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Camden NJ to Seal or Demolish Abandoned Houses to Reverse Violence

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

On February 22, NJ.com published an article titled Camden Police Chief: Reverse ‘Extreme Culture of Violence’ by Sealing, Demolishing Abandoned Houses.

Camden police chief: Reverse ‘extreme culture of violence’ by sealing, demolishing abandoned houses

CAMDEN — Following Monday’s two homicides, one of which also put a 12-year-old boy in the hospital with a gunshot wound, Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson stated he is partnering with the city to seal with concrete, or otherwise demolish, abandoned buildings used by gangs in Camden.

Monday’s shootings both occurred indoors, one in an abandoned house on 6th Street. Thomson, who touted his department’s progress on Camden’s streets, said such structures have to be secured until they can be razed.

“Monday exemplified the extreme culture of violence we will reverse with our officers and the support of the community,” said Thomson on Wednesday. “The drug gangs have calculating sociopaths that are determined to find their targets.

“Considering that crime is down 33 percent, shootings are down 20 percent, and five of our seven homicides this year have occurred inside residences or abandoned structures, is indicative of the lack of opportunity on the city streets from our foot patrols and police omnipresence.”

The chief called the wounding of the 12-year-old victim “senseless.” According to Thomson, the shooter fired at the boy while leaving the Sewell Street residence, following the day’s second homicide. “[Shooting the 12-year-old] underscores their callousness,” he said.

Thomson stated code enforcement as well as the city offices of the fire marshal, building inspector and others must work together to improve “quality of life issues” in the city, by sealing and demolishing Camden’s multitude of abandoned properties.

“We are launching a quality of life task force with the city to raze or concrete seal the abandoned properties used by the gangs,” he said. “We will also be aggressively targeting the problem houses along with a myriad of city agencies such as code enforcement, licensing and inspections, fire marshal, etc.”

Meanwhile, Dan Rhoton of Hopeworks ‘N Camden, a group that provides basic technology skills and other resources to city youths to help them find jobs, said the city has to look at the underlying causes of violence and “heal” its residents if it ever hopes to move forward.

Rhoton, Hopeworks’ chief impact director, said that while the police have been doing “great work,” relieving the stress and “mental wounds” suffered by those who have experienced violence will take more effort.

“Whether it’s homicide or an overdose, it’s part of the same cloth — we have to look at the effects of poverty in Camden,” he said. “The illusion is that you need to have a police officer on every corner, but even without crime, you will still have people suffering from poverty without a job. We need to talk about poverty and all of the deaths that come from that — not just the sensational ones.

Please click here to view the online article.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest mortgage field services company in the U.S. Founded in 1990 by Robert Klein and based in Valley View, Ohio, the company inspects and maintains defaulted and foreclosed properties for mortgage servicers, lenders, and other financial institutions. Safeguard employs approximately 1,700 people, in addition to a network of thousands of contractors nationally. Website: www.safeguardproperties.com.

New York Times: A New Effort in Albany to Put Lenders in Charge of Abandoned Properties

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

On February 9, The New York Times published an article titled A New Effort in Albany to Put Lenders in Charge of Abandoned Properties.

A New Effort in Albany to Put Lenders in Charge of Abandoned Properties

NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The blackened, nail-filled floorboards snap under the feet of the fire chief, Michael Vatter, as he enters the burned-out home at 322 Washington Street. The blaze that destroyed this house, which faces a popular playground, occurred months ago, but nothing has been done to tear the structure down.

The property is one of thousands of so-called zombie homes scattered throughout financially hard-hit areas of New York State, houses that have been abandoned by their owners before banks have finished foreclosing on them. In many cases, according to upstate politicians and fire officials, these homes have little value, and banks will take years to finish the paperwork. In the meantime, such properties fall apart, or burn down.

“If the banks don’t want the property we are screwed,” Mr. Vatter said. He said local homeless people call the bank-owned zombie houses abandominiums. Wells Fargo owns the Washington Street property; before the fire, it was a “drug-shooting gallery and flophouse” for local prostitutes, Mr. Vatter said.

On Monday, Eric T. Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, is expected to outline legislation that he hopes will force banks to take responsibility for zombie properties, providing some help to cities like Newburgh, where officials estimate 10 percent of all homes are in some stage of abandonment.

New York State has roughly 15,000 zombie homes and leads the nation in the time required to foreclose on a home, at almost three years, according to data from RealtyTrac, a company that tracks troubled properties.

The bill Mr. Schneiderman will be asking Albany lawmakers to embrace will make lenders responsible for homes soon after they are abandoned, requiring banks to register the properties in a central database and pay for their upkeep, according to government staff members briefed on the legislation but not authorized to speak on the record.

This will not be easy, in part because banks, homeowners and city officials often disagree on what constitutes abandonment. As a result, the attorney general plans to define the term, these people say. The legislation will propose that a house can be deemed abandoned if a bank has not received a mortgage payment after an as-yet-undetermined number of weeks; other conditions, like broken windows, could also be considered.

“If a property is vacant and deteriorating, a bank has a duty to maintain it and move swiftly to resolve the foreclosure case,” Mr. Schneiderman is expected to say Monday, when he plans to detail the legislation during a speech to the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials. His remarks were reviewed in advance by The New York Times.

If the bill passes, banks that fail to register an abandoned house will be subject to a fine, possibly $1,000 a day for each property that is not in compliance. Mr. Schneiderman’s bill also will propose that banks be forced to notify homeowners of their right to remain in a property until a judge has formally signed off on the foreclosure.

Mr. Schneiderman is also expected to propose a separate bill that would double the number of land banks in New York State to 20, from 10. Land banks are state-funded nonprofit organizations that pay to rehabilitate vacant properties.

As for 322 Washington Street, Tom Goyda, a spokesman for Wells Fargo, said that the house had become vacant in May 2012, and the bank immediately took steps to secure it. “Unfortunately, our ongoing efforts to keep the property secure and to address maintenance issues were undermined by the repeated activities of squatters and vandals at the location,” he said.

The bank took full possession of the house in August 2013, just before the fire, he said. “We are working through the insurance claims related to the fire in September before we can determine how to proceed with the property.”

For towns like Newburgh, Mr. Schneiderman’s bill would be a start.

Newburgh, with a population of roughly 30,000 people, sits on the shore of the Hudson River, about 60 miles north of New York City. Like many upstate communities, Newburgh was hit hard when big companies left the region. In addition to zombie houses, it is also battling high crime and unemployment rates.

Judith L. Kennedy, Newburgh’s mayor, said that unless the banks take responsibility for abandoned homes, Newburgh’s problems will only worsen. “Cities like Newburgh have been left holding the bag, and we can least afford it,” she said, standing outside an empty, burned-down shell on Maple Street, not far from Washington Avenue.

A local resident, who lives next to the abandoned property on Maple Street but would not provide his name, said the property had been vacant for roughly three years. He said his windows had been cracked by falling debris; the last item to hit his house was a nest full of dead birds. “When it’s windy, the soot blows into my house,” he said, adding that he has also caught vagrants living in the house. “I am sick of it, and no one cares.”

In addition to being dangerous, Mr. Vatter says, zombie homes drive down property values and drive up insurance rates.

The fire chief welcomes the idea of a registry but said it is almost impossible to get the banks to take responsibility. He recalled the time a Newburgh resident tracked down the bank that owned a broken-down property. The bank hired someone to mow the lawn. “The guy showed up with a push mower,” he said. “I just said, ‘You have got to be kidding me.’ ”

Please click here to view the online article.

US Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting

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

The United States Conference of Mayors
Winter Meeting
Washington, DC
January 22-24, 2014

Safeguard’s community initiatives department values its relationships with municipal leaders throughout the country. As a testimony to this, the department returned to speak one-on-one with our nation’s highest, locally elected officials at the annual Winter Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) in Washington, DC. This three-day event is one of two semi-annual gatherings hosted by the national organization.

Heather Lazar, community relations liaison, represented Safeguard and joined several Business Council members from the banking and mortgage industries in endorsing and advocating for the USCM. Lazar attended the Community Development and Housing standing committee meeting, which focused on innovative and unprecedented public-private partnerships. Current and upcoming efforts within this arena were the speaking points of guest speakers Honorable Shaun Donovan, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Bob Annibal, Citi Community Development. Annibal’s comments concentrated on small, minority-owned businesses, for which promotion and education are priorities among Safeguard’s vendor management team.

The conference closed with a meeting of the Vacant and Abandoned Properties task force. Tyler Smith, Wells Fargo’s vice president of REO community development, shared an overview of property preservation activities and a general roadmap of the foreclosure process. Following an educational synopsis of the industry’s best practices, Smith elaborated on Wells’ efforts and municipal impacts related to the repairs and sales of REO properties. Likewise, details of the discounted sales and donation projects to non-profit organizations were provided, including his ongoing work with two military groups that provide housing to wounded soldiers.

Some Banks Must Pay Cities for Foreclosing on Properties

Posted on September 13, 2018October 29, 2018 by Safeguard

On January 16, The Columbus Dispatch published an article titled Some Banks Made to Pay Cities for Foreclosing on Properties.

Some banks made to pay cities for foreclosing on properties

Canton officials say they have found a way to hold banks accountable for foreclosed and vacant properties in the northeastern Ohio city.

In three months, Canton has collected $1 million after requiring lenders to post a $10,000 bond for each house they foreclose on.

That’s 100 houses that taxpayers won’t be left to deal with if the properties deteriorate. The bond would pay for repairs to bring empty houses up to code if the banks don’t maintain them. If the property is kept in good shape and is sold, the bank gets back $9,000.

Youngstown has a similar program, and Columbus officials want to learn more.

According to the Franklin County clerk of courts, 5,703 foreclosures were filed last year in Franklin County, including Columbus. That’s the lowest number since 2001.

“There’s no reason we shouldn’t try to do that in Columbus,” City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer said.

“It’s something we’re looking into,” said Nichole Brandon, the city’s deputy development director. “Our banks, honestly, are not our problem property owners.”

Brandon said development officials will rely on the city attorney’s guidance. “Our ultimate goal is to get these properties rehabbed, refurbished and sold,” she said.

Pfeiffer said that if lenders are willing to post bond, they must believe the properties have some value.

Canton, a city of 73,000, expects a $750,000 check from Fannie Mae this week, according to Kyle Stone, the city’s fair housing manager.

Noncompliant banks are charged $300 a day for the first 10 days, then $500 a day after that until the fine reaches $100,000.

Those penalties don’t sit well with the Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association.

“That is just criminal,” said Marianne Collins, the association’s executive director. “There’s no way that any servicer can keep up with it. It’s so easy to fail to register.”

In Canton, the registration must include a direct contact and phone number. It must show whether the property is vacant, how long it will remain so, and a plan of how the property will be maintained.

Canton officials say the law is modeled after a program that was enacted in 2011 in Springfield, Mass.

The Springfield program is facing a legal challenge — six banks filed a federal suit trying to invalidate Springfield’s ordinances. A federal judge upheld the laws; the banks are fighting to overturn that decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals, said Tani Sapirstein, a lawyer for the Massachusetts banks.

Mike Adelman, president and chief executive of the Ohio Bankers League, said he has concerns that programs such as these will make loans more costly.

He said his group would prefer a statewide solution to the problem.

Please click here to view the online article.

Safeguard Tracks Rental Property Registrations

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

Safeguard’s Vacant Property Registration Matrix to Include Rental Property Registrations

In light of state and national tenant protection acts and requirements, servicers are increasingly acting as landlords. To better serve its national client network, Safeguard is pleased to announce that it has expanded its vacant property registration (VPR) matrix to include residential rental property registration (RPR) ordinances. This year, the community initiatives department began adding more than 100 pieces of RPR legislation to its extensive matrix of more than 1,300 VPRs.

RPR ordinances, forms and additional information are searchable in the matrix because “Rental” is now included in each applicable jurisdiction name. For example, to locate the RPR in Bellville, IL, go to the “Vacant Property Registration” tab on the lower right side of
Safeguard’s Web page, and select the “VPR Ordinance” tab. Choose Illinois on the map and search for “Rental – Bellville.”

The community initiatives department will continue to add RPRs to the matrix. You can look for newly identified RPRs in future All Client Alerts.

View a listing of the initial set of RPRs added or view the current VPR/RPR matrix.

If you have any additions to the matrix or to provide feedback, please email community.initiatives@s.safeguardproperties.com.

NH SB 341 Proposed Legislation Eviction Process for Foreclosures

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

On January 8, New Hampshire Senate Bill No. 341 was introduced and referred to the Commerce Committee.

Link to SB 341

SB 341 – This bill establishes a separate, abbreviated eviction process for foreclosed properties.

MO SB 676 Proposed Legislation for Tenant Protections

Posted on September 13, 2018October 29, 2018 by Safeguard

On January 8, Missouri Senate Bill No. 676 was read for the first time during the second regular session of the 97^th General Assembly.

Link to SB 676

SB 676 – This act changes the notice requirement that a new owner must give to a tenant following a foreclosure sale from ten business days to vacate the premises to ninety days.

This act is identical to HB 485 (2011), SB 554 (2012), and SB 151 (2013).

Lake Worth, FL Shares Plan to Clean Up Nuisance Properties

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

On January 2, CBS 12 News reported on a story titled Lake Worth Officials Share City’s Plan to Clean up Nuisance Properties.

Lake Worth officials share city’s plan to clean up nuisance properties

LAKE WORTH, Fla. — Leaders in the City of Lake Worth have a warning for slumlords and nuisance property owners.

According to data obtained from the city, Lake Worth is home to roughly 2,000 vacant properties and another 2,000 foreclosures in a city of only 12,000 residential properties.

City Commissioner and Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell told CBS 12 News that the city is ready to launch a comprehensive plan to get nuisance and out of compliant properties cleaned up with the help of 30 new ordinances. Maxwell told CBS 12 News it starts with hitting nuisance property owners in the wallet with fines attached to their tax bill.

Commissioner Maxwell says the city’s aggressive plan calls for tracking down nuisance property owners and going after their personal property, bank accounts and other assets to get homes cleaned up and compliant.

The City Manager tells CBS 12 News that roughly 50% of property owners in the city don’t even live in the city. Lake Worth officials share city’s plan to clean up nuisance properties

Please click here to view the online article.

Canton, OH Collects $1M from Bond Law on Default Properties

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

In January, CantonRep.com posted an article titled Canton Collects $1 Million with Bond Law on Default Properties.

Canton collects $1 million with bond law on default properties

The city has collected $1 million in the nearly three months since it began requiring banks to pay a bond on properties in default and could nearly double that in the coming week.

Safety Director Andrea Perry and Fair Housing Director Kyle Stone said lender Fannie Mae is expected to send the city a $750,000 check next week for properties in foreclosure.

“We’re very pleased with all the work Kyle has done,” Perry said of Stone, who’s been responsible for billing and collections. “This has been a very good program for the city.”

The city won’t keep all the money, but the $10,000-per-property bond is expected to save thousands of taxpayer dollars spent by the city in recent years to bring these vacant properties up to code.

The bond law requires banks or other financial institutions to secure a cash bond for each vacant property it files a default notice on. The city keeps $1,000, or 10 percent, as an administrative fee, and returns the rest if the property is maintained during its vacancy.

The law, first adopted in Springfield, Mass., aims to ease the burden on neighborhoods wrestling with blight that culminated from the foreclosure crisis and municipal workers responsible for enforcing building and property codes.

City Council approved the legislation in August 2012 but it was never enforced by the Canton Building Department. Some city officials, including Mayor William J. Healy II, supported the concept but said the original ordinance was flawed. Banks could skirt the bond requirement by withdrawing the foreclosure, writing it off as bad debt and then abandoning the property, which is more common among low-value properties.

Healy had also said that the city may not have the staff to enforce the ordinance. Among the problems, Perry said, was that there needed to be a clearer definition of property owner. Now, the city can go after loan servicing companies holding a mortgage on behalf of a bank. The ordinance was amended Sept. 30 to require banks to pay the bond within 30 days of filing a default notice, instead of waiting until after the start of foreclosure proceedings.

The amendment also shifted enforcement duties from the Building Department to Stone, who has handled the collection of nearly every foreclosure bond.

Councilman Kevin Fisher, D-5, a proponent of the legislation, said he’d hoped the city would have begun enforcing the ordinance sooner.

“The legislation wasn’t in perfect shape when it came down, but I would have liked to see some of the problems solved between the time it was passed and the nine months it took to amend it,” he said. “But it got done pretty quickly when we got everyone on board.”

Fisher credited Stone, saying he’s “jumped all over these things.” He also praised activist Norma Mills of Stand Up For Ohio for pushing for the ordinance and the amendments that made enforcement possible.

“The taxpayers are no longer going to be paying for the upkeep of these properties,” Fisher said.

Canton’s Foreclosure Bond Law: How it Works

Ordinance takes effect within 30 days of a bank or other responsible party filing a default notice.
They must register the property with the city. The registration must include a direct contact and phone number for the responsible party, whether the property is vacant or shows evidence of vacancy, how long the home is expected to be vacant and a plan detailing how the property will be maintained. A local property management company must be assigned if the responsible party is more than 30 miles outside the city.
Banks must pay a $10,000 bond to the city, a portion of which will be retained for administrative costs. The bond will be refunded if no code violations occur during the vacancy.
The registration is good for the calendar year in which it is filed, but must be renewed annually on Jan. 1. The city must be notified within 10 days of any changes on the registration form.
There is a $125 non-refundable registration fee.
There is a $300-per-day penalty for failing to register. After 10 days, the penalty is $500 per day.
Properties must be kept free of weeds, dry brush, dead vegetation, trash, junk, debris, building materials and discarded personal items, like clothes and furniture. Properties must also be secured.
If a violation occurs, the responsible party must pay a $150 fee to reimburse the city for issuing a violation notice.
Problems must be corrected by the owner within a given period. If not, they are penalized $1,000 per day.
If the city abates the nuisance, it will cover the expenses using the bond.

SOURCE: Codified Ordinances of the City of Canton

Please click here to view the online article.

WI Legislation to Address Foreclosures and Vacant Properties

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

On December 5, the office of Wisconsin State Representative Evan Goyke released an update titled Rep. Goyke Releases Legislation to Address Home Foreclosures and Vacant Properties.

Rep. Goyke Releases Legislation to Address Home Foreclosures and Vacant Properties

MADISON – State Representative Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) released today five legislative proposals to address the ongoing foreclosure crisis and vacant properties affecting neighborhoods in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin:

“Many neighborhoods in Milwaukee, and throughout Wisconsin, have been devastated by the national foreclosure crisis. While new foreclosure filings are down, empty homes remain. In the 18th Assembly District, and 6th Senate District, too many homes sit vacant with windows boarded up. For many homes and neighborhoods this has lasted months, and for some, multiple years,” Rep. Goyke stated.

“Vacant homes affect the condition and morale of neighborhoods, while also serving as yet another hurdle for hardworking Wisconsinites to overcome. Unfortunately, the budgets of municipal governments are often stretched too thin to serve these properties and the burden of empty, abandoned homes is placed on our neighbors and neighborhoods.”

The legislation is currently being circulated for co-sponsorship in the Wisconsin State Assembly and State Senate with a deadline for co-sponsorship of December 27, 2013.

A summary of each piece of legislation is below:

1.) Realtor Incentive Bill (LRB-3010) – This bill seeks to create an incentive for realtors to sell properties that have a foreclosure judgment and a sale value of less than $50,000. It is our hope that this incentive will attract realtors to invest more time and energy in the foreclosed home markets and neighborhoods. The bill would remove income tax reporting requirements for the commission income made by a realtor working as the agent for either the buyer or seller of the property.

2.) Demolition Bond Bill (LRB-2431) – This bill is designed to ensure that municipalities do not bear the financial burden of demolition of a property when the lender initiates a foreclosure action. The bill would require, as a matter of civil procedure at the time of filing a foreclosure action, that the plaintiff in the matter post a demolition bond of $15,000. The bond will be held by the clerk of courts for the county in which the foreclosure action is filed. In the event that the property is neglected, deteriorates, and becomes a blighted property in need of demolition, the $15,000 demolition bond will be applied for the cost of demolition. In the event that the property is no longer owned by the plaintiff in the foreclosure action, the demolition bond shall be returned to the plaintiff. Similarly, in the event that the foreclosure action is dismissed, the demolition bond shall be returned to the plaintiff.

3.) Security Lighting Bill (LRB-2774) – Under current law, mortgagees may file a foreclosure action against a borrower when the borrower meets certain criteria regarding non-payment. The plaintiff mortgagee in the lawsuit must pay a filing fee with the appropriate county clerk of courts to initiate the lawsuit. In general, these fees are used to pay the operational costs of the court. Under this bill, the filing fee for each foreclosure action is increased by $50.00 with the additional filing fee being routed by the county clerk of courts to the designated department for installation of lighting on existing abandoned homes. The lighting that shall be used shall generate and regenerate its own power through solar energy (as by definition, the existing foreclosed homes do not have electricity running to them). The lighting will help deter theft and vandalism to abandoned properties.

4.) HOME GR/OWN Bill (LRB-2368) – Earlier this year, the City of Milwaukee was a finalist in Former Mayor Bloomberg’s Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge, which was a competition created to inspire American cities to generate innovative ideas that solve major challenges and improve city life. Milwaukee became one of the top finalists based on the City’s innovative idea to transform foreclosed properties into community assets that improve public health and spark economic opportunity. Unfortunately, Milwaukee was not chosen as one of the recipients of the reward, but we feel this should not deter Wisconsin from pursuing the goals of the challenge.

Recently, Governor Walker pledged $2 million in state funding from DFI to help Milwaukee improve its neighborhoods and deal with vacant homes. This money is solely for demolition with no plan or resources for the empty land that remains. We applaud this commitment. This bill would allocate a $2 million match from the legislature to the Governor’s pledge. This match would go to supporting Milwaukee’s HOME GR/OWN program, which is designed to create productive uses of vacant lots/lands.

5.) Property Stabilization Bill (LRB-3431) – Current law does not allow municipalities or lending institutions the authority to enter into a property that is subject to a foreclosure action. When the property is abandoned, this may lead to deterioration of the property, which greatly decreases the property’s resale value and places additional burdens on local property tax payers. This bill seeks to extend authority to a municipality or lending institution to enter the foreclosed property and address any possible problems within the property, such as winterizing the plumbing. This bill also seeks to extend civil immunity to agents of either the municipality or lending institution engaged in the rehabilitation or repair of the property, so far as the agent is acting in his or her official capacity in carrying out actions allowable under this bill.

Please click here to view the official release.