Status of Unemployment in Washington State

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program in Washington State is still being developed by the Employment Security Department (ESD). Here’s what we know right now:

#1 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS: Under the federal CARES Act, independent contractors and self-employed workers are eligible for PUA benefits (unlike regular unemployment that only applies to employees).

#2 ELIGIBILITY: The fact that certain real estate brokerage services can be provided under Governor Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order does not automatically disqualify real estate brokers from being eligible for PUA.

#3 NOT ALL BROKERS WILL QUALIFY: Some real estate brokers will not receive PUA benefits because some brokers will still perform a certain level of work during the COVID-19 crisis, and thus will not be considered unemployed or under-employed. Even though brokers may work less and will have reduced income, that does not guarantee receipt of PUA benefits.

#4 GUIDANCE IS BEING DEVELOPED: ESD is currently developing guidance for self-employed workers to determine what level of unemployment or underemployment would result in a self-employed worker receiving PUA benefits.

#5 YOU CAN APPLY NOW OR WAIT UNTIL LATER: ESD is still developing the system for applications from independent contractors, so you can wait a few weeks or months to apply. The PUA program runs until December 31, 2020. If you believe you may be considered unemployed or underemployed during March or April 2020 because of the COVID-19 crisis, you can apply now following the next steps…

#6 ACTIONS TO TAKE: ESD anticipates self-employed workers being able to apply to PUA benefits on April 20. ESD has directed self-employed workers to first complete the on-line application for regular UI benefits, solely for the purpose of being denied regular UI eligibility. Brokers should visit this website here: https://secure.esd.wa.gov/home/ and obtain a SAW (Secure Access Washington) account. Creating this account is necessary to apply for PUA in the future.

#7 A NOTE ON FILLING OUT THE APPLICATION: When self-employed real estate brokers complete this application process, they should not indicate that they have “worked 680 hours for” the real estate firm where they maintain their real estate license. This part of the regular UI application process is only for employees, not for self-employed workers. Self-employed real estate brokers should check “NO” in response to this question.

Washington REALTORS® will provide an update when new information is available.

SOURCE

/by

Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grants

Governor Inslee is offering a new Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant program to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Up to $5 million in funds are provided through the Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund and administered by the State Department of Commerce. The grant program will provide a limited number of businesses in Washington’s 39 counties with a grant up to $10,000.

Process

  • Small businesses that qualify for the grant program will submit applications through their local county/regional economic development organizations.
  • Emails for submitting completed applications to these economic development organizations are listed to the right.
  • County/regional economic development organizations will prioritize applications based on the severity of the impact the business is facing due to COVID-19, including from being forced to close by the government-mandated closures, social distancing measures or illness.
  • Recommended awards will be sent to the Department of Commerce for review and vetting.
  • Qualifying applications will be forwarded to the Governor for review and signature.
  • Your local ADO will administer approved awards to the successful company.
  • Awards will be approved on a case-by-case basis and are dependent on the availability of funds. The objective is to support businesses through the crisis and enable them to retain as many employees as possible.

Eligibility

  • Applicants should have been in business for at least one year.
  • Businesses with up to 10 full-time employees (FTEs) may apply for a one-time grant of up to $10,000.
  • Funding is not meant to help launch a business, but to support existing businesses who are specifically affected by the COVID-19 crisis and are vital members of their local community.
  • Applicants are eligible to receive one Working Washington Grant award during the current budget cycle, which ends on 06/30/2021.

Grant Awards

  • County/regional economic development organizations will be asked to verify the size of candidate companies prior to submission.
  • For each award, local economic/development organizations are encouraged to be judicious in discerning an appropriate and proportional amount based on necessity to the business and the business’ importance to the local community so as to ensure that this emergency resource can be utilized by companies across communities

Click here for application information and to apply!

SOURCE

/by

Black Knight Releases COVID-19 White Paper

As the world grapples with the impact of COVID-19, Black Knight, Inc. has assessed many of the potential effects of the pandemic on the real estate and mortgage industries. Leveraging Black Knight’s extensive property, home price and loan-level mortgage data, proprietary analytics, as well as third-party information, the company has released an extensive white paper that provides an in-depth evaluation of the impact the extended disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic may have on the housing and mortgage industries.

“These are unprecedented times, for the world as a whole and for the real estate and mortgage industries specifically,” said Black Knight CEO Anthony Jabbour. “Given Black Knight’s leadership position in the industry – and our extensive data, research and analytics capabilities – we felt compelled to assess this situation for our clients and the markets we serve. The true effect of the nation’s response to the pandemic, including social distancing and shelter-in-place orders in some areas, remains to be seen. One thing is certain, though: the regulatory and operational issues this situation presents are significant. Our clients are already working to assist consumers under the new regulatory requirements of the CARES Act, and will be required to make additional changes to effectively deal with other rapidly growing business challenges.

Many aspects of the real estate and mortgage process, including property showings, listings and sales – as well as critical services, such as inspections and appraisals – are already being affected due to social distancing. Disruption to many necessary aspects of real estate closings, including the fact that many county recorder offices are now closed, is exacerbating the issue. Market and rate volatility are bringing additional uncertainty to the housing market, home affordability, refinance incentive and portfolio retention risk. More than 10 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the weeks since COVID-19 was labeled a pandemic. These rising unemployment rates have already resulted in a surge of COVID-19-driven forbearance requests and associated operational challenges, and increased mortgage defaults are likely. Further, as potentially millions of Americans seek forbearances from their mortgage lenders, servicers will ultimately wrestle with many billions of dollars in principal and interest payment advances that need to be made to investors every month.

The thorough, informative white paper also details the existing technology solutions that can help address many of the negative effects of the pandemic on the real estate and mortgage markets. Black Knight’s years of investment and innovation in digital mortgage technology – as well as automated and remote valuation technology and eClose solutions – allow a majority of the mortgage application, underwriting and closing processes to happen online and remotely. Likewise, technology solutions such as Black Knight’s Loss Mitigation module of its industry-leading MSP servicing system will be essential in systematically identifying and engaging borrowers who are eligible for forbearance programs, as well as a variety of loan modification options and post-forbearance workout plans. Black Knight has issued an additional white paper for its MSP clients that details the way the system can help servicers manage specific challenges resulting from this crisis.

“Black Knight moves forward in these uncertain days with an even greater sense of urgency to support our clients,” Jabbour continued. “Our commitment to them remains our top priority. The right technology partner is critical in times such as this. As our clients’ business partner, it’s essential for us to provide them both a truly holistic view of the mortgage and housing lifecycle and near real-time data and actionable intelligence for effective decision-making. Black Knight remains dedicated to being that partner for all of our clients, across the entire real estate-mortgage continuum.”

Much more detail on the impact of COVID-19 on the mortgage and real estate industries, as well as challenges and solutions relevant to individual market segments, can be found in Black Knight’s special briefing. The company’s white paper is available to download for free at this link.

As this crisis remains a very fluid situation, with changes occurring on a daily basis, Black Knight will continue to monitor the industry impact and implications and provide supplemental updates via Vision, the Black Knight blog. Those interested in staying up-to-date on industry developments are encouraged to visit the blog for more information in the coming days and weeks.

SOURCE

/by