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Underwater Mortgages on Decline

Industry Update
May 5, 2017

The number of seriously underwater properties is on the decline, according to the Q1 2017 Home Equity and Underwater Report released by ATTOM Data Solutions on Thursday. Approximately 5.5 million U.S. homes were seriously underwater for the quarter—a drop from last year’s 6.7 million. As a percentage of all mortgages, seriously underwater loans also dropped, accounting for 9.7 percent of all loans versus the 12 percent of Q1 2016.

Over the quarter, the news wasn’t as promising. Properties seriously underwater were up slightly from Q4 2016—moving from 5.4 million to 5.5 million. Underwater loans also made up a larger percentage of all mortgages, increasing from 9.6 percent in Q4 to 9.7 percent Q1.

Though the number of underwater properties has certainly improved over last year, according to Daren Blomquist, Senior Vice President of ATTOM Data Solutions, there are still some “stubborn” regions where negative equity is all-too-common.

“While negative equity continued to trend steadily downward in the first quarter, it remains stubbornly high in often-overlooked pockets of the housing market,” Blomquist said. “For example, we continue to see one in five properties seriously underwater in several Rust Belt cities along with Las Vegas and central Florida. Additionally, close to one-third of homes valued below $100,000 are still seriously underwater.”

These pockets are causing problems with local home values as well, Blomquist said.

“Several of the cities with the biggest quarterly increases in underwater properties saw a corresponding increase in share of distressed sales in the first quarter, creating a drag on overall home values,” Blomquist said, “and in the case of Baton Rouge that increase in distressed sales may be in part attributable to the catastrophic flooding there in August 2016. Across the country, the share of seriously underwater homes was higher in high-risk flood zones.”

Baltimore came in with the highest increase of underwater mortgages over the quarter, with a jump just under 27,000. Other cities to see significant rises were Philadelphia (8,919); McAllen, Texas (7,746); Cleveland (7,631); and St. Louis (6,844). States with the highest shares of seriously underwater properties were Nevada, Ohio, Illinois, Louisiana, and Missouri.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, ATTOM found that nearly 14 million properties were equity-rich for the quarter. Hawaii, California, New York, Vermont, and Oregon boasted the highest number of equity-rich properties in the nation.

To produce the Home Equity and Underwater Report, ATTOM analyzed publicly recorded mortgage and deed of trust data. View the full report at RealtyTrac.com.

Source: DS News

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CEO

Alan Jaffa

Alan Jaffa is the Chief Executive Officer for Safeguard Properties, steering 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 Properties’ business model into complimentary markets.

Alan joined Safeguard in 1995, learning the business from the ground up. He was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2002, and was named CEO in May 2010. His hands-on experience has given him unique insights as a leader to innovate, improve and strengthen Safeguard’s processes to assure that the company adheres to the highest standards of quality and customer service.

Under Alan’s leadership, Safeguard has grown significantly with strategies that have included new and expanded services, technology investments that deliver higher quality and greater efficiency to clients, and strategic acquisitions. He takes a team approach to process improvement, involving staff at all levels of the organization to address issues, brainstorm solutions, and identify new and better ways to serve clients.

In 2008, Alan was recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business in its annual “40-Under-40” profile of young leaders. He also was named a NEO Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award finalist in 2013.

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Esq., General Counsel and EVP

Linda Erkkila

Linda Erkkila is the General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Safeguard Properties, with oversight of legal, human resources, training, and compliance. Linda’s broad scope of oversight covers regulatory issues that impact Safeguard’s operations, risk mitigation, strategic planning, human resources and training initiatives, compliance, insurance, litigation and claims management, and counsel related to mergers, acquisition and joint ventures.

Linda assures that Safeguard’s strategic initiatives align with its resources, leverage opportunities across the company, and contemplate compliance mandates. She has practiced law for 25 years and her experience, both as outside and in-house counsel, covers a wide range of corporate matters, including regulatory disclosure, corporate governance compliance, risk assessment, compensation and benefits, litigation management, and mergers and acquisitions.

Linda earned her JD at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She holds a degree in economics from Miami University and an MBA. Linda was previously named as both a “Woman of Influence” by HousingWire and as a “Leading Lady” by MReport.

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COO

Michael Greenbaum

Michael Greenbaum is the Chief Operating Officer of Safeguard Properties, where he has played a pivotal role since joining the company in July 2010. Initially brought on as Vice President of REO, Mike’s exceptional leadership and strategic vision quickly propelled him to Vice President of Operations in 2013, and ultimately to COO in 2015. Over his 14-year tenure at Safeguard, Mike has been instrumental in driving change and fostering innovation within the Property Preservation sector, consistently delivering excellence and becoming a trusted partner to clients and investors.

A distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mike earned a degree in Quantitative Economics. Following his graduation, he served in the U.S. Army’s Ordnance Branch, where he specialized in supply chain management. Before his tenure at Safeguard, Mike honed his expertise by managing global supply chains for 13 years, leveraging his military and civilian experience to lead with precision and efficacy.

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CFO

Joe Iafigliola

Joe Iafigliola is the Chief Financial Officer for Safeguard Properties. Joe is responsible for the Control, Quality Assurance, Business Development, Marketing, Accounting, and Information Security departments. At the core of his responsibilities is the drive to ensure that Safeguard’s focus remains rooted in Customer Service = Resolution. Through his executive leadership role, he actively supports SGPNOW.com, an on-demand service geared towards real estate and property management professionals as well as individual home owners in need of inspection and property preservation services. Joe is also an integral force behind Compliance Connections, a branch of Safeguard Properties that allows code enforcement professionals to report violations at properties that can then be addressed by the Safeguard vendor network. Compliance Connections also researches and shares vacant property ordinance information with Safeguard clients.

Joe has an MBA from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and holds a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University’s Honors Accounting program.

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Business Development

Carrie Tackett

Business Development Safeguard Properties