DS News

112 NEW YORK New York and New Jersey: Non- Performing Loan Hot Spots e Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released the latest Enterprise Non- Performing Loan Sales Report detailing the sales of nonperforming loans (NPL) by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through June 30, 2017. Nearly half (47 percent) of the NPLs sold were located in three states: New York, New Jersey, and Florida. e report adds, "ese three states also accounted for 47 percent of the Enterprises' loans that were one year or more delinquent as of December 31, 2014." e report also covers borrower outcomes as of that same date on NPLs sold through December 31, 2016. According to the report, "through June 30, 2017, the Enterprises sold 82,359 NPLs representing a total unpaid prin- cipal balance (UPB) of $16 billion." NPLs sold by the GSEs had an average delinquency of 3.3 years and an average current loan-to-value ratio of 97 percent. Community Loan Fund of New Jersey (CLFNJ), a nonprofit organization, won the bid for 10 of 12 "small, geographically concen- trated NPL pools" sold during the period. e report also provides insights about the 69,804 NPLs that were settled by December 31, 2016. NPLs on occupied homes were much more likely to avoid foreclosure than those on vacant homes—21.2 percent versus 9.9 percent, respectively. In fact, the foreclosure rate on vacant homes (47.8 percent) was nearly double that of borrower-occupied homes (19.3 percent). NPLs sold by the GSEs also had a higher foreclosure avoidance rate than those not sold. According to the FHFA report, "irty‐six percent of NPLs that have been with the new servicers the longest (1,737 NPLs with new servicers for 26 months) avoided foreclosure, compared to 24 percent of the benchmark NPLs." Finally, the the average forgiveness earned per loan to date on NPLs with permanent modifications was $30,443, with the potential to earn an average forgiveness of $60,586. Battling Zombie Homes . . . and Plywood So-called "zombie homes" are a widespread problem facing anyone working to combat urban blight still lingering after the housing crisis and the Great Recession. In an article by the Long Island Business News, Robert Klein, Founder and Chairman of Safeguard Proper- ties and SecureView, discussed the problem of—and possible solutions to—zombie homes. One way to deal with zombie homes is to fast-track foreclosures. Fast-track foreclosure laws are already on the books in Ohio and Maryland, with states such as Illinois, Penn- sylvania, and New York possibly following suit. In part three of a three-part series in 2017, Klein told DS News, "It's all about keeping people in their homes as long as possible, but, once abandoned, a house becomes a liability. Fast-tracking enables the mortgage servicer to get possession of the property before it deteriorates. is directly leads to on-time conveyance and faster rehab and sale." But if fast-tracking a foreclosure isn't an option, what then? In June 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo set up a consumer hotline to take reports of zombie properties, of which there are an estimated 6,000 within the state of New York alone. According to a yearlong Newsday Connecticut Planet Realty, LLC Sales@CTREOTEAM.com 203-982-4985 cell www.CTREOTEAM.com Security • Preservation • Disposition Steve Rivkin analysis, vacant properties cost Long Island at least $295 million in depreciated home values. Assemblyman James Skoufis (D-Orange County) introduced legislation banning the use of plywood to board up abandoned proper- ties. Skoufis told the Long Island Business News, "When you have unsightly strips of plywood, it becomes an issue for all of the neighbors. It becomes a safety issue. It's a big neon sign saying no-one lives here. It's also a property value issue." While plywood had traditionally been a cheap and easy solution for securing aban- doned properties, it has never been a particu- larly effective one. Now, however, there are more effective—and less unsightly—options, such as polycarbonate. Traditionally used in airplane windows, polycarbonate can also be used in lieu of plywood, a process known as "clearboarding." "We had a foreclosure crisis. Now we're go- ing through a blight crisis," said Klein. "When you put up clear polycarbonate, it's much more secure. It does not look like a vacant property. It looks like an occupied property." According to SecureView, a company that markets polycarbonate, clearboarding a home typically costs around twice what it would cost to secure a house with plywood, including labor. However, the polycarbonate is consid- erably more durable and doesn't make it as apparent that the property is vacant. e move away from plywood has been coming for a while now. In November 2016, Fannie Mae announced it would allow mort- gage servicers to use clearboarding on vacant homes in preforeclosure. In January 2017, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed off on a law ban- ning the use of plywood on vacant properties. WASHINGTON, D.C. Home Sales Prices Stay Strong in D.C. and Baltimore Bright MLS shined a spotlight on the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland metro areas, releasing November 2017 housing market updates for both regions. e data was provided by MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS. Median sales prices in Washington, D.C., came in at $425,000 for the month of No- vember 2017, up 4.4 percent since November 2016 and 2.9 percent over October 2017. at amounts to a change of $18,000 year-over-year and $11,875 since October, respectively. No- New Jersey Lisa G Lopez Broker of Record Home Alliance Realty 142 E. Bay Ave Manahawkin, NJ 08050 609-978-9009 (o) 609-384-5109 (c) lglopez@verizon.net www.HomeAllianceRealty.com www.LisaLopezProperties.com

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