Fair Housing and REO Part 4 of 4
Recommendations regarding REO and Fair Housing
The National Fair Housing Alliance -NFHA- made the following statement in their April 11, 2011 publication “Here comes the Bank, There goes our Neighborhood”;
“Racial and ethnic disparities in the maintenance, marketing, and sales of Real Estate Owned properties is a civil rights challenge that requires banks, servicers,and investors to change their business models for disposing of REO properties and to establish standards and oversight mechanisms for the third-party real estate brokers and asset managers they hire. It also requires federal regulators and enforcement agencies to increase their oversight of banks, servicers and investors to ensure they fully comply with federal fair lending laws.
Local governments must address these issues by considering the impact of REOs on neighborhoods as part of their Analyses of impediments to Fair Housing Choice and by taking action to overcome the impediments created by poorly maintained REOs.”
The following items were highlighted as the areas of greater concern:
1. Selection of Brokers. NFHA makes the recommendation that the banks are careful to select a diverse group of brokers. Having brokers that are familiar with the area, involved in the community as well as ample experience in selling in a particular market is imperative to the proper pricing and marketing of a property. The Banks and Asset Managers also need to be sure that the Broker does not have pending complaints or history of discrimination.
2. Correct pricing: BPO-Broker Price Opinions – need to include interior review and drive bys not allowed. Or the banks need to seed a second full appraisal.
3. Property Preservation and Repairs- All parties should be held accountable for the Curb appeal of a property. We need to work together and really open up the communication to prevent further deterioration of a property. While not all properties are in similar condition, we do have control over the upkeep during the marketing period.
4. Advertising and Marketing -The same standardized signage should be used for all properties. Agents need to be trained to ensure that they are not steering potential borrowers to specific neighborhoods.
This publication is a great read and full of valuable information. While we are caught in the processing of REO inventory, we need to remember the larger picture, make sure that we abide by the Fair Housing rules and continuously educate ourselves to stay abreast of the constant changes if we are to effectively stabilize our communities.
Information via Gail Buck: http://9dcc1a8.activerain.com/
