West Virginia State Senator (also the city attorney for Wellsburg WV) Ryan Weld, seeks to better regulate “land installment contracts” that allow potential homeowners to purchase property through a landowner on an installment plan, similar to how a person would pay rent or a mortgage.

Concerns center around that these contracts don’t provide many of the protections available to those who secure a traditional loan for a home purchase, or the protections afforded to those who rent. Furthermore, as properties transition between occupants they are prone to lack of maintenance.

For more information, please click on the following links.

Regulating Land Contracts in W.Va.

WV senator hopes to stop predatory housing agreements with upcoming legislative session

Update March 18,2022

Legislation has now been signed into law. To view the final text, please click here.

Following is the “Summary of Provisions” as provided in the Sponsor’s Memo.

This legislation amends the underlying chapter by establishing that
vacancy in shall apply the same definition provided in section 1309 of
the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law.

This legislation adds three means by which a property may be deemed
abandoned, including; when all owners indicate abandonment in writing;
by court order or municipality order either from an initiation by the
court or in response to a tenant complaint that the owner has abandoned
the property; when a tenant on the property sends a complaint to the
foreclosing plaintiff indicating that the owner of the property has
stopped maintaining the property.

Further, the legislation establishes a penalty of $500 against plain-
tiffs who enter residential property without a good faith belief that
the property is vacant or abandoned. The penalty is paid to the
aggrieved owner and/or tenants of residential properties.

Introduced 01/11/2022, if enacted SB 7792 seeks to “define vacant and abandoned residential property in relation to mortgage foreclosure actions; (establishes plaintiffs in such matters shall maintain the subject property)”

To view the current version as introduced, please click here,

Introduced 01/05/2022, if enacted SB 334 would enable local municipalities to establish a vacant building registry.

To view the current version as introduced, please click here,

A recent white paper was released by the Legal League 100, providing guidance and clarification on what constitutes a real estate property to fall under the category of “abandoned.”

Legal League 100 supports the mortgage servicing industry through education, communication, relationship development, and advisory services.

For more information please click on the following link for an article from DSNews.

Examining REO Properties Nationwide

To access the white paper, please click here.