Two mortgage servicers have agreed to join a group of peer institutions in following a series of guidelines to address zombie properties in New York State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
First Niagara Bank in Hudson, N.Y., and Carrington Mortgage are among the now 13 participating servicers in agreement with the New York State Department of Financial Services, representing about 70% of the New York market.
"We strive to do what's in the best interest of our customers and our communities," Scott Fisher, First Niagara senior vice president and managing director of retail channels, said in a statement. "While we historically have had a low incidence of foreclosures, we fully support efforts to develop industry best practices to help combat the blight and economic damage caused by vacant properties."
The DFS and participating companies aim to have the guidelines fully implemented and adopted by next month. They will apply to first-lien mortgages on residential homes subject to existing laws, and insurer and investor guidelines.
The firms developing the guidelines have agreed to conduct exterior inspections of properties to determine if they're vacant within 60 days of delinquency and every 30 days thereafter. If they are, the companies will take measures to ensure the abandoned properties are safe, maintained properly and compliant with applicable provisions of the New York maintenance code.
These measures were developed and discussed between the NYDFS and the participating U.S. banks and mortgage firms, whether or not they're regulated by the NYDFS or not. When the agreement
Other participants are Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citi Mortgage, Ocwen, Nationstar, PHH, Green Tree Servicing, Astoria Bank, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, M&T Bank and Ridgewood Savings Bank.
