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Business Practices Course Added To Property Preservation

by Terry Platt - Wednesday, 16 March 2011, 12:15 PM

 

A new course titled "Business Practices" has been added to the Property Preservation Study

 

Available courses

• Intro To WebExam

  Free Course

• Business Procedures

  General business procedures unique to the property preservation and REO industry.  Legal issues, insurance, loss mitigation, paperwork, computers, hiring sub-contractors and additional areas intended to help contractors recognize the need for daily management of their business.

• Property Preservation Introduction

  Every course needs to start somewhere so let's start this course with a few news releases to give you an idea of how some see our industry.

• Utilities

  Utilities are to be turned off unless required to protect the property, such as in states where heat is to remain on. For units that are attached to other units or dwellings, water services and utilities should remain on only if those systems are shared with other units. In some cases, it may be cost-effective to maintain utility service rather than disconnect the service. For example, in some rural areas, large fees may be charged to re-connect water service. Mortgagees should use proper judgment to determine the most cost-effective method of managing utilities when re-connection fees exist.

• Yard Maintenance and Snow Removal

  Grass cuts (initial and subsequent cuts) include mowing, weeding, edge trimming, sweeping of all paved areas, and removal of all lawn clippings, related cuttings, and incidental debris (newspapers, flyers, bottles, etc.) removal. The disposal of all clippings and incidental debris should comply with jurisdictional requirements.

  Mortgagees should not order yard maintenance if a homeowners‟ association for such property covers this service.

• Occupancy Verification

• Securing

  Properties must be secured to prevent unauthorized entry and protect against weather-related damage. All exterior doors shall be secured. The mortgagee is also responsible for the following securing activities:

  Replacing a broken window-pane (re-glazing), unless the opening is to be boarded; Securing in-ground swimming pools; Securing above-ground pools; Securing hot-tubs and spas; and

  Maintaining pools, hot tubs and spas.

• Demolition

  The cost of demolition is not included in the maximum cost limit per property. In such cases, where a local jurisdiction has determined a property to be uninhabitable and mandates demolition of a property, the mortgagee must obtain approval from the MCM. Requests received less than five (5) business days of the conveyance timeframe where no extension has been requested and approved, will be rejected, unless notification by the local jurisdiction has not been received within that period.

  The mortgagee must provide to the MCM documentation to include the notice of demolition by the local jurisdiction along with inspection reports and photographic documentation that establishes the condition of the property when the mortgagee first entered or took possession of the property.

• Winterization Requirements

  This course expands on the Mortgagee Letter Winterization Requirements:

  Properties are to be winterized between October 1 and March 31, unless, climatic conditions require earlier and extended winterization treatment periods. Properties should only be winterized once. However, a property should be re-winterized if the initial winterization is no longer effective. The winterization process must include cleaning toilets and a complete draining of all plumbing and heating systems. The mortgagee is responsible for any damage to plumbing and heating systems, including sump pumps and wells, caused by untimely, inadequate, or improper maintenance or winterization.

• Work Orders

• Conveyance Condition

  At the time of conveyance to HUD, a property must be undamaged by fire, earthquake, flood, hurricane, tornado, boiler explosions (for condominiums that were secured by mortgages insured under §234 of the National Housing Act), or mortgagee neglect. In addition, any debris must be removed from the interior of the property and maintained in broom-swept condition. These standards are fully described in Exhibit A, Section 2 “Acceptable Conveyance Condition.”

• Photography Documentation

  P&P actions must be documented to include before and after pictures using digital photography. The photographic fee is included in the lock change/securing maximum allowable cost per property. Photographs are required to document property condition and all P&P claimed expenses. All photographs shall be dated and labeled. If photographs are not included at the time of the claim review, the expenses will be disallowed.

  

• Debris Removal