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4 This Month FROM OUR DESK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 DS JOURNAL Real Estate Industry Attracting New Recruits; Can Consumers Fulfill eir Debt Obligations?; e Evolution of the West Coast Housing Market; Flood Insurance Program Given Reprieve; e Rising Risk of Default in Refis; Single-Family Rental Hotspots; An Island in Need; Housing Worries Keeping Americans up at Night; Four Ways to Impact Housing Affordability; MSRs Value on the Rise; Parental Wealth & Homeownership; Do Regulatory Changes Mean More Compliance Expenses? MOVERS AND SHAKERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 COUNSEL'S CORNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 ASK THE ECONOMIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 FIVE MINUTES WITH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 STATE OF AFFAIRS Impactful local market information at your fingertips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 COVER STORY THE ZOMBIE PLAGUE Even as the housing market booms, vacant and abandoned "zombie properties" continue to plague many municipalities, lingering reminders of the housing crisis. Here's how the industry and communities around the nation are working together to take down the zombies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 By David Wharton INDUSTRY INSIGHT UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES A decade after the housing market's collapse, some impacts of the Dodd-Frank Act on the appraisal industry are only beginning to be felt … and not all of them were anticipated.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 By Jeff Dickstein OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS Expanding your real estate broker business requires not only recognizing opportunity when it comes calling but also seeking it out in places and with strategies beyond just what has worked before. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 By Al Freedman BACK TO BASICS Under the direction of Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has embraced a new name and path that puts less emphasis on regulatory enforcement and more on education and innovation.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 By Michelle Garcia Gilbert Contributors JEFF DICKSTEIN, Chief Compliance Officer for Pro Teck Valuation Services, is responsible for Pro Teck's compliance with all state and federal regulations that impact the real estate industry. Dickstein sits on a number of industry boards and is currently President of the Real Estate Valuation Advocacy Association, a member of the Board of Trustees of e Appraisal Foundation, and on the Government Affairs Com- mittee of the National Association of Real Estate Appraisers. He is also a Certified Residential Ap- praiser in 17 states. AL FREEDMAN is CEO of First Freedom Preserva- tion (FFP), where he oversees all aspects of FFP, a property renovation and preservation company that manages and services bank-owned, HUD, and real- estate owned properties. Freedman founded FFP in 2008 on the philosophy of "do it right the first time." e more lenders, banks, and brokers Freedman worked with, the more he realized that the biggest service FFP provided its clients was the ability to sell REO properties faster and for more money—often before the renovations were complete. Freedman leads a staff of 70 full-time, licensed employees who complete renovations and upgrades and perform repairs and regular maintenance to restore the homes to a marketable condition. He is also a member of the Five Star Academy, a leading source of online educa- tion for the lending industry. MICHELLE GARCIA GILBERT is Managing Partner of the Gilbert Garcia Group. Gilbert has been admitted to the following practices and courts: Florida Bar, 1986; Middle District of Florida, 1988; Northern District of Florida, 2005; Southern District of Florida, 2006; U.S. Supreme Court, 2000; U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 2003. She matriculated at the University of South Florida (B.A., 1982, cum laude), and the University of Notre Dame (J.D., 1985). Gilbert handles a wide variety of legal matters for the firm and has substantial litigation experience in both default and non-default cases, including jury and non-jury trials, motion practice, and appellate oral argument, throughout the state of Florida. She has managed the firm's expansion into probate, estate planning, business transactional and corporate law. DAVID WHARTON, Online Editor at the Five Star Institute, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, where he received his B.A. in English and minored in Journalism. Wharton has over 15 years of experience in journalism and previously worked at omson Reuters, a multinational mass media and information firm, as Associate Content Editor, focusing on producing media content related to tax and accounting principles and government rules and regulations for accounting professionals. Wharton has an extensive and diversified portfolio of freelance material, with published contributions in both online and print media publications. Wharton and his family currently reside in Arlington, Texas. He can be reached at David.Wharton@DSNews.com. Join the Conversation Do you have a suggestion, story idea, or some feedback you'd like to share with DS News readers? Help shape our next issue by emailing Editor@DSNews.com. O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 C o n t e n t s D S N E W S . C O M 56 20 34 30 52

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