CACEO 2010 Code Enforcement Summit Summary

October 6th, 2010

Safeguard Properties participated in the 2010 California Association of Code Enforcement Officers Summit on September 7-10 in Sacramento, CA.

California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
Sacramento, California
September 7-10, 2010

Safeguard Properties was pleased to accept an invitation to share a presentation of the Role of the Field Servicer and other industry best practices and community initiatives at the Annual Seminar hosted by the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (CACEO).

Nearly 200 municipal code enforcement and building officials from 60 agencies across the State were in attendance.  Members of Safeguard’s High Risk team had the opportunity to see familiar faces, those Officers with whom we have strong relationships through an ongoing exchange of communication, as well as make introductions and establish new partnerships, an important step in one of the states most hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. 

The seminar consisted of 25 sessions covering important, current topics for members of the Code Enforcement community, ranging from Program Funding & Ethics to Addressing Foreclosures and Nuisance Abatement.   

Steve Meyer, Safeguard's director of high risk & hazard claims, and David Mazanek, code violations supervisor, reviewed how field services companies work with local code enforcement officials to address the securing and maintaining of vacant properties on behalf of mortgage servicers.  Safeguard shared resources for efficiently working with the mortgage servicing industry and how to reach compliance and find resolution to the impacts caused by vacant properties.  Emphasizing the common goals shared by servicers and municipalities to preserve abandoned properties and maintain the integrity of neighborhoods, key topics presented and asked by the attendees included: 

Industry Best Practices During the Foreclosure Process, Pre- and Post-Sale

• Servicers typically begin investigating the status of a property at the 45th day of delinquency. 
• Inspectors utilize several methods to determine occupancy status during their visual inspections, and once abandonment is determined, the property preservation process (regularly scheduled lawn maintenance, securing, monthly interior inspections, etc) is initiated.
• Investor (HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, VA) guidelines further streamline the preservation process and expedite maintenance activities.    

Communication with Code Enforcement

• Early outreach and open lines of communication between the mortgage servicing industry and the code enforcement community are critical elements for compliance.  The goal of communication is to establish a partnership that will lead to resolution, thereby eliminating the threat of neighborhood blight.  Additional information on the benefits of communication is included in Effective Communication - Code Enforcement & the Servicing Industry.
• In many cases, communication is initiated with the placement of “securing/in case of emergency” stickers found on or near the front entrance of a vacant property, which are posted by the property preservation company at the time of the initial secure.
• The California officers were invited to contact Safeguard's code violations department with any questions or issues related to vacant properties at code.violations@safeguardproperties.com (800-852-8306 ext 2173).
• Communication is also encouraged with nearby residents through Safeguard’s  Good Neighbor door hanger program.  
  

MERS Initiative           

• The MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) database was created to electronically streamline the title transfer process; however, a recent enhancement to the database has added the direct point of contact information for the property preservation company, a service free of charge for municipal employees.
• More than 600 cities are currently subscribed to and using MERSLink on a daily basis.
• Safeguard completed a thorough demonstration of the system and offered suggestions to best navigate the search functions.  This tutorial ensured the Officers that utilizing these simple features will greatly increase their success as well as shed light on the capabilities of MERS.
• The California officers not yet using MERS were advised to reach out to Bob Pathman to establish access to the system and to schedule a training session.  Bob can be reached at 818-932-9800 or at bobp@mersinc.org.   
  



Safeguard is grateful for this opportunity, commends the efforts of the CACEO to foster collaboration, and looks forward to seeing everyone again next year.



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 approximately 800 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.