In recent months, interior inspections have become a standard part of business in the Property Preservation industry. Safeguard currently performs monthly interior inspections for most of our clients, to assure that they are in compliance with investor/insurer guidelines requiring them to monitor the interior condition of vacant properties as well as the exterior.

Occasionally an inspector or contractor will visit a previously secured property to perform an interior inspection and will find that the lock has been changed or the lock box has been removed, indicating that the mortgagor has gained access to or is maintaining the property.  (The SPI Vacancy Grid.doc provides details about how SPI defines several different vacancy circumstances.)

Under such circumstances, some clients may want to discontinue interior inspections.  Other clients may prefer continue interior inspections; however, please note that if the lock has been changed, the contractor will be unable to inspect the interior of the property until we perform another lock change or install a new lock box.  The cost of changing the lock again likely would not be claimable to an investor/insurer.

If you determine that we should stop performing interior inspections at a property, please send an e-mail containing the loan number and the reason for discontinuing inspections to SPI's Inspections Billing Manager Paul Visokaj at paul.visokaj@safeguardproperties.com.  Our system will be documented with your instructions, and we will perform only visual, walk-by inspections until otherwise instructed.  If you later determine that you'd like to resume interior inspections (which will require us to perform another lock change), please send another notification to Paul, and our system will be updated accordingly.

If you have any questions about the foregoing, please feel free to contact Paul Visokaj, either at the email address noted above or by telephone at 1-800-852-8306, ext. 1186.