Law360, New York (August 17, 2011, 4:25 PM EDT) -- For years, mortgage lenders and servicers have faced housing court complaints in which cities like Chicago complain that mortgaged properties are unsafe or in need of maintenance or repair to comply with city building codes. In some cases, the properties are held as real estate owned (REO), and the lender, as the property owner, is rightly responsible for the property. But in other cases, the property may have been abandoned by its owner or the subject of a foreclosure proceeding. In those cases, the lender is not yet in possession of the property and risks being sued by homeowners if the lender takes steps to secure a property before a foreclosure is complete....