Safeguard Properties

FHFA Announces Updates to the Enterprises’ Single-Family Pricing Framework

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 19, 2023

Source:  Federal Housing Finance Agency

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced further changes to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) single-family pricing framework by introducing redesigned and recalibrated upfront fee matrices for purchase, rate-term refinance, and cash-out refinance loans.

“These changes to upfront fees will strengthen the safety and soundness of the Enterprises by enhancing their ability to improve their capital position over time,” said Director Sandra L. Thompson. “By locking in the upfront fee eliminations announced last October, FHFA is taking another step to ensure that the Enterprises advance their mission of facilitating equitable and sustainable access to homeownership.”​​

The priorities outlined in the 2022 and 2023 Scorecards for the Enterprises include developing a pricing framework to maintain support for single-family purchase borrowers limited by weal​th or income, while also ensuring a level playing field for large and small sellers, fostering capital accumulation, and achieving commercially viable returns on capital.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Valuation of Mortgage Servicing Rights for Managing Counterparty Credit Risk

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 12, 2023

Source:  Federal Housing Finance Industry

This Advisory Bulletin communicates FHFA’s supervisory expectations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively, the Enterprises or individually, an Enterprise) to establish and implement risk management policies and procedures for monitoring and valuing seller/servicers’ mortgage servicing rights (MSRs).[1],[2]​ Enterprise-wide risk management policies and procedures should be commensurate with an Enterprise’s risk appetite, and based on an assessment of seller/servicer financial strength and MSR risk exposure levels. Although seller/servicers assign values to their MSRs, the Enterprises should have their own processes to evaluate the reasonableness of seller/servicer MSR values.

This bulletin applies to only MSRs for single-family mortgage loans and is effective April 1, 2023.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – Georgia Severe Weather

Posted on by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 16, 2023

***UPDATED 2/13/23***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Georgia to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts in areas affected by severe weather on January 12, 2023.  The following areas have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance:

  • Butts
  • Henry
  • Jasper
  • Meriwether
  • Newton
  • Pike
  • Spalding
  • Troup

Public Assistance:

  • Butts
  • Crisp
  • Henry
  • Jasper
  • Meriwether
  • Newton
  • Spalding
  • Troup

 

Georgia Severe Weather (DR-4685-GA)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Georgia

Map of Affected Areas

List of Affected Zip Codes

 

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – Alabama Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes

Posted on by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 15, 2023

***UPDATED 2/3/23***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Alabama to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts in areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes on January 12, 2023.  The following areas have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance:

  • Autauga
  • Coosa
  • Dallas
  • Elmore
  • Greene
  • Hale
  • Mobile
  • Morgan
  • Sumter
  • Tallapoosa

Public Assistance:

  • Autauga
  • Barbour
  • Chambers
  • Conecuh
  • Coosa
  • Dallas
  • Elmore
  • Greene
  • Hale
  • Sumter
  • Tallapoosa

 

Alabama Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes (DR-4684-AL)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Alabama

Map of Affected Areas

List of Affected Zip Codes

 

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – California Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

Posted on by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 14, 2023

***UPDATED 3/1/2023***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of California to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts in areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides beginning December 27, 2022 and continuing.  The following areas have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance:

  • Alameda
  • Amador
  • Calaveras
  • Contra Costa
  • Mendocino
  • Merced
  • Monterey
  • Sacramento
  • San Joaquin
  • San Luis Obispo
  • San Mateo
  • Santa Barbara
  • Santa Cruz
  • Ventura

Public Assistance:

  • Alameda
  • Alpine
  • Amador
  • Butte
  • Calaveras
  • Colusa
  • Contra Costa
  • Del Norte
  • El Dorado
  • Fresno
  • Glenn
  • Humboldt
  • Inyo
  • Los Angeles
  • Madera
  • Marin
  • Mendocino
  • Merced
  • Monterey
  • Napa
  • Nevada
  • Placer
  • Sacramento
  • San Benito
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco
  • San Joaquin
  • San Luis Obispo
  • San Mateo
  • Santa Barbara
  • Santa Clara
  • Santa Cruz
  • Siskiyou
  • Solano
  • Sonoma
  • Stanislaus
  • Sutter
  • Tehama
  • Trinity
  • Tulare
  • Tuolumne
  • Ventura
  • Yolo

 

California Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides and Mudslides (DR-4683-CA)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for California

Map of Affected Areas

List of Affected Zip Codes

 

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

Black Knight Announces the Developer Portal, a Comprehensive Catalog of APIs to Enhance Integration and Efficiency for Clients

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 12, 2023

Source:  www.prnewswire.com

Black Knight, Inc. announced the launch of its new Developer Portal – a one-stop storefront where clients, third-party providers and their developers will have access to the company’s catalog of application program interfaces (APIs) across the mortgage life cycle. APIs expose business functionality and client data that are neatly packaged into reusable services that follow industry standard protocols and conventions to allow ease of integration. Clients can use Black Knight’s APIs to rapidly embed additional functionality within their applications, which can help drive intuitive and frictionless experiences in their user journeys.

As an extension of Black Knight’s commitment to delivering new innovations and seamless connections to the market, the Developer Portal provides a central repository of documentation detailing the application connections Black Knight offers. This catalog of APIs includes web APIs, web services, webhooks and other integration tools. The Developer Portal also contains a self-service interface where clients can search for and browse API specifications, product overviews, implementation documentation, user guides and more.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Foreclosure Activity Doubles Annually but Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 12, 2023

Source:  ATTOM

ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data, released its Year-End 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings— default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 324,237 U.S. properties in 2022, up 115 percent from 2021 but down 34 percent from 2019, before the pandemic shook up the market. Foreclosure filings in 2022 were also down 89 percent from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010.

Those 324,237 properties with foreclosure filings in 2022 represented 0.23 percent of all U.S. housing units, up slightly from 0.11 percent in 2021, but down from 0.36 percent in 2019 and down from a peak of 2.23 percent in 2010.

“Eighteen months after the end of the government’s foreclosure moratorium, and with less than five percent of the 8.4 million borrowers who entered the CARES Act forbearance program remaining, foreclosure activity remains significantly lower than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. “It seems clear that government and mortgage industry efforts during the pandemic, coupled with a strong economy, have helped prevent millions of unnecessary foreclosures.”

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – Washington Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

Posted on by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 12, 2023

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Washington to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts in areas affected by a severe winter storm, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides from November 3-8, 2022.  The following areas have been approved for assistance:

Public Assistance:

  • Clallam
  • Island
  • Jefferson
  • Lewis
  • Okanogan
  • Skagit
  • Skamania
  • Snohomish
  • Wahkiakum

 

Washington Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (DR-4682-WA)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Washington

List of Affected Zip Codes

 

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

Washington to Begin Enforcing Blight-Related Ordinances

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 4, 2023

Source:  observer-reporter.com

Three ordinances designed to combat blight in the city of Washington can begin to be enforced Friday.

Council voted to approve the ordinances at a special meeting Dec. 27, and Mayor Scott Putnam explained that they can start to be enforced seven days after approval.

One of the ordinances amends current regulations of abandoned properties and establishes an abandoned residential/commercial property regulation program.

Under the new regulation, owners of such properties must have an inspection of the property. If it is found to be vacant and/or abandoned, the property must be registered within 90 days of the city’s Department of Code Enforcement.

All maintenance and security requirements must be upheld and monthly inspections are necessary to make sure those requirements are being met. Violations can result in a fine of $500.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land Bank in Works for County

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 4, 2023

Source:  www.columbusmessanger.com

Local government leaders have started the process of creating a land bank. The first organizational meeting likely will take place later this month.

A land bank, known formally as a land reutilization corporation, is a public authority or non-profit organization that acquires unproductive properties for the purpose of returning them to productive use in the community. Their parameters are outlined in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC).

“Our goal is to take properties that are not contributing to the local tax base and local community–properties the private market doesn’t seem to want at this time–then make them attractive for new investment,” said David Kell, Madison County’s director of economic development and planning.

Land banks can acquire land through tax foreclosures, municipal government transfers, auctions, donations, or open-market purchases. The Madison County land bank likely will focus on acquiring land through foreclosures, Kell said, with some land donations, as well.

“We don’t want to disrupt the private market,” Kell said. “If an individual or company wants to buy a property through the normal processes, that’s what we encourage. This is more for donated property or property that doesn’t sell at auction.”

For full report, please click the source link above.