I have seen progress being made by banks to keep homeowners in their homes or at least to keep them from trashing the property if it does go into foreclosure by offering them cash for the keys. Essentially if you are a homeowner and you are in foreclosure the bank can offer you cash to hand over the keys and the property in the best possible condition. This incentive seems to be working as we have not seen nearly as many trash outs or clean ups.

I work with realtors, property brokers, and mortgage companies to clean out foreclosed homes and get them back on the market fast. Recently, we have been receiving more jobs in property securing and winterization then site clean ups which tells me that the foreclosed homes are being left in much better condition.

This has meant that we are working more on securing and winterizing the homes then clean up and restoration. Property securing involves changing the locks on the doors, locking all doors, and windows. This secures the property against vagrancy and theft. Winterization is the process of preparing a property for the cold winter months by draining the lines and filling with non-freezing fluids to keep the sewer gas from coming into the home. Shutting off the water to the house and posting proper notice that the property has been winterized. These services are geared more toward preservation then restoration.

Banks are working to reduce the amount of homes that are being left uninhabitable or beyond repair and restoration. While improvements are being made and steps are being taken there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to mend banking relationships.  I do however think that in the long run this will save the banks money as clean up and restoration can cost more than this incentive based program.