| By :
Frank Patrick
Door Hangers Help Property Preservation Company Maintain Homes Foreclosures are still everywhere in the news – and all across this country’s neighborhoods. Recently, the long-running CBS news hour “60 Minutes” profiled average Americans who, because of the real estate crash, now owed more than their homes were worth – and were preparing to walk away from them. JP MorganChase has also warned its investors that this trend is mushrooming. Not only that but the number of foreclosures is expected to skyrocket in the last half of 2010, as mortgage defaults continue to rise and the shadow inventory of REO homes makes its way to market. This, of course, means a great deal more opportunity for companies that perform foreclosure trash outs – as property preservation is increasingly seen as the biggest foreclosure business opportunity. Profits for these companies, both big and small, continue to increase nationwide. Unfortunately, neighborhoods that have experienced multiple foreclosures have suffered declines in property values and quality of living, due to these vacant homes falling into disrepair and becoming unsightly and unsafe. Even homes that have been secured by property preservation companies can still end up being vandalized or become targets for arson or copper pipe theft. One national property management company, Safeguard, has found a way to not only help its local property preservation contractors maintain their homes, but also to market their services. Safeguard partners with cities and local governments to combat foreclosure blight, and, at the beginning of 2009, began its “Good Neighbor Door Hanger Initiative.” The company leaves door hangers on properties next to secured vacant properties on which it had performed foreclosure trash outs. The door hanger provides a toll-free number for the neighbor that they could call, if they happen to see either illegal activity or a maintenance problem. The call center for the toll-free line is open around the clock. This has resulted in an astounding 1200 phone calls per day from concerned homeowners, helping property preservation companies deal with problems that could result in damage to the home or citations from officials who enforce housing codes. “The correlation between vacant properties and criminal activity has been well documented in communities nationwide,” says the company. “This ripple effect drastically reduces the servicer’s collateral in their assets and wreaks havoc on the communities where the properties exist.” By being a good neighbor, property preservation specialists can both help communities stay safe during this continuing foreclosure crisis, as well as and increase their business. That’s a big win-win for all concerned.
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