www.hudclips.org 


U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Washington, D.C. 20410-8000

April 11, 1996
 
Mortgagee Letter 96-16
 
TO:  All Approved Mortgagees
 
ATTENTION:  Single Family Servicing Managers
 
SUBJECT:  1996 Preservation and Protection/Post Endorsement
            Guidelines and Fee Schedules
 
     Attached are the 1996 Preservation and Protection/Post
Endorsement Guidelines and Fee Schedules which are effective 30
days from the date of this Mortgagee Letter.
 
     The new guidelines have been updated and include a change in
the Department's debris removal policy in connection with
conveyances.  Mortgagees are no longer to remove interior and
exterior debris except for:
 
          1)   debris that constitutes a health or safety hazard,
 
          2)   debris that causes the issuance of a code
               violation which would result in a fine and/or lien
               if not corrected prior to conveyance to HUD,
 
          3)   debris required to be removed as part of an
               eviction by local law enforcement or crews under
               the control and direction of local law enforcement
               where the mortgagee has no control over the timing
               of removal, and
 
          4)   local HUD office variations required
               in Attachment 5.
 
     Some HUD offices have local governments that are very active
in citing code violations and assessing fines and/or placing
liens for interior and/or exterior debris.  Those offices have
been permitted to deviate from the new policy and are continuing
to require mortgagees to perform debris removal.  Please refer to
Attachment 5 to ascertain those offices having variations of
policy on debris removal.  Please note that there are still cost
limits on any debris removed.
 
                                                            2
 
     Also, for clarification, you are reminded that
24 CFR 203.381 requires conveyed properties to be free from
personal property.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon mortgagees to
ensure that personal property (such as furniture, clothing,
books, etc.) is removed prior to conveyance in accordance with
local requirements, notwithstanding any office's policy on debris
removal.
 
    With regard to evictions, additional clarification has been
included in Section I of the 1996 Guidelines.  Mortgagees are now
required to confirm with the Sheriff or the appropriate law
enforcement official that an eviction is in fact going to occur.
This should reduce the mortgagee's costs for crews that show up
for an eviction that has been cancelled or rescheduled.  If this
happens, the mortgagee is only eligible to claim a maximum of one
hour of labor per man.
 
     Should you have any questions, please direct them to the
appropriate local HUD office as shown in Section III of the
guidelines.
 
Sincerely yours,
 

Nicolas P. Retsinas
Assistant Secretary for Housing-
Federal Housing Commissioner
 
Attachment
 Click Here to Download PDF Attachment 1 & 2
 Click Here to Download PDF Attachment 3 
 Click Here to Download PDF Attachment 4 
 Click Here to Download PDF Attachment 5 & 6 
 Click Here to Download PDF Attachment 7 & 8