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68 those before the start of the economic downturn, the cost of delay came to eight percentage points on average. Statutory foreclosure states encoun- tered expenses four percentage points higher, while judicial foreclosure states were hit with a 13 percentage-point bump. "Combined with evidence that foreclosure delays do not improve outcomes for borrowers and that increased delays can have large negative externalities in neighborhoods, the weight of the evidence is that current foreclosure practices merit the urgent attention of policymakers," the study concluded. Michael Woods, AVP and Managing Attor- ney at Potestivo & Associates P.C. in Rochester, Michigan, maintained the primary reason for a lack of significant foreclosure delays in the Great Lakes State was that it is a nonjudicial one. (Fannie Mae found that judicial foreclosure states take 280 days longer, on average, during the foreclosure process.) One example is that a postsale redemption period for the distressed mortgagor can be shortened for the foreclosing institution when a property has been abandoned. "e abandonment process has been used to reduce the number of unsecure and unman- aged vacant and abandoned foreclosed homes in Michigan," Woods added. EXIT RAMP e longer homes remain abandoned and uncared for, the more communities are saddled with blight and other problems. Some things just aren't worth the wait. "e potential for a vacant property to only be exposed to one or two seasonal extremes will low- er risks and can help restore communities," said Jerry Rowell, Managing Director of Assurant Field Services, about the benefits of fast-tracking foreclosures. "Vacant properties require higher levels of preventative maintenance and tend to have increased exposure to risks." e extended foreclosure process found in judicial foreclosure states means so much is left in the lurch—the property, servicers, neighborhoods, municipalities, and the real estate market in gen- eral. Increased time means more exposure, which means homes and thus neighborhoods are subject to greater deterioration, damage, community blight, and depreciation of overall home values. "Court dockets exploded with foreclosure cases and in many circumstances states where a normal foreclosure could complete in six to 12 months, the process was instead taking up to several years," said Rowell. Fast-track foreclosure legislation allows a bank or servicer to petition the court to expedite sum- mary foreclosure judgment and therefore move a property to resale much faster, according to Row- ell. e financial institution usually must meet and document at least three criteria confirming that a home is abandoned or otherwise vacant before it can file the petition. Scott Keller of Dyck-O'Neal, Inc., a Dallas- based loan purchaser, asset manager, and servicer, emphasized the importance of confirming that a property is, in fact, empty. Otherwise, a fast-track foreclosure solution may get bogged down, further delaying asset preservation and neighborhood revitalization. Kimberly Goodell, Assistant Vice President and Managing At- torney at Potestivo & Associates P.C., called the Illinois statute allowing for a shortened postsale mortgage redemption period based on property abandonment "very strict." "As a word of caution, it is important to get a more granular inspection to verify vacancy through neighbors, utility meters, perimeter openings, and other visual confirmation and photo documentation," said Keller, Dyck- O'Neal's Director of Sales and Marketing, who has 13 years of experience with loan defaults and 11 years in REO disposition. "ese close and thorough inspection results will make a differ- ence with the foreclosure attorney and subsequent court proceedings in an accelerated foreclosure process." e process facilitates acquisition by an inves- tor, insurer, or bank so that entity can get it to market and all parties, including the community, can return to the benefits of occupied homeowner status. Rowell said that two key positives to come out of the downturn were the fast-track foreclo- sure initiatives and investor and insurer focus on at-risk borrowers. On the latter, he shined the spotlight on the GSE-published guidance on Quality Right Party Contact (QRPC), which di- rected banks and servicers to ensure that a single point of contact was available to at-risk borrowers so that all the essential information, including account status and relief options, was available at all times. THE FINE PRINT We all know the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the mort- gage maelstrom that was the foreclosure crisis especially and in today's complex, high-speed housing industry in general, failing to stay on top of loan details at the start of a process means sending them down the line where they only get bigger and more costly. "One of the most common problems the in- dustry encountered in the wake of the foreclosure crisis occurred when companies attempted to foreclose on loans with incomplete or incorrect information in the collateral files," said John Hillman, CEO of Palm Harbor, Florida-based Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC). "We saw this problem crop up again when large portfolios of nonperforming loans began to trade hands. Sometimes improving the foreclosure process is really about preventing problems from occurring that wrecked the process in the past." In 2016, NTC reported on a portfolio case in which over 60 percent of the more than 160,000 loans contained "serious errors that would have killed a sale or led to drastically increased legal fees during default or foreclosure." Business has enough variables; file accuracy and integrity, especially during a major crisis, should not be one of them. "e client was not even aware of the prob- lems lurking within its own portfolio," Hillman said. "e moral of this story is if you're not auditing the files you have to the outer edge your "One of the most common problems the industry encountered in the wake of the foreclosure crisis occurred when companies attempted to foreclose on loans with incomplete or incorrect information in the collateral file." –John Hillman, CEO, Nationwide Title Clearing

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