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GAO: Natural Disasters and FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program
Source: GAO (full blog) In September 2018, Hurricane Florence brought record-setting floods to the Carolinas and another major deployment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The numbers aren’t in yet on Florence’s impact, but in 2017, California wildfires, Atlantic hurricanes and other natural disasters affected about 25.8 million people in the United States. About 4.7 million of […]
27 Sep 2018
HUD OIG: HUD Paid an Estimated $413 Million for Unnecessary Preforeclosure Claim Interest and Other Costs Due to Lender Servicing Delays
Source: HUD OIG (full report) SUMMARY: We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) preforeclosure sale claim process based on an internal Office of Inspector General audit suggestion noting that existing regulations may allow excessive preforeclosure claim interest costs. Our audit objective was to determine the amount of unnecessary preforeclosure […]
27 Sep 2018
Fannie Mae: Improved Expense Reimbursement; MI Factor; and More
Source: Fannie Mae Announcement SVC-2018-07: Foreclosure Sale Marketing and Foreclosure Auction Services We are updating our policies in an off-cycle Servicing Guide Announcement by: Adding a new vendor to our Third Party Sale Program; Requiring servicers to use a Fannie Mae-approved vendor for foreclosure sale marketing services in certain jurisdictions (refer to Third Party Sales Foreclosure Bidding Instructionsas an […]
26 Sep 2018
FHFA: Foreclosure Prevention Report – Second Quarter 2018
Second Quarter 2018 Highlights The Enterprises’ Foreclosure Prevention Actions: The Enterprises completed 70,945 foreclosure prevention actions in the second quarter, bringing the total to 4,179,581 since the start of conservatorships in September 2008. Of these actions, 3,491,670 have helped troubled homeowners stay in their homes, including 2,238,770 permanent loan modifications. Twenty-five percent of modifications in […]
26 Sep 2018
FHLMC Guide Bulletin 2018-16: Duty to Serve Affordable Housing Preservation and Rural Housing
Source: Freddie Mac As part of our Duty to Serve plan, we’re announcing new and revised underwriting guidelines to facilitate a secondary market for mortgages that support affordable housing preservation and rural housing. Please review our Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin 2018-16 for details on the following: Selling and servicing requirements for our Community Land Trust mortgage offering […]
26 Sep 2018
MHA: HAMP Update: Reporting System Maintenance Outage September 28, 2018 – October 1, 2018
Source: MHA Due to a planned maintenance release, the HAMP Reporting System will be unavailable from 9:00 p.m. ET Friday, September 28, 2018 through 8:00 a.m. ET Monday, October 1, 2018. During this timeframe, HAMP Reporting System response files will not be available and will be sent as soon as the system is available.
25 Sep 2018
State Supreme Court Restores Powerful Blight-Fighting Tool
Plan Philly published an article discussing a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that reaffirms the City of Philadelphia’s ability to force property owners to maintain the appearances of their vacant buildings.
25 Sep 2018
HUD and Puerto Rico Ink $1.5 Billion Disaster Recovery Grant Agreement
Source: HUD Action paves the path to repair housing, businesses and infrastructure WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson and Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rosselló today announced the formal execution of a $1.5 billion grant agreement to help citizens in Puerto Rico to recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The […]
21 Sep 2018
FEMA Declared Disaster Montana
FEMA issued an update to a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Montana affected by flooding from April 12 to May 6, 2018.
21 Sep 2018
Fannie Mae: Servicing Guide Updates; SMDU Enhancements; and More
Source: Fannie Mae Announcement SVC-2018-06: Servicing Guide updates The Fannie Mae Servicing Guide has been updated with changes that: Transfer payment responsibility from servicers to Fannie Mae for co-op fees and assessments, and property taxes and ground rents, for all properties in Fannie Mae’s REO inventory. Reduce the complexity of Texas Section 50(a)(6) loan modifications under our Cap […]
19 Sep 2018
USDA: Servicing Relief to Borrowers Affected by Hurricane Florence
Source: USDA This announcement outlines relief measures loan holders and loan servicers should implement to assist USDA Rural Development Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) borrowers affected by Hurricane Florence. Homeowners impacted by the hurricane may be eligible for temporary relief and the determination of eligibility may require a property inspection. Due to […]
19 Sep 2018
FHLMC Guide Bulletin 2018-14: Servicing Updates
Source: Freddie Mac Please review Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin 2018-14 for important updates for Servicing Freddie Mac loans. This Guide Bulletin: Updates borrower evaluation notices and solicitation letters. Announces a new temporary reimbursement process for property inspections related to insurance loss settlements. Provides updates related to the Investor Reporting Change Initiative. Updates our reporting requirements for third-party […]
18 Sep 2018
Fannie Mae: Don’t Let Fraud Add to the Pain of a Natural Disaster
Source: Fannie Mae Hurricane Florence has battered the Carolinas and surrounding areas with historic rainfall and flooding, and remnants of the storm are expected to continue for days. Around this same time last year, Hurricane Harvey pummeled many southern U.S. states and Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria, both storms leaving behind unprecedented destruction. While […]
18 Sep 2018
VA: Circular 26-18-18: Special Relief Following Hurricane Florence
Source: VA 1. Purpose. This Circular expresses concern about the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan borrowers affected by Hurricane Florence, and describes measures mortgagees may employ to provide relief. Mortgage servicers and borrowers alike should review VA’s Guidance on Natural Disasters to ensure Veterans receive the assistance they need. (https://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/documents/docs/va_policy_regarding_natural_disasters. pdf) or https://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/docs/admin26/m26_04/Chapter_21.docx. 2. Forbearance Request. VA […]
18 Sep 2018
Fannie Mae Reverse Mortgage Loan Servicing Manual Announcement RVS-2018-03
Source: Fannie Mae Reverse Mortgage Loan Servicing Manual Update The Reverse Mortgage Loan Servicing Manual has been updated to include changes related to the servicer requirement to pay ground rents, co-op fees and assessments, and property taxes for certain properties in Fannie Mae’s REO inventory. This policy change is applicable to all reverse mortgage loans. Relieving […]
18 Sep 2018
Congressman Tim Ryan Spearheads Bipartisan Effort to Eliminate Neighborhood Blight
The office of U.S. Representative Tim Ryan issued a press release announcing the introduction of H.R. 6792 (Clean Up Our Neighborhoods Act of 2018). The bill aims to authorize the secretary of housing and urban development to make grants to states to eliminate blight by taking down abandoned homes, clearing vacant lots, and assist in distressed neighborhood revitalization.
18 Sep 2018