The City of Dayton OH, recently issued a news release titled "The Bank Project" relating to vacant properties.

"The Bank Project"

The City of Dayton’s Division of Housing Inspection has been working on and implementing an innovative idea of developing positive lines of communications with the Default Mortgage Industry, in the interest of saving the city the financial costs and burden of boarding, securing and property clean-ups on Vacant and Open/Vacant Foreclosure and REO (bank real estate owned) properties. 

Conservation Specialist John Carter has not only titled this idea “The Bank Project”, but has also been very instrumental in learning, sharing and training his division on the following:

·      The basics of foreclosures
·      What is involved with servicing and owning a mortgage
·      Mortgages are bought, sold, traded, and bundled in Pooling Agreements and Trusts, and other investment vehicles (including non-performing)

·      Field Service and Property Preservation companies that work with Mortgage Servicers on properties in foreclosure and REO (real estate owned by bank)

·      Who to talk to at a company that is holding or servicing a mortgage, and who at the Field Service and Property Preservation companies contracted by the mortgage servicers

With this knowledge, and after attending the 2005 USFN New Orleans Conference (United States Foreclosure Network / America’s Mortgage Banking Attorneys), where he was on a Code Enforcement Panel for Safeguard Properties , John Carter has acquired and built positive working relationships with:

·      100+ Bank/Servicer/Mortgage company contacts
·      12+ Property Preservation and Field Servicer company contacts
·      Real estate companies that manage and market foreclosure and REO’s
·      Contacts at HUD, VA, FANNIE MAE, FANNIE MAC, FHA, etc.

Over the past six months “The Bank Project” has had over a hundred properties secured and maintained by the Default Industry instead of the City of Dayton.  Most of the contacting is done by email, sometimes phone calls if clarification is needed, and all requests are followed up with emails of the work ordered to be done.  A Spreadsheet listing the properties and pertinent information including associated/possible costs/savings listed, and over 900 archived email communications with the Default Industry on those serviced properties. 

This past year John Carter has forwarded all press releases involving the City of Dayton’s Division of Housing Inspection and other important information by mass emails to the 120+ Bank Project contacts.  Of those contacts, companies like Safeguard Properties , Fidelity National Field Services, and First American have forwarded that information to over 10,000 of their clients in the default mortgage industry, and even posted the information on their company websites.  Safeguard Properties alone has four “All Client Alerts” posted on their website referencing the City of Dayton’s Division of Housing Inspection.

Several banks/servicers/mortgage companies have inquired about possibly donating properties they no longer have an interest in.  They have been supplied names and phone numbers of non-profits like St. Mary’s Development, Old North Dayton, East End, and Isis School, etc.  Recently Chase/Bank One finalized the paper work to donate a house to Corinthian Baptist Church which it plans to demolish to expand their parking and landscaping. 

The last couple months John Carter along with Denny Zimmer who is the point of contact person for the Boarding Requests, have been reviewing requests to check for foreclosures.  Of the requests reviewed so far approximately 40% or more have been secured by a bank instead of the Division of Housing Inspection sending them to the boarding contractor. 

This idea that John Carter calls “The Bank Project” has lots of positive feedback from the entire Default Mortgage Industry, and is potentially saving the City of Dayton a considerable amount in securing and maintaining Vacant, Vacant & Open Foreclosure, and REO Properties.