A compiled reference of 54 verified statistics on property preservation and mortgage field services, from the delinquency and foreclosure pipeline that generates work orders, to the guideline clocks that force a visit on the 45th, 60th, 90th and 120th day of default, to the published per-line allowables (Fannie Mae reimburses $45 per interior inspection and $30 per exterior), the photo documentation load per work order, the federal fraud record, and the national companies that field the work. Every figure is drawn from a named public source, including the Fannie Mae Servicing Guide, HUD Handbook 4000.1, ICE mortgage performance reports, the MBA National Delinquency Survey, the Department of Justice and the FHFA Office of Inspector General, and independently checked against that original before publishing.
Key statistics
6 highlights from this report
Key statistics
Key takeaways
Property preservation is a volume business governed by published clocks and published prices. The guidelines say exactly when a property must be visited and exactly how much each line of work can be reimbursed, which means the whole trade competes on documentation rather than on price. The fraud record explains why: the largest case in the field was not bad work, it was work that was never done, proven by photographs recycled from the previous month.
Fannie Mae reimburses $45 per interior property inspection and $30 per exterior.
Active foreclosure inventory hit 280,000 loans in May 2026, a six-year high.
A defaulted Fannie Mae loan gets its first inspection between day 90 and day 120, then one every month.
FHA allows $5,000 of preservation per property, and $30 total for photographs.
One field-services firm falsified up to 70% of its inspections and collected about $12.7 million for visits that never happened.
A single national reports over 120,000 inspections a month across all 50 states.
Property preservation is not restoration
Search results for this industry are muddled by a naming collision, so it is worth drawing the line before the numbers start. Property preservation, also called mortgage field services, is the inspection and maintenance of vacant, defaulted and foreclosed homes on behalf of mortgage servicers and the entities that own or insure the loan: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA. The work is ordered against a servicing guideline, priced against a published allowable schedule, and performed by subcontractor vendors dispatched through national field-services companies. Nobody lives in the house. The client is a servicer, and the deliverable is an inspection report with photographs.
Restoration is a different trade with a different buyer: repairing fire, water, mold and storm damage, usually on an occupied property, usually paid by a property insurer or the homeowner, priced against an insurance estimate rather than an investor allowable. The two industries share vocabulary and almost nothing else. Statistics compiled for one are not usable for the other, which is most of the reason a page like this one needed to exist.
How we built this report
Every figure below was compiled in September 2026 from named public sources and verified against the original document before publishing.
- Compiled from primary sources
Investor and insurer servicing guidelines (the Fannie Mae Servicing Guide and HUD Handbook 4000.1, including their published allowable schedules), mortgage performance releases, federal prosecution records and an Inspector General special report, plus disclosures published by the field-services companies themselves.
- Only explicitly stated figures
We include only numbers a named source states directly, and attribute each inline at the point it appears. Nothing here is derived, modeled or averaged out of a range.
- Disagreements shown, not averaged
Fannie Mae and FHA price the same line of work differently. Where that happens we show both schedules side by side rather than blending them into a single false industry rate.
- Independent review
Written by one co-founder, reviewed by the other before publishing.
Scope caveat: allowable schedules are maximum reimbursement caps for the servicer or mortgagee, not the rate a subcontractor vendor is paid, and they change by bulletin. Company figures are self-reported. Guideline citations reflect the editions published as of September 2026 and should be confirmed against the current guide before being relied on operationally.
The property preservation industry, by the numbers
All 54 figures, grouped by theme, each from a named public source and independently verified against that original.
The default pipeline that creates the work
Every property preservation work order starts as a delinquent loan, so portfolio-level distress is the industry's demand curve. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey (mba.org), the delinquency rate on one-to-four-unit residential properties was 4.37 percent at the end of Q2 2026, down 7 basis points from Q1 but up 44 basis points year over year, with the percentage of loans in the process of foreclosure rising 3 basis points to 0.67 percent. ICE (ice.com) put active foreclosure inventory at 280,000 loans in May 2026, up 34 percent annually and the highest level in six years.
Statistic 1
The mortgage delinquency rate was 4.37 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of Q2 2026, seasonally adjusted.
MBA National Delinquency Survey (2026)
Statistic 2
That rate was down 7 basis points from Q1 2026 and up 44 basis points from a year earlier.
MBA National Delinquency Survey (2026)
Statistic 3
Loans in the process of foreclosure rose 3 basis points to 0.67 percent in Q2 2026.
MBA National Delinquency Survey (2026)
Statistic 4
The foreclosure inventory rate increased by almost 20 basis points from the second quarter of 2025.
MBA National Delinquency Survey (2026)
Statistic 5
The seriously delinquent rate rose for a fourth consecutive quarter in Q2 2026.
MBA National Delinquency Survey (2026)
Statistic 6
FHA serious delinquencies increased more than 225 basis points from the previous year.
MBA National Delinquency Survey (2026)
Statistic 7
Active foreclosure inventory reached 280,000 loans in May 2026, up 34 percent annually and the highest level in six years.
ICE First Look at May 2026 Mortgage Data
Statistic 8
Serious delinquencies were up 111,000 year over year in May 2026, the largest annual increase since 2020.
ICE First Look at May 2026 Mortgage Data
Statistic 9
Loans seriously delinquent or in active foreclosure increased by 185,000 from a year earlier, the largest year-over-year increase since 2020.
ICE First Look at May 2026 Mortgage Data
Statistic 10
Foreclosure starts hit 38,600 in July 2026, up 23 percent year over year.
ICE First Look at July 2026 Mortgage Data
Statistic 11
Active foreclosure inventory climbed 43 percent annually in July 2026, while completed foreclosure sales rose 14 percent and remained at 59 percent of pre-pandemic volume.
ICE First Look at July 2026 Mortgage Data
Statistic 12
102,000 borrowers became 90-plus days delinquent in July 2026, down 4 percent year over year, with FHA loans showing 13 percent fewer new defaults.
ICE First Look at July 2026 Mortgage Data
What this means: the headline delinquency rate is easing while the back end of the pipeline keeps filling, and the back end is the part that generates field work. A loan that cures never produces a preservation order; a loan sitting in active foreclosure inventory produces a recurring monthly one, which is why a 43 percent annual rise in foreclosure inventory matters far more to this trade than a 16 basis point improvement in the delinquency rate.
The clocks that trigger a field visit
Nobody in this industry decides when to visit a property. The investor or insurer guideline does, on a fixed day count from the date of default. According to the Fannie Mae Servicing Guide (fanniemae.com), the servicer must order an inspection on or after the 90th day of delinquency and complete it no later than the 120th day, then continue every calendar month while the loan remains 90 or more days delinquent, with those monthly inspections falling 20 to 35 days apart. FHA runs a tighter clock: under HUD Handbook 4000.1 (hud.gov), the mortgagee must perform a visual inspection if the borrower cannot be reached by the 45th day and an initial Occupancy Inspection no later than the 60th day, then inspect vacant properties every 25 to 35 days.
The default clock
When a guideline forces someone onto the property
Two rulebooks, two day counts, one crew driving to the same kind of empty house. Day numbers are days of delinquency.
Interior versus exterior is decided by occupancy, not by preference: Fannie Mae requires an interior inspection where the property is vacant or abandoned, and an exterior inspection where the property is occupied or occupancy is unknown.
Statistic 13
Fannie Mae servicers must order a property inspection on or after the 90th day of delinquency and complete it no later than the 120th day.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D2-2-10
Statistic 14
Inspections continue every calendar month for as long as the loan remains 90 or more days delinquent.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D2-2-10
Statistic 15
Monthly property inspections must occur between 20 and 35 days apart.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D2-2-10
Statistic 16
A final property inspection is required within 35 days prior to the foreclosure sale.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D2-2-10
Statistic 17
Vacant or abandoned properties require an interior inspection; occupied or unknown-occupancy properties require an exterior inspection.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D2-2-10
Statistic 18
Each inspection is documented on a Property Inspection Report (Form 30) or a servicer form providing equivalent information.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D2-2-10
Statistic 19
On an FHA loan, a visual inspection is required if the mortgagee cannot reach the borrower by the 45th day of delinquency.
HUD Handbook 4000.1
Statistic 20
The initial FHA Occupancy Inspection must be performed no later than the 60th day of delinquency.
HUD Handbook 4000.1
Statistic 21
FHA Occupancy Inspections continue every 25 to 35 days from the last inspection until occupancy status is determined.
HUD Handbook 4000.1
Statistic 22
FHA Vacant Property Inspections run every 25 to 35 days after the First-Time Vacant inspection until the default is cured or the property is conveyed to HUD.
HUD Handbook 4000.1
Statistic 23
The First-Time Vacant inspection requires pressure-testing all water supply and uploading photographs of the results.
HUD Handbook 4000.1
Statistic 24
At every FHA vacant inspection, the mortgagee must photograph the overall condition of the interior and exterior of the primary and all secondary structures.
HUD Handbook 4000.1
What this means: demand in this industry is calendar-driven rather than event-driven. Once a loan crosses a day threshold, the visit is mandatory and recurring until the loan cures or the property conveys, which is why a single seriously delinquent loan is not one job but a monthly subscription of them, each producing its own report and photo set.
What the work pays: published allowables
This is one of the few trades where the price list is public. The Fannie Mae Servicing Guide's Defined Expense Reimbursement Limits cap an interior property inspection at $45, an exterior at $30 and an insured loss repair inspection at $60, then price preservation line by line down to $1 for capping a wire. HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0 runs its own schedule with a $5,000 Maximum Property Preservation Allowance per property and a $30 per property cap on photographs. Both are caps on what the servicer or mortgagee can claim, not on what a subcontractor is paid.
Statistic 25
Fannie Mae reimburses a maximum of $45 per interior property inspection.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 26
Fannie Mae reimburses a maximum of $30 per exterior property inspection.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 27
An insured loss repair inspection is reimbursed at a maximum of $60 per inspection.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 28
Fannie Mae allows $60 each for a knob lock or knob lock with deadbolt, and $0.90 per united inch for boarding.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 29
An initial grass cut on a lot under 10,000 square feet is allowed at $125, with re-cuts at $80 per instance.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 30
Fannie Mae winterization allowables for the first unit are $150 dry, $220 wet or steam, and $260 radiant.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 31
Raw garbage and perishable debris is allowed at $50 per cubic yard, with a combined 10 cubic yard maximum for the life of the loan.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 32
An aerial imagery report is reimbursable at $75 for the life of the mortgage loan.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 33
Code violations and citations are reimbursed at $1,000 per fine, fee or lien, capped at $3,000 for the life of the loan.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 34
Technology fees are capped at $25 per mortgage loan for the life of the default.
Fannie Mae Servicing Guide F-1-05
Statistic 35
FHA's Maximum Property Preservation Allowance is $5,000 per property.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
Statistic 36
That $5,000 cap excludes debris removal, grass cutting, boarding, inspections, pool securing, sump pumps, demolition, vacant property registration fees and utilities.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
Statistic 37
FHA reimburses photographs at a maximum of $30 per property.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
Statistic 38
FHA pays $30 for an initial Occupancy Inspection, plus $20 per each additional unit.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
Statistic 39
A First-Time Vacant Property Inspection is allowed at $45, plus $30 per each additional unit.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
Statistic 40
FHA allows $60 per door for front or main entranceway lockset replacement and $10 per keyhole for rekeying.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
Statistic 41
FHA caps temporary roof tarping at $600 per property and permanent roof patching at $1,000 per property.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
Statistic 42
FHA debris removal is capped at $1,250, with additional waste at $50 per cubic yard.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
Statistic 43
FHA snow and ice removal is capped at $75 per occurrence.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0
What this means: the two rulebooks price identical work differently. FHA pays $30 for an initial occupancy inspection where Fannie Mae's exterior inspection cap is also $30, but FHA's vacant inspection is $45 against Fannie Mae's $45 interior; the divergence widens on preservation lines, where FHA caps debris removal at $1,250 per property and Fannie Mae runs a 10 cubic yard life-of-loan ceiling instead. A vendor working both investors is effectively running two price books against one crew.
The photo and paperwork load
The billable artifact in this trade is not the work, it is the evidence of the work. Industry training material published by Property Vendors (propertyvendors.com) reports regularly taking over 50 photographs and sometimes up to 100 per property, with a minimum of two photos per interior room, and puts the photography alone at 30 to 45 minutes for an initial bid survey and 45 to 60 minutes to document an initial inspection. Back-office processor AssetSure Processing (assetsureprocessing.com) reports submission deadlines that are often 24 to 48 hours from completion and chargeback windows that often extend 18 to 24 months from service or property sale.
Statistic 44
Field guidance reports regularly taking over 50 photographs per property, and sometimes up to 100.
Property Vendors education and training resources (2026)
Statistic 45
Photography alone takes 30 to 45 minutes for an initial bid survey and 45 to 60 minutes to document an initial inspection.
Property Vendors education and training resources (2026)
Statistic 46
All interior rooms require a minimum of two photos each, including closets, stairways, attics and crawl spaces.
Property Vendors education and training resources (2026)
Statistic 47
Standard photo requirements include color images, no blurry frames, and before, during and after shots taken from the same distance and angle.
Property Vendors education and training resources (2026)
Statistic 48
Work orders often carry a submission deadline of 24 to 48 hours from completion.
AssetSure Processing (2026)
Statistic 49
Chargeback timeframes often extend 18 to 24 months from service or property sale, and investor guidelines and audits can allow disputes years later.
AssetSure Processing (2026)
What this means: the economics are lopsided in a specific way. FHA reimburses $30 per property for photographs while field guidance describes 50 to 100 of them and up to an hour of shooting per visit, and a chargeback can land 18 to 24 months later, at which point, as the same processor puts it, a photo that was not submitted cannot be produced. Documentation completeness at the moment of the visit is the entire defense, which is the case for AI photo review on preservation orders.
The fraud record
The reason this industry reviews photographs so obsessively is a matter of public record. According to the Department of Justice (justice.gov), Dean Counce, founder of American Mortgage Field Services, was sentenced to 8 years and one month in federal prison with a $12,774,102 money judgment, and co-conspirator Tammy Roaderick to 33 months with a $2,396,498.25 money judgment, for a scheme in which employees fabricated inspection reports using previous months' photographs. The FHFA Office of Inspector General (fhfaoig.gov) found the firm falsified up to 70 percent of its property inspections between 2009 and March 2012.
Statistic 50
American Mortgage Field Services falsified up to 70 percent of its property inspections between 2009 and March 2012.
FHFA Office of Inspector General, SIR-2013-0002
Statistic 51
The firm fraudulently received approximately $12.7 million for property inspections that were never performed.
FHFA Office of Inspector General, SIR-2013-0002
Statistic 52
The servicer paid $6.50 per inspection report, amounting to $700,000 to $1 million per month and over $19 million in total.
FHFA Office of Inspector General, SIR-2013-0002
Statistic 53
Dean Counce was sentenced to 8 years and one month in federal prison, with a money judgment of $12,774,102.
U.S. Department of Justice, Middle District of Florida (2013)
Statistic 54
Tammy Roaderick was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, with a money judgment of $2,396,498.25.
U.S. Department of Justice, Middle District of Florida (2014)
What this means: the mechanism matters more than the totals. Reports were falsified by inserting photographs from previous reports and changing the dates, and the Inspector General noted those deficiencies went undetected by the servicers and the enterprises. Inspection volume grew faster than the capacity to perform it, and the fabricated evidence looked exactly like the real thing to a reviewer working one report at a time. We walk through how that resubmission pattern works, and why timestamps do not stop it, in recycled photos in field inspections.
Who fields the work
A handful of national field-services companies hold the servicer contracts and dispatch to subcontractor vendor networks. National Field Representatives (nfronline.com) states it completes over 120,000 inspections and 10,000 preservation orders every month across all 50 states, from a company that grew from four employees in 1989 to more than 250 today. Cyprexx Services (cyprexx.com) describes itself as family-owned, over 25 years in the business, and says it led the industry with a flat-fee pricing model. Safeguard Properties (safeguardproperties.com) describes itself as the largest mortgage field services company in the industry.
Company scale 1
National Field Representatives reports completing over 120,000 inspections and 10,000 preservation orders every month across all 50 states.
National Field Representatives (2026)
Company scale 2
The same company grew from four employees in 1989 to more than 250 employees today.
National Field Representatives (2026)
Company scale 3
Cyprexx Services, family-owned and over 25 years old, says it led the industry with a flat-fee pricing model.
Cyprexx Services (2026)
Company scale 4
Safeguard Properties, founded in May 1990, grew from a handful of employees into what it describes as the largest mortgage field services company in the industry.
Safeguard Properties (2026)
Company scale 5
MCS completed the sale of its Mortgage Contracting Services business line, including property preservation and property inspections, to Stewart on December 11, 2025.
MCS (2025)
What this means: these five company facts sit outside the 54 verified statistics above because they are self-reported positioning rather than measured data, and we label them that way on purpose. They are still the clearest available picture of structure: national contracts, subcontracted execution, monthly volumes in the six figures at a single mid-sized national, and continuing consolidation at the top.
Cite this study
Academic or press use: copy a ready-made reference. RapidEye is the publisher.
Quick FAQ
What is the property preservation industry?
Property preservation, also called mortgage field services, is the inspection and maintenance of vacant, defaulted and foreclosed homes on behalf of mortgage servicers and the entities that own or insure the loans, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA. National field-services companies hold the servicer contracts and dispatch the work to subcontractor vendors. It is not the same trade as property restoration, which repairs fire, water and storm damage for insurers and homeowners, usually on occupied properties.
How much does Fannie Mae pay for a property inspection?
The Fannie Mae Servicing Guide sets a maximum reimbursement of $45 per interior property inspection, $30 per exterior property inspection and $60 per insured loss repair inspection. Those are caps on what the servicer can claim back from Fannie Mae, not what a field vendor is paid; the vendor rate is set in the contract between the vendor and the national field-services company.
How often are foreclosed and vacant properties inspected?
On a Fannie Mae loan the servicer must order an inspection on or after the 90th day of delinquency, complete it no later than the 120th day, then inspect every calendar month while the loan stays 90 or more days delinquent, with monthly inspections falling 20 to 35 days apart. On an FHA loan the mortgagee must inspect for occupancy no later than the 60th day of delinquency and then inspect vacant properties every 25 to 35 days until the default is cured or the property is conveyed to HUD.
How many photos does a property preservation work order require?
There is no single number in the guidelines, but industry training material published by Property Vendors reports regularly taking over 50 photographs and sometimes up to 100 on an inspection or survey, with a minimum of two photos per interior room including closets, stairways, attics and crawl spaces. FHA reimburses a maximum of $30 per property for photographs regardless of how many are taken.
What is the maximum property preservation allowance on an FHA loan?
The Maximum Property Preservation Allowance is $5,000 per property under HUD Handbook 4000.1 Appendix 7.0. That cap excludes debris removal, grass cutting, boarding, inspections, securing of swimming pools, sump pumps, demolition, vacant property registration fees and utilities, each of which carries its own line-item allowable.
How big was the American Mortgage Field Services inspection fraud?
The FHFA Office of Inspector General found that American Mortgage Field Services falsified up to 70 percent of its property inspections between 2009 and March 2012 and fraudulently received approximately $12.7 million for inspections never performed. Founder Dean Counce was sentenced to 8 years and one month in federal prison with a $12,774,102 money judgment, and co-conspirator Tammy Roaderick was sentenced to 33 months with a $2,396,498.25 money judgment. Employees fabricated reports by reusing previous months' photographs and changing the dates.
Data sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these named public sources, each read against the original document before publishing.
Fannie MaeServicing Guide sections on property inspection requirements and defined expense reimbursement limits, 2026fanniemae.com
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentSingle Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, default servicing inspection requirements and the property preservation allowances schedule, 2026hud.gov
Intercontinental ExchangeMonthly First Look mortgage performance releases, delinquency and foreclosure inventory counts, 2026ice.com
Mortgage Bankers AssociationNational Delinquency Survey quarterly results, second quarter 2026mba.org
U.S. Department of JusticeMiddle District of Florida sentencing announcements in the mortgage field services inspection fraud prosecutionsjustice.gov
FHFA Office of Inspector GeneralSpecial report on enterprise oversight of property preservation inspectionsfhfaoig.gov
Property VendorsField education and training material on photo documentation requirementspropertyvendors.com
AssetSure ProcessingWork order processing and chargeback guidance for preservation vendors, 2026assetsureprocessing.com
National Field RepresentativesCompany disclosures on monthly inspection and preservation order volumenfronline.com
Cyprexx ServicesCompany description of its pricing model and service linescyprexx.com
Safeguard PropertiesCompany history and positioning within mortgage field servicessafeguardproperties.com
MCSCorporate announcement on the sale of its mortgage services business line, 2025mcs360.com