleanup funding during their Thursday, Sept. 21 meeting.

As discussed by Land Bank Coordinator Jason Johansen in August, among the announcements this summer was the passage of the 2024-25 state operating budget, which includes another $350 million for the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program and $150 million for the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program.

A total of 19 properties in Hillsboro (11), Mowrystown (five) and Lynchburg (three) were cleaned up through the first Building Demolition and Site Revitalization grant, with the demolition of various structures, including houses and an abandoned barn. For the Building Demolition and Site Demolition grant, Johansen said that there is “$77,895 left over in additional funding that we didn’t spend for those projects” that the county will now be permitted to use.

Two projects — the former Rocky Fork Truck Stop in Rainsboro and the former East Monroe Mill — were also funded in Highland County through the Brownfield Remediation grants.

On Thursday, the board voted 5-0 to approve a preliminary list of potential properties for the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization grant, including leftover funds from the current program as well as to plan ahead for the upcoming next round. The list is “subject to additions/and or deletions,” Johansen said.

Two of the properties on the list are owned by the land bank — one in Samantha, on U.S. 62, and two adjoining parcels (counted as one property) on Heather Moor Trail that the HCLRC recently obtained via tax foreclosure. Overall, the list includes 10 properties in the city of Hillsboro, two in Paint Township and one each in Brushcreek, Clay, Fairfield, Marshall and Penn townships.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Prince George’s Co. is Ready to Crack Down on Owners of Abandoned Properties

Posted on October 10, 2023October 10, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
October 6, 2023

Source: wtop.com

There are thousands of blighted, abandoned and vacant properties all over Prince George’s County, Maryland. But exactly how many there are, and where they are, isn’t known by the county. And the agency tasked with enforcing upkeep of those thousands has all of four people to handle it all.

That’s some of the information that came out of a county council committee hearing Thursday, as county lawmakers discussed a bill to help crack down on the eyesore properties.

The legislation being pushed by council member Krystal Oriadha starts with the creation of a registry of all the vacant properties around the county. It was assumed there was one, but there isn’t.

Leaders in the county’s Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) said they were aware of about 4,500 properties that would make that list, if one existed, but there’s no organized list.

“When we talk about development in our communities, making sure that we tackle this vacant property issue is part of ensuring that we have better development in the county, and that we don’t have banks or companies sitting on real estate just waiting for the better opportunity for them,” said Oriadha.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Sale of Abandoned Affordable Housing Welcomed by Wichita Neighborhood

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
October 9, 2023

Source: ksnt.com

The city of Wichita held another round of open houses Sunday for 13 city-owned properties. People living near one of the homes said the effort to sell the property is welcome.

2002 Poplar Street in southeast Wichita has some neighbors concerned. They say it has become a draw for squatters and crime.

“Everyone in the neighborhood has been watching this property to see what happens with it,” said Jon Buck, Mead Neighborhood Association vice president.

An open house marked the perfect opportunity to scope it out.

“Overall, I think it’s gonna be an easy flip for someone,” Buck said. “I would consider it if I could come up with the funding and the knowledge to do it.”

“For a long time, the garage door was unlocked, so we had people sleeping in the garage for months,” Buck said.

Claude Hephner has been living a block away from the abandoned house for years.

“It’s the first house you see, and that sets a tone for this area,” Hephner said.

The potential sale of the property comes as a relief for Hephner.

“Somebody has stolen the air conditioning and whatever else might be gone from the place,” Hephner said. “Part of the fence is missing.”

Both Hephner and Buck hope the home is bought by someone who plans to live in it instead of a property manager who would fix the place up and then rent it out.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FEMA Emergency Management Declaration – Guam Tropical Storm Bolaven

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
October 8, 2023

FEMA has issued an Emergency Management Declaration for the territory of Guam to supplement response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Bolaven beginning October 8, 2023 and continuing.

Public Assistance:

Guam

Guam Tropical Storm Bolaven (EM-3601-GU)

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

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 Emergency Management Declaration – Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Tropical Storm Bolaven

Posted on October 9, 2023October 11, 2023 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
October 9, 2023

FEMA has issued an Emergency Management Declaration for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to supplement response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Bolaven beginning October 9, 2023 and continuing.

Public Assistance:

Northern Islands
Saipan
Rota
Tinian

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Tropical Storm Bolaven (EM-3602-MP)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Emergency Declaration for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

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 – Vermont Severe Storms and Flooding

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
October 6, 2023

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for areas of the state of Vermont to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms and flooding from August 3-5, 2023. The following counties have been approved for Public Assistance.

Public Assistance:

Addison

Vermont Severe Storms and Flooding (VT-4744-VT)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Vermont

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

Mortgage Delinquency Rates May be Bottoming Out – Black Knight

Posted on October 5, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
September 25, 2023

Source: mpamag.com

Delinquency rates may be nearing cycle lows as early-stage delinquencies continued to increase in the past quarter, according to Black Knight’s latest report.

“Mortgage performance has been very strong for a very long time. It still is, but the rate at which delinquencies had been improving has been slowing down for the last few months,” Black Knight spokesperson Mitch Cohen explained in an email sent to MPA.

The national delinquency rate improved four basis points from July to 3.17% in August and is nearly a full percentage point below the 2015-2019 same-month average.

“But whereas we had been seeing delinquencies improve by as much as -40% Y/Y in early 2022, steady slowing in that annual rate of improvement has brought us to a mere -0.8% year over year reduction in August,” Cohen said. “This suggests that delinquency rates may be nearing their bottom.”

The number of early-stage delinquencies continued to march upward over the last three months, with both 30-day and 60-day delinquency rates up by 2K.

Black Knight noted in the report that serious delinquencies (90+ days past due) in August still showed signs of improvement and were at their lowest level since 2006. At 448K, the number of seriously delinquent borrowers was down 25% from August 2022.

Active foreclosures also continued to shrink to 215K, the lowest level since March 2022, when Federal moratoria expired.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FHFA Releases 2nd Quarter 2023 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report

Posted on October 5, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
September 21, 2023

Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its second quarter 2023 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report. The report shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 47,370 foreclosure prevention actions during the quarter, raising the total number of homeowners who have been helped to 6,818,471 since the start of conservatorships in September 2008.

The report also shows that 33 percent of loan modifications completed in the first quarter reduced borrowers’ monthly payments by more than 20 percent. The number of refinances increased from 78,445 in the first quarter of 2023 to 93,952 in the second quarter of 2023.

The Enterprises’ serious delinquency rate declined slightly from 0.60 percent to 0.55 percent at the end of the first quarter. This compares with 3.71 percent for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, 2.15 percent for Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, and 1.61 percent for all loans (industry average).

For full report, please click the source link above.