DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/945927
80 New York STRENGTH THROUGH LEADERSHIP WISDOM THROUGH EXPERIENCE Mitigating Your Risks and Maximizing Your Returns NEW YORK'S FINEST PROVIDER OF 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 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 NEW JERSEY New Jersey to Help Abate Puerto Rico's Foreclosure Crisis As the island continues its long recovery from the devastating impact of Hurricane Ma- ria, Puerto Rico is on the cusp of a dire foreclo- sure epidemic. According to a December 2017 report by e New York Times, around one-third of Puerto Rico homeowners were behind on their mortgage payments as 2017 wound down. Tens of thousands have not made payments for months, and around 90,000 borrowers became delinquent as a consequence of Hurricane Ma- ria, as reported by the data firm Black Knight Inc. But what could the State of New Jersey possibly have to do with any of that? According to reporting by NJ.com, advocates for Puerto Rican homeowners have asked New Jersey to use investor leverage to buy more time for island homeowners to remain in their homes while they attempt to catch up or recover from the aftermath of the storms. Jim Baker of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project has asked the New Jersey State Investment Council to intercede on behalf of Puerto Rican homeowners with private equity firms Black- stone Group and TPG Capital, two of the firms positioned to foreclose on many of the affected Puerto Rican mortgagors. At the direction of the Federal Housing Authority, there are currently foreclosure mora- toriums in place for affected homeowners in Puerto Rico; however, this moratorium is due to expire on March 19. Baker asked the Jersey State Investment Council to halt further investments in Blackstone and TPG in hopes they will extend the foreclosure moratoriums. According to NJ.com, Blackstone has already agreed to a meeting with the advocates. In a Jan. 12 letter, however, Kristen Sief- fert, President of Finance of America's reverse mortgage division (a Blackstone affiliate), told advocacy groups that Finance of America had "virtually no discretion about whether or not to initiate foreclosure proceedings," due to having to follow HUD guidelines on their FHA- backed reverse mortgages. "Given that [Finance of America's reverse mortgage division] does not have control over foreclosure timelines with respect to insured loans, we believe the best outcome for home- owners in this area would be an extension of HUD's foreclosure moratorium and intend to advocate for this extension directly to HUD," Sieffert said in the letter. A TPG Spokesman said in a statement, "We are committed to continuing to act with care and understanding during this difficult time." He added that TPG had instructed the company that services its mortgages in Puerto Rico to freeze foreclosures and grant forbear- ance requests in the meantime. On Feb. 1, HUD announced it was award- ing more than $1.5 billion in aid to help Puerto Rico recover from the damages wrought by Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year. In late January, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced a joint plan to give favorable consideration under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regula- tions to banks located outside of the most heav- ily impacted areas who work to help revitalize and stabilize the damaged locales. NEW YORK Manhattan Tops List of Best Places to Rent Manhattan and Santa Barbara, California are among the most expensive places to buy a home, but the best places to rent, while Balti- more, Maryland and Clayton County, Georgia, are the best counties to buy a home according to Realtor.com. To assist prospective homebuyers determin- ing if renting an apartment or buying a home is the better option, Realtor.com used 2017 median prices and incomes in 500 counties. e research was geared for urban and suburban dwell- ers—as an average monthly house payment and rent may be close to the same figure with both continuing to rise. e report listed several financial indicators to compile a list of home prices versus monthly rent in various U.S. counties: annual median rent, median house payment, mortgage, taxes, and insurance, along with median income.