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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 81 New York RESULTS THROUGH REAL TIME SOLUTIONS. Strength Through Innovative Leadership. PROVIDING DEFAULT REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS SINCE 1988 Todd Yovino Broker/Owner Island Advantage Realty, LLC Serving Metro New York & Long Island Todd@iarny.com | 631-820-3400 www.islandadvantage.com New York's senators aren't the only ones feeling the pressure of foreclosed and aban- doned houses driving down home values; it's a problem across the entire country. In DS News' November feature "Getting A Head Start," Brian A. Lee interviews Founder and Chairman of Community Blight Solutions Robert Klein on the benefit of fast-tracking the foreclosure process to address the issue of "zombie" properties. "Fast-tracking enables the mortgage servicer to get possession of prop- erty before it deteriorates," Klein said. "is directly leads to on-time conveyance and faster rehab and sale." So far, the only two states that have passed fast-track foreclosure laws are Ohio and Maryland. Based on the findings from the "Nightmare Neighbors" report, 21 bank-owned properties in Mount Vernon caused a total depreciation value of $3.5 million to 764 surrounding homes. Out of those bank-owned properties, 10 were considered abandoned or "zombie," which means they are vacant and have no known owner. ese properties affected 296 nearby homes and caused a combined depreciation of $1.7 million in value. Six of the homes were considered abandoned and accounted for a total loss of $1.04 million, according to the report. e task force keeps better track of vacant homes throughout the city and allows citizens to contact the offices of the officials to report a home they believe has been abandoned. "Our task force, along with residents and leaders of this community will be vitally important in highlighting these properties and restoring these homes and neighborhoods accordingly," Senator Bailey said. "With new legislation, we will be able to hold banks even more account- able for properties they own, and most impor- tantly, held accountable in the communities that they do business in." Additional comments were made by Mount Vernon's Mayor Richard omas. "We know how dangerous these buildings can be, but as Senator Klein and Bailey clearly show, the effect on our property values is unaccept- able," said omas. He goes on to say the new legislation is "a recipe for revitalization" and that it "will provide an essential ingredient for neighborhood transformation." BNY Mellon Sees Jump in Earnings for Q3 During Q 3 2017, Bank of New York Mel- lon Corporation (BNY Mellon) reported a net income of $983 million, or $0.94 per diluted common share. e bank is up year-over-year (in Q 3 2016, the bank reported a net income of $974 million per diluted common share), as well as quarter-over-quarter (the bank reported $926 million in common net income in Q2 2017). In addition to a jump in earnings, during the third quarter, the bank also saw a change in leadership, with newly appointed CEO Charles W. Scharf. "Since arriving in July, I have been spend- ing time with clients, regulators, business leaders, and employees, listening and learning. Based on what I have seen, I like our business model and what we do," Scharf said. "While satisfied with our progress, our leadership team is not satisfied with our performance, as we see further opportunities to drive revenue growth and increase our efficiencies. We will do this while maintaining our strong capital position and continuing to deliver high returns to our shareholders." Total revenue for the quarter showed a two percent year-over-year increase to $4.02 billion, with BNY Mellon returning more than $900 million to shareholders through share repur- chases and dividends. e bank had a $6 mil- lion provision for credit losses during this time. In terms of mortgage performance, as of September 20, 2017, BNY Mellon had $80 mil- lion in nonperforming residential mortgages, compared to $84 million the previous quarter and $91 million at the end of December 2016. Overall, nonperforming assets decreased by $6 million compared with June 20, 2017, and 13 million compared with December 31, 2016. "Our third quarter performance was consistent with our expectation and some areas showed reasonable growth, such as asset servicing, clearing services, and investment management. Other areas underperformed, such as depositary receipts, which also reduced foreign exchange trading revenue," Scharf said. According to Zillow's September 2017 Home Value Index, the home values in New York increased by 11.9 percent over 2017—with the median home value at $304,200. KNOW THIS

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