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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 81 New York STRENGTH THROUGH LEADERSHIP WISDOM THROUGH EXPERIENCE Mitigating Your Risks and Maximizing Your Returns NEW YORK'S FINEST PROVIDER OF DEFAULT REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS SINCE 1988 Todd Yovino Broker/Owner Island Advantage Realty, LLC Serving Metro New York & Long Island Todd@iarny.com | 631-820-3400 www.islandadvantage.com Tree, the likelihood of a person succeeding in a new place, whether they move there to launch a new career or hit the restart button after paying off significant debt, can depend on a number of factors. ese include local median income, housing costs, and laws that protect debtors from aggressive collections and penalties. For the study, LendingTree considered all these factors along with the percentage of people between the ages of 35 and 64 who are single, employed, and have health insurance coverage to rank the best and worst cities for a person to start their life afresh. With a median rent of $738, 94 percent people over 35 who were insured, and residents who declared bankruptcy recovering to a credit score of 664 within three years, Buffalo, New York, topped the list of cities where people can restart their lives, especially if they're looking at financial recovery. Making it to the second place was Min- neapolis, Minnesota. e city's low unemploy- ment rate at 3.7 percent for those between the 35 to 64 age group as well as a high median salary of $70,915 and median rents of $963 make this a preferred destination for those looking at restarting their careers. Salt Lake City, Utah, took third place. With a low unemployment rate and higher-than- average median income and a moderate median rent of $967, Salt Lake City also had one of the highest enrollments in school by those who were 35 and over. Austin, Texas; Hartford, Connecticut; San Diego, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Bal- timore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; and Richmond, Virginia rounded up the list of the 10 best cities for those looking at a fresh start. However, not all cities are friendly for people looking at a new life. According to the study, apart from low rents at $806, there's little else that would make life easier in Birmingham, Alabama, which came in at the bottom of this list. Following Birmingham were Riverside, California; Miami and Orlando in Florida; and Chicago, Illinois that fared badly for fresh starts. PENNSYLVANIA Pennsylvania Foreclosure Requirements One of the most important elements of the foreclosure process is adhering to regula- tions for the area in which the foreclosure is occurring. Given that foreclosure law varies wildly from state to state, staying abreast of new developments can be crucial. With that in mind, servicers might want to keep their eyes on Pennsylvania, where the state Supreme Court is set to address an issue involving foreclosure notifications that could have wider implications and precedents. e case of JPMorgan Chase v. Taggart ultimately comes down to paperwork, with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court set to rule on whether the law requires a mortgagee to send a new notice of intent to foreclose before actually filing a second foreclosure complaint in cases where the initial complaint was dismissed. e case ties back to an earlier ruling, 2014's Wells Fargo Bank v. Spivak, in which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that "when a residential mortgagee delivers an Act 6 notice, commences a foreclosure action against a mort- gagor ('first action'), discontinues that foreclosure action, and re-files another foreclosure action against a mortgagor for the same premises ('sec- ond action'), the lack of a new notice prior to the second action is fatal to the second action." As reported by Law.com, Taggart came about after Chase Bank began foreclosure proceedings on defendant Kenneth Taggart in September 2010. When Chase didn't answer Taggart's initial objections to the foreclosure promptly, the case was tossed out. JPMorgan Chase Bank eventually took charge of Tag- gart's mortgage, after which, in July 2013, they filed a new foreclosure complaint. ey did not, however, send Taggart a new notice of intent to foreclose. In November 2015, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Powell Jr. ruled against Taggart and in favor of Great Ajax Op- erating Partnership, who by that point was the holder of Taggart's mortgage. Taggart appealed because he'd never received a new notice of intent to foreclose from JPMorgan Chase Bank two years earlier, and last August, a Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled in his favor. Now the case has landed before the Penn- sylvania Supreme Court. Joshua omas, an attorney from the firm of Chadds Ford who is representing Taggart, has suggested that the case could set important precedents for homeowners facing foreclosure. Stephen M. Hladik of Hladik, Onorato & Federman, LLP, a Legal League 100 member firm, told DS News: "ere are two ways that a Pennsylvania foreclosure case can conclude before a judg- ment: either through a voluntary dismissal of the action or involuntarily by order of the court. e perplexing question always faced by a lender was whether it was required under Pennsylvania law to tender new notices to a borrower before restarting foreclosure after a dismissal (whether voluntary or involuntary), even if the loan due

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