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72 Almost a decade has passed since the housing bubble burst, throwing the mortgage services industry and neighborhoods across the country into a pitched battle with blight. Recovery has been excruciatingly slow. Outdated rules and a public that has little understanding of the true costs associated with neighborhood blight contribute to a status-quo approach that has hindered the industry for decades. Our residents and communities have borne the burdens that stem from a barely effective approach to combatting blight. But in 2016 and the early days of this year, the industry saw gradual movement that offers improved expectations for the days ahead. Indeed, a confluence of change, innovation, and enhanced understanding of the widespread costs of blight have propelled the industry forward in efforts to decrease the number of zombie properties plaguing neighborhoods and to begin employing new technology in the form of polycarbonate clearboarding to secure vacant and abandoned properties. Such progress offers reason for optimism that, finally, we will be able to attack community blight with the appropriate tools. Years from now, the industry will recognize 2017 as a pivotal year in the fight against blight. PRE-APPROVING POLYCARBONATE AND THE PLYWOOD PROBLEM One of the most significant changes that built positive momentum in the fight against blight occurred in early November 2016, when Fannie Mae made the game-changing decision to pre-approve the use of polycarbonate clearboarding on pre-foreclosure properties. e decision marked the first time a GSE had expanded its reimbursement policies to include a 21st-century technology that is far superior to plywood. Polycarbonate clearboarding resembles glass, yet it is virtually unbreakable. It can have a tremendous impact on conveying properties more quickly and in a more stable and marketable condition, especially when compared with plywood, an outdated and unattractive material used on vacant and abandoned property for decades. Plywood announces that a building is vacant and abandoned, encouraging vandals and adverse occupants to break in. ese people can become a threat to first responders, who cannot see through plywood to ascertain whether a I N D U S T R Y I N S I G H T / R O B E R T K L E I N Plywood is out and clearboarding is in as lawmakers and lenders take steps to protect communities from the costs of abandoned properties. BREAKING DOWN BLIGHT 72