Page 188 – Safeguard Properties

FEMA Declared Disaster Tennessee

Posted on April 28, 2020May 13, 2020 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert Update
May 8, 2020

FEMA issued an update to a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Tennessee affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding that took place April 12-13, 2020.

The following county is eligible for assistance:

Public Assistance

Unicoi

Tennessee Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding (DR-4541 Amendment 1)

FEMA Declared Disaster Tennessee: ZIP Code List

FEMA Alert
April 24, 2020

FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Tennessee affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding that took place April 12-13, 2020.

The following counties are eligible for assistance:

Individual Assistance

Bradley
Hamilton

Public Assistance

Bradley
Campbell
Hamilton
Marion
Monroe
Polk
Scott
Washington

Tennessee Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding (DR-4541)

FEMA Declared Disaster Tennessee: ZIP Code List

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 Declared Disaster Mississippi

Posted on April 28, 2020June 26, 2020 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert Update
June 25, 2020

FEMA issued an update to a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Mississippi affected by severe storms, flooding and mudslides that took place February 10-18, 2020.

The following counties are eligible for assistance:

Public Assistance

Issaquena
Marion
Sharkey

Mississippi Severe Storms, Flooding and Mudslides (DR-4538 Amendment 3)

FEMA Declared Disaster Mississippi: ZIP Code List

FEMA Alert Update
May 29, 2020

FEMA issued an update to a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Mississippi affected by severe storms, flooding and mudslides that took place February 10-18, 2020.

The following county is eligible for assistance:

Public Assistance

Wilkinson

Mississippi Severe Storms, Flooding and Mudslides (DR-4538 Amendment 2)

FEMA Declared Disaster Mississippi: ZIP Code List

FEMA Alert
April 23, 2020

FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Mississippi affected by severe storms, flooding and mudslides that took place February 10-18, 2020.

The following counties are eligible for assistance:

Public Assistance

Attala
Carroll
Claiborne
Clay
Copiah
Grenada

Hinds
Holmes
Leflore
Warren
Yazoo

Mississippi Severe Storms, Flooding and Mudslides (DR-4538)

FEMA Declared Disaster Mississippi: ZIP Code List

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 Declared Disaster Washington

Posted on April 28, 2020April 28, 2020 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
April 23, 2020

FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Washington affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that took place January 20 to February 10, 2020.

The following counties are eligible for assistance:

Public Assistance

Columbia
Garfield
Grays Harbor
Island
King
Lewis
Mason
Pacific

San Juan
Skagit
Snohomish
Thurston
Wahkiakum
Walla Walla
Whatcom

Washington Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides and Mudslides (DR-4539)

FEMA Declared Disaster Washington: ZIP Code List

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

FHFA: Reporting by Regulated Entities of Stress Testing Results as of December 31, 2019

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Safeguard

Investor Update
April 27, 2020

Source: FHFA

Federal Register Citation: 85 FR 23219 / PDF Format

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) provides notice that it issued Orders, dated March 10, 2020, with respect to stress test reporting as of December 31, 2019, under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), as amended by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA). Summary Instructions and Guidance accompanied the Orders to provide testing scenarios.

DATES: Each Order is applicable March 10, 2020.

FHFA: New COO Announced

Posted on April 27, 2020April 27, 2020 by Safeguard

Investor Update
April 27, 2020

Source: FHFA

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced that Kate Fulton will join FHFA as Chief Operating Officer on May 26, 2020.

Fulton comes to FHFA from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) where she currently serves as COO under Director Kathy Kraninger. She brings extensive experience in federal agency operations, including personnel law, administrative operations, information technology, and financial management. Over her seven years at CFPB, she has held progressively more responsible management roles, from Senior Advisor in the Division of Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending to Deputy Chief of Staff under Director Richard Cordray and Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.

Prior to joining the Bureau, Fulton worked at the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and at a law firm representing federal employees. Fulton holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and a B.A. in Communications from the University of Maryland, College Park. She lives in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband and two children.

FHFA’s acting Chief Operating Officer, Lawrence Stauffer, will help with the transition and continue to serve FHFA in his previous role as a Special Advisor in the Division of Resolutions.

Contacts:
Media: Raffi Williams Raffi.Williams@FHFA.gov

CFPB: Mortgage Loan Transfer Process to Prevent Consumer Harm

Posted on April 27, 2020April 27, 2020 by Safeguard

Industry Update
April 24, 2020

Source: CFPB

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today outlined practices to provide mortgage servicers clarity, facilitate compliance, and prevent harm to consumers during the transfer of residential mortgages.

A mortgage servicer typically collects and processes loan payments on behalf of the owner of the mortgage note, conducts escrow-related processes, and handles loss mitigation, as appropriate. Servicing transfers are common and may occur in several ways. The mortgage owner may sell the rights to service the loan, the owner of the loan may hire a vendor–typically called a sub-servicer to take on the servicing duties–or the entity that owns the loan may outright sell the mortgage loan as an asset.

As consumers do not have a choice with respect to the transfer of servicing, compliance with regulatory requirements is especially important in risk mitigation and preventing consumer harm.

Examples of practices that servicers may consider as contributing to compliance include:

• Developing a servicing transfer plan that includes a communications plan, testing plan (for system conversion), a timeline with key milestones and an escalation plan for potential problems;

• Engaging in quality control work after a transfer of preliminary data to validate that the data on the transferee’s system matches the data submitted by the transferor;

• Determining servicing responsibilities for legacy accounts including tax reporting, credit bureau reporting and other questions that may arise;

• Conducting a post-transfer review or de-brief to determine effectiveness of the transfer plan and whether any gaps have arisen that require resolution; and

• Monitoring consumer complaints and loss mitigation performance metrics. The CFPB emphasizes the importance of post-transfer monitoring to ensure that transferred data is complete, accurate and functional for the transferee.

• Identifying any loans in default, active foreclosure and bankruptcy or any forbearance agreements entered in with the borrower. Where applicable include loss mitigation activity for each loan, including status and notes pertaining to the loss mitigation action.

“Consumers should experience a seamless process when their mortgage servicer changes. The guidance we released today will facilitate a well-functioning mortgage servicer transfer process, providing a roadmap for servicers that will prevent consumer harm,” said CFPB Director Kathleen L. Kraninger. “The guidance provides insights the CFPB has gained through years of supervisory and enforcement work to oversee compliance with regulations updated after the financial crisis.”

Since 2014 when significant changes to Regulation X mortgage servicing rules took effect, the CFPB has found weakness in how some servicers manage mortgage transfers. When transferring a loan, servicers should have policies and procedures reasonably designed to transfer all of the information and documents in their possession or control relating to a transferred mortgage loan, such as, a unique identifier for each loan, the terms of the loan, current unpaid principal balance as of a specific date, information concerning any escrow, and copies of any loss mitigation applications submitted by a borrower and of any loss mitigation agreements agreed to with a borrower. Such actions can prevent consumer harm, for example, ensuring there is no lag in paying the borrower’s taxes and insurance from escrow accounts.

The CFPB began developing this guidance well before the coronavirus pandemic, in consultation with interagency and intergovernmental partners. Recognizing the particular challenges that entities may face as a result of the pandemic, if a servicing transfer is requested or required by a federal regulator or by the security issuer of “Government Loans,” the CFPB intends to consider such challenges, including operational and time constraints related to the transfer, and to be sensitive to good-faith efforts demonstrably designed to transfer the servicing without adverse impact to consumers. The CFPB intends to focus any supervisory feedback for institutions, if needed, on identifying issues, correcting deficiencies, and ensuring appropriate remediation for consumers.

Read the guidance

VA: Circular 26-18-3: Acceptance of Properties

Posted on April 24, 2020April 24, 2020 by Safeguard

Updated 4/20/20: Extended rescission date of the original circular.

Circular 26-18-3 (Change 1)

Investor Update
February 23, 2018

Source: VA

1. Purpose. This Circular provides guidance on requests for execution of documents related to the conveyance or reconveyance of properties to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide specific details to those authorized to sign documents for the Secretary, and to those who submit such documents.

2. Background. Conveyance of properties to the Secretary is addressed in Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), section 36.4323, titled “Election to Convey Security”. This section discusses the conditions in which a loan servicer that acquires a property which secured a VAguaranteed loan at a liquidation sale, via foreclosure or through acceptance of a deed-in-lieu of
foreclosure, may decide to transfer the property to the Secretary. The regulation provides that the conveyance is subject to a number of provisions, particularly that the servicer will convey the title to the Secretary via a special warranty deed and must provide evidence to the Secretary of acceptability of title (which need not be provided if transfer is via a general warranty deed). The fact that the VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) accepts the Transfer of Custody (TOC) event to report the notice of election to convey, this does not mean the Secretary has actually accepted conveyance of the property until all provisions of 38 CFR 36.4323 are satisfied.

To access full circular, please click the source link above.

VA: Circular 26-18-5: Property Management and Servicing Contract

Posted on April 24, 2020April 24, 2020 by Safeguard

Updated 4/20/20: Extended rescission date of the original circular.

Circular 26-18-5 (Change 1)

Investor Update
February 27, 2018

Source: VA

1. Purpose. This Circular provides details concerning operational matters related to VA’s Real Estate Owned (REO) and direct loan portfolio, also known as VA’s National Portfolio, performed by Vendor Resource Management (VRM) under the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) REO and Portfolio Servicing Contract (RPSC).

2. Background. In connection with the termination of loans guaranteed by VA, servicers have the option to convey to VA the properties acquired at liquidation sales. VA manages these properties (known as REO) through disposition, which includes management, marketing, and disposition activities. VA has sold those acquired properties with seller financing, known as a Vendee loan, which required loan servicing by VA. In addition, VA has, from time to time, acquired or refunded VA-guaranteed loans from private servicers in order to modify the loans at terms beyond the capability of the private servicers so that Veteran borrowers will be able to retain their homes. These loans are known as repurchase loans (4600 or loans repurchased under 38 C.F.R. 36.4600) and refunded loans (loans acquired under 38 Code of Federal Regulations [C.F.R.] 36.4320),
respectively. VA also makes direct loans to Native American Veterans on trust lands under the Native American Direct Loan (NADL) program. In aggregate, these four loan products are known as the National Portfolio. The servicing of the National Portfolio is one of the components that is outsourced to a private contractor under the RPSC contract. This contract was awarded to Vendor Resource Management (VRM) on June 1, 2017, with an effective date of July 1, 2017, for up to 10
years. This contract also includes the facilitation and management of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) properties. Through this contract, VRM subcontracts the mortgage servicing of VA’s National Portfolio. Effective December 1, 2017, mortgage servicing will be subcontracted by VRM to BSI Financial Services.

To access full circular, please click the source link above.

VA: Circular 26-20-16: Guidance for Non-Compliant Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans

Posted on April 24, 2020April 24, 2020 by Safeguard

Investor Update
April 20, 2020

Source: VA

1. Purpose. The purpose of this Circular is to outline VA’s expectations regarding loans that fail to meet the statutory requirements set forth in section 309 of Public Law 115-174, The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the Act), and codified at 38 U.S.C. § 3709.

2. Background. Section 309 of the Act provides statutory criteria, i.e., fee recoupment, net tangible benefit test, and loan seasoning, that affect whether VA can guarantee refinance loans. VA notified lenders in VA Circular 26-19-22, Clarification and Updates to Policy Guidance for VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans (IRRRLs), that to receive and retain the full amount of VA’s guaranty, an IRRRL must meet the requirements of the Act. The Circular also informed lenders that they may take steps to cure noncompliant IRRRLs where the loan application was initiated on or after May 25, 2018, and before the publication date of the Circular, August 8, 2019.

3. Action. Lenders must ensure that all IRRRLs comply with the requirements outlined in VA Circular 26-19-22. VA expects lenders to self-identify, review, and cure any noncompliant VA-guaranteed IRRRLs at no cost to the borrower(s). Effective immediately, all lenders must:

a. Enterprise Level Reporting. Submit a list of all VA-guaranteed IRRRLs that currently do not meet statutory requirements, or were found to be non-compliant, in a given business quarter. The report must be submitted to VA by the 1st of every business quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1, September 1). Lenders without an IRRRL that is currently non-compliant should not file the report and/or notify VA. This report will be emailed to the Regional Loan Center (RLC) of jurisdiction for the lender’s corporate office. The email addresses for each of the RLCs are available at: https://www.benefits.va.gov/HOMELOANS/contact_rlc_info.asp.

(1) The report will include the methodology used to identify the noncompliant IRRRLs. The report will include all currently non-compliant IRRRLs with application dates on or after May 25, 2019, that have not been cured, regardless of whether they were reported in prior quarters. For each IRRRL listed, the lender must provide a certification that all noncompliant IRRRLs have been cured (or are in the process of being cured). For each loan, the lender must provide the VA LIN (Loan Identification Number) and all statutory requirement(s) that the loan does not meet (e.g., fee recoupment, net tangible benefit, loan seasoning, etc.).

b. Loan Level Reporting. Determine a plan to cure any noncompliant IRRRLs at no cost to the borrower(s). Loan cures may include, but are not limited to, interest rate reductions, principal balance reductions of fees and costs, or new refinance loans. If the loan has been paid in full, the lender can issue a check to the Veteran to cure a non-compliant IRRRL that resulted in financial losses (i.e. failure to meet recoupment, interest rate reduction requirements, etc). Please note that whatever action is taken, it must not result in any additional costs, such as VA funding fees, discount points, or other loan-related fees and charges (i.e., appraisal fee, closing fee, title fee, credit report fee), to the borrower(s).

(1) The lender must provide supporting documentation of the cure. Supporting documentation must include evidence of the non-compliance such as the recoupment calculation, Closing Disclosure, first payment due date, etc. for review, outline the cure method(s), how borrowers are notified of the cure(s), the approximate timeframe for curing the IRRRLs, together with an actual/target completion date, and any curative actions completed to date. Corrective action and supporting documentation must be uploaded into WebLGY “Correspondence” as Document Association “IRRRL” > Document Type “IRRRL
Disclosure Compliance”. (Note: These documents should NOT be submitted to VA as a prior approval request.)

c. Loan seasoning issues. There is no cure for loan seasoning violations. For loan seasoning violations, VA will allow the lender to execute an indemnification agreement for the life of the loan, holding VA harmless against any and all claims associated with the VA guaranty. However, if these IRRRLs have other deficiencies that can be corrected (i.e., net tangible benefit and/or fee recoupment), lenders must cure these deficiencies before contacting VA regarding the indemnification agreement.

4. Oversight of Lender Actions. VA will audit non-compliant IRRRLs to ensure that appropriate action(s) was taken to bring the loans into compliance and that such action(s) did not result in any cost to the borrower(s). VA will notify the lender of any cure deficiencies identified and will provide the lender an opportunity to cure the deficiency.

5. Additional Questions. Enclosed with this Circular are some Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) labeled Exhibit A. For additional questions, please contact your VA Regional Loan
Center (RLC) by calling 1-877-827-3702 within the hours of operation between 8am to 6pm
EST.

6. Rescission: This Circular is rescinded April 1, 2023.

By Direction of the Under Secretary for Benefits

Jeffrey F. London
Director
Loan Guaranty Service

Tornadoes Damage Homes in Four States

Posted on April 23, 2020April 24, 2020 by Safeguard

Updated 4/23/20: The Weather Channel issued a report outlining continued severe storm activity affecting the Southern U.S.

Widespread Damage, Injuries, Flooding Reported as Storms Batter South for Second Day

Additional locations sustaining structural damage:

Mississippi

– Sandersville (Jones County, 39477)
– Shady Grove (Jones County, 39443)
– Soso (Jones County, 39480)

Disaster Alert
April 23, 2020

Source: The Weather Channel

Approximate locations (according to media outlets) sustaining structural damage:

Tornadoes

Georgia
– Moultrie (Colquitt County, 31768, 31776, 31788)

Oklahoma
– Madill (Marshall County, 73446)

Louisiana
– Alexandria (Rapides Parish, 71301, 71302, 71303, 71306, 71307, 71309, 71315)
– Woodworth (Rapides Parish, 71485)
*Concentrated damage reported in Robinson Bridge Road area

Texas
– Onalaska (Polk County, 77360)
*Damage reported in 10 subdivisions, including Paradise Acres

– Seven Oaks (Polk County, 77350)

Flooding

Louisiana

– Mansfield (DeSoto Parish, 71052)
*At least 20 homes reported as flooded

NOTE: This has not yet been declared a FEMA Major Disaster.