Rebuild Ohio is "a consortium of local government, nonprofit and civic organizations concerned with the debilitating effects of vacant and abandoned property in Ohio." Rebuild Ohio recently convened its 2nd Annual Ohio Vacant Properties Forum as a follow-up to their comprehensive report released in February. Over 250 attendees participated in discussions ( agenda link) aimed at preventing abandonment, maintaining vacant properties and opportunities to return the properties to productive use.

During one of the morning breakout sessions significant discussion centered around the proliferation of vacant property registration ordinances being enacted across the country. Ed Cunningham (City of Cincinnati) reviewed Cincinnati's ordinance which is driven by repeated issuances of violations as opposed to registration at initial vacancy. Robert Klein Safeguard Properties CEO discussed the difficulties encountered by the loan servicing industry as it struggles to comply with myriad ordinances, each with its own nuances. Robert advocated creating some uniformity while allowing local municipalities the flexibility to adapt a "model ordinance" to its own individual needs. Kermit Lind Clinical Professor of Law Cleveland Marshall School of Law (Moderator) stated that city's concerns include vacant and abandoned property not resulting from a mortgage foreclosure and that any model ordinance needs to take that into consideration.
 
Other panelists included Cleveland Housing Court Judge Ray Pianka and Cleveland Dept. of Buildings and Housing Assistant Director Ron O' Leary who discussed Cleveland approaches to addressing vacant blight. Increased focused is being given to demolition for properties that are not adequately maintained. Many audience members lamented the shrinking resources they are facing which is magnified with the increase in complaints being received by their departments (code enforcement etc.). Michael Halpern Special Projects Manager Safeguard Properties discussed several initiatives Safeguard has undertaken in recent years that has resulted in increased communication and dialogue between cities and the loan servicing industry. The most recent initiative "The Good Neighbor Program" entails Safeguard contractors following the "initial secure" of a vacant property, providing neighbors with a doorhanger advising them Safeguard is responsible for the maintenance of the property. Audience members agreed that this program should greatly benefit municipalities with a decrease in the influx of incoming (complaint) calls and servicers as well by providing concerned neighbors with a valid point of contact.

 
During the lunch plenary session, Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis provided an update on the creation of a County Land Reutilization Corporation - "Land Bank". To view a copy of the presentation, please click here
 
In an afternoon breakout session that was attended by over 100 conference participants (largest breakout session) Robert Klein and City of Dayton (OH) Housing Inspector John Carter provided an overview of general loan servicing industry practices including
 

• Identifying vacancy at the earliest possible juncture through property inspection commencing at the onset of delinquency
• Regular inspections to assess the most to date status of the property
• Pre-sale maintenance. While limited in what actions can be taken, servicers will protect their collateral interest with specific maintenance functions i.e. winterizations, exterior debris removal to mitigate further deterioration and to minimize/ eliminate issuance of code violations
• Post-sale maintenance. Upon assumption of title at foreclosure/sheriff sale servicers will seek to expeditiously place the property "onto the market" following REO maintenance which includes complete interior and exterior debris removal along with a full "maid service" to ensure the properties are fully comparable to neighboring properties on the market.

John discussed how attending several loan servicing conferences in recent years has enabled him to receive a good understanding of the loan servicing industry, open dialogue and create a contact database of hundreds of servicing professionals throughout the country.
 
The session also provided Robert with the opportunity to go into further detail surrounding the proliferation of vacant property registration ordinances being enacted across the country. Robert discussed how in general servicers are not opposed to the concept of registering a property as it provides the municipalities with a direct point of contact that historically they have not had. It is assumed that this will result in greater dialogue and cooperation in addressing code violations etc. at a particular property. Industry concerns center on excessive fees, vague maintenance standards with is even more concerning on ordinances that do not differentiate their requirements based on the loan status (pre v post sale).
Over 80 loan servicing industry professionals conduct weekly calls addressing these concerns. Two of the initiatives that have resulted are;
 

• Possibly seeking to establish state registries which would at least create uniformity in each particular state.
• Initial discussions on the enhancement of the MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) website that would provide municipalities with contact information for the servicer and their respective field service (property preservation company).

Whereas session attendees voiced concerns with the state registry (need to maintain individuality, hesitancy of State involvement etc) the MERS initiative was well received.
 
For more details on Rebuild Ohio, please click here.

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 over 500 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.