The Conference brought together practitioners, policymakers and interested citizens who discussed effective strategies for preventing and revitalizing vacant properties. The Conference encompassed a wide range of topics and included a diverse group of public and private participants.  Participants from Public/Private Investors, Judges, City Officials, and Code Enforcement representatives were educated on a number of relevant topics including, but not limited to:

• Best Practices for Public Private Partnership in preserving and maintaining vacant properties
• Vacant land management and strategies for Revitalization
• The Courts role as champions of Community Revitalization
• Controlling Vacant Blight through Tax Lien and Tax Foreclosure
• Affordable Housing Strategies and the use of Philanthropy to revitalize communities

Robert Klein (CEO of Safeguard), along with panelists Joseph McCloskey (Lyons McCloskey), Mark Morrow (Los Angeles, CA Code Enforcement) and Joseph Schilling (Director of Research and Policy at the National Vacant Properties Campaign) were privileged to develop and deliver a session surrounding Partnerships for Property Preservation.  The Session focused on the lending institution's role in maintaining and preserving vacant properties and best practice techniques for eliminating the communication barriers that exist between loan servicers’ and code enforcement officials.  The Session was well received by all who attended and there was a lively debate around these issues.  All attendees agreed that they were extremely pleased by the commitment exhibited by the Mortgage Industry and were eager to join in the partnership to combat vacant blight in our nation’s communities.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, OH  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 over 425 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