Safeguard Properties

Tropical Depression Imelda Drenching Texas Coast

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Updated 11/8/19: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a circular that expresses concern about VA home loan borrowers affected by Tropical Storm Imelda and describes measures mortgagees may employ to provide relief.

Circular 26-19-29: Special Relief Following Tropical Storm Imelda

Updated 10/24/19: FEMA issued an update to a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Texas affected by Tropical Storm Imelda from September 17 to September 23, 2019.

Texas Tropical Storm Imelda (DR-4466): Amendment 1

Updated 10/4/19: FEMA issued an update to a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Texas affected by Tropical Storm Imelda from September 17 to September 23, 2019.

Texas Tropical Storm Imelda (DR-4466)

Updated 9/20/19: AccuWeather published an article detailing rain accumulations across Southeast Texas resulting from Tropical Depression Imelda.

Imelda’s devastating rains overwhelm southeastern Texas, cause record-setting flooding

Approximate locations reported as hardest hit:

Texas
-Beaumont (Jefferson County, 77701, 77702, 77703, 77704, 77705, 77706, 77707, 77708, 77709, 77710, 77713, 77720, 77725, 77726)*
-Splendora (Montgomery County, 77372)*
-Vidor (Orange County, 77662, 77670)
-Winnie (Chambers County, 77665)*

*Home flooding reported.

Hardest Hit County ZIP Code List


Updated 9/19/19: The office of Texas Governor Greg Abbot issued a state of disaster for 13 counties as a result of Tropical Depression Imelda.

Governor Greg Abbott Declares State Of Disaster As Tropical System Impacts Texas

Associated County ZIP Code List


Updated 9/19/19: CNN published a report offering the latest updates on the remnants of Tropical Depression Imelda as they inundate portions of southeastern Texas with excessive rain.

People in southeastern Texas are urgently warned to stay indoors as Imelda causes widespread flooding (full report)


Disaster Alert
September 17, 2019

Source: The Weather Channel

Additional Resource:

National Weather Service Flood Watch County ZIP Codes (as of 9/18/19):

Texas

Louisiana

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

At a Glance

  • Imelda will produce heavy rain the next few days in parts of Texas and western Louisiana
  • This rainfall could trigger flooding in eastern Texas, despite initially dry soil conditions.
  • Flash flood watches are posted for a part of the upper Texas coast, including Houston, and for a portion of southwestern Louisiana.

Tropical Depression Imelda will deliver rounds of heavy rain to parts eastern Texas and Louisiana the next few days, including in the Houston metro area, triggering flash flooding.

There is a high risk of excessive rainfall for the upper Texas coast Wednesday into Wednesday night, including Houston and Galveston, according to NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. This highest threat level for heavy rain and flooding is only issued about 15 days per year in the United States (2014-2017).

Happening Now

Imelda is moving slowly northward through southeastern Texas with heavy rain extending to the south and east of its circulation center.

Parts of Brazoria, Galveston, Harris and Matagorda counties have picked up over 9 inches of rain from Imelda. The San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge along the coast measured 21.37 inches through 9 a.m. CDT, while more than 15 inches has been received in Freeport.

Rain was falling at the rate of up to 5 inches an hour in Matagorda County early Wednesday morning, where a flash flood warning was issued. Sargent, Texas, picked up just over 17 inches of rain in 12 hours overnight Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, leaving one county road (FM 457) impassable, according to the National Weather Service.

According to Houston Transtar, some high water was reported Wednesday morning on the south side of the Houston metro area along Interstate 45 in Friendswood, along the south Beltway 8 loop and on the southwest Interstate 610 loop.

Flash flood watches have been issued by the National Weather Service for much of the upper Texas coast, including Houston and Galveston, and for a portion of southwestern Louisiana.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FEMA Declared Disaster Arkansas

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FEMA Alert
September 13, 2019

FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Arkansas affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding that took place June 23-24, 2019.

The following counties are eligible for assistance:

Public Assistance

  • Madison
  • Newton
  • Washington

FEMA Arkansas Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes and Flooding (DR-4460)

FEMA Declared Disaster Arkansas: 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

Potential Tropical Storm Moving Toward Florida

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Updated 9/14/19: The Orlando Sentinel published a report offering the latest forecast information for Tropical Storm Humberto.

Tropical Storm Humberto forms, path steers away from Florida (full report)

Disaster Alert
September 13, 2019

Source: The Weather Channel

Additional Resource:

Coastal County ZIP Codes:

Florida (east coast)

Georgia

North Carolina

South Carolina

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

At a Glance

  • Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine is over the central Bahamas.
  • It will likely develop into a tropical depression or tropical storm later Friday.
  • A tropical storm warning has been issued for the northwestern Bahamas.
  • A tropical storm watch has been posted for portions of the Florida east coast.
  • The future track of this system is very uncertain.
  • Interests from the northern Gulf Coast to Florida to the Carolinas should monitor the forecast closely.
  • The potential tropical cyclone will earn the name Humberto if it attains tropical storm status.

Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine is likely to become a tropical depression or tropical storm by Friday night and will pose a threat to the Bahamas, Florida and possibly other parts of the southern United States, including areas devastated by Hurricane Dorian.

A “potential tropical cyclone” allows the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to issue advisories, watches and warnings on systems that have yet to develop but pose a threat of bringing tropical-storm-force (39-plus mph) or hurricane-force (74-plus mph) winds to land areas within 48 hours.

Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine is moving very slowly toward the northwestern Bahamas and producing clusters of showers and thunderstorms over the islands. These convective clusters have become more persistent over the past day.

This disturbance is expected to resume a northwestward motion later today and an increase in forward speed is anticipated this weekend.

The NHC says environmental conditions are favorable for a tropical depression or tropical storm to form within the next day or so and gives this system a high chance of development as it crawls toward the northwestern Bahamas.

It will earn the name Humberto if it does attain tropical storm status. This system is expected to become a hurricane early next week when it is off the Southeast coast.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Twisters Damage South Dakota Homes

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Disaster Alert
September 11, 2019

Source: The Weather Channel

Approximate locations experiencing home damage (tornado, straight-line winds):

South Dakota
Sioux Falls (Minnehaha County, 57103, 57104, 57105, 57106, 57107, 57108, 57110)

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

 

At a Glance

  • Three tornadoes and damaging straight-line winds struck Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Tuesday night.
  • Southern sections of the city have been hardest hit.
  • More than three dozen buildings were damaged.
  • Most of the city’s warning sirens didn’t sound.

As tornadoes and straight-line winds blew off roofs and destroyed buildings Tuesday night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, most of the city’s warning sirens failed to sound.

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said Wednesday that the problem was caused when an employee in the city’s 911 dispatch center didn’t follow the proper procedure to initiate all 77 of the city’s warning sirens, the Argus Herald reported. Instead, only one quarter of them were activated.

“Quite honestly what happened with the system is we just had a human error issue,” TenHaken said.

In a morning press conference, he had called the incident with the outdoor warning system a “breach of protocol” and said the city was investigating, according to the Associated Press.

Most of the sirens were sounded in the southwest part of the city, which sustained much of the major damage, TenHaken said. But sirens are supposed to sound city-wide.

“We’re doing an internal investigation on why that happened, why the existing protocol was not followed,” TenHaken told the Argus Leader. “The city recognizes that, is owning that, and we’ll be taking the proper steps to rectify that.”

Todd Heitkamp, the meteorologist-in-charge at the Sioux Falls National Weather Service, told the newspaper it’s important to note that outdoor warning sirens aren’t specifically tornado sirens. The system is intended to warn people who are outside that a life-threatening situation is happening.

“I can tell you from my stance last night, I heard the siren only because I stood outside wondering what was going to happen right before the storm hit my house,” Heitkamp said.

A preliminary survey from the National Weather Service confirmed that three EF2 tornadoes had touched down, with estimated winds ranging from 125 mph to 130 mph. The NWS said eight people were injured.

Sioux Falls Fire Chief Brad Goodroad said 37 buildings collapsed or now have issues with structural integrity.

Some people were trapped under collapsed structures and had to be rescued, according to the Argus Leader. Downed trees and powerlines hindered emergency response in much of south Sioux Falls.

Homes and a hospital were damaged in southern sections of the city.

Avera Behavioral Health Hospital had a portion of its roof torn off by the storms, according to the Argus Leader. Seven patients from the hospital were transported to Avera Heart Hospital, spokeswoman Michelle Pellman told the Argus Leader.

The National Weather Service says the destructive storms hit about 11:45 p.m. CDT Tuesday night.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FHFA: Statement of Director Mark A. Calabria

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Investor Update
September 10, 2019

Source: FHFA

Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, and distinguished members of the Committee, thank you for the invitation to appear at this morning’s hearing. I can think of few issues in our financial system more in need of our attention.

Our nation’s housing finance system is in urgent need of reform. The status quo poses significant risk to taxpayers, homeowners, renters, and the entire financial system.

I want to thank Secretary Mnuchin and Secretary Carson for their efforts to develop comprehensive housing finance reform plans. They lay out a responsible roadmap to build a more resilient housing finance system that protects taxpayers and mortgage access. I also thank Secretary Mnuchin for the opportunity to have offered commentary on Treasury’s plan during its development.

These plans are broadly consistent with my top priorities, which are to cement FHFA as a world-class regulator and to restore Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (“the Enterprises”) to safe and sound condition by building capital to match their risk profiles. Building capital would also begin the process to end the Enterprise conservatorships, which have lasted more than 11 years, far longer than any other conservatorship.

A root cause of the 2008 financial crisis was imprudent mortgage credit risk backed by insufficient capital. This fundamental problem remains unresolved today. While borrower average credit scores have modestly improved, the Enterprises’ shares of low-down-payment and high debt-to-income mortgages are back to 2004 levels. Fueling rapidly rising home prices with easy mortgage credit from under-capitalized entities is a mistake. We should not repeat it.

In their current financial condition, the Enterprises are not equipped to withstand a downturn in the housing market. The Enterprises own or guarantee a combined $5.5 trillion in single and multifamily mortgages out of a $12 trillion combined market. Yet with just $6 billion in allowable capital reserves, the Enterprises’ combined leverage ratio is nearly a thousand to one.

In comparison, the nation’s largest financial institutions have an average leverage ratio of roughly ten to one.[1]

The 2019 Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test (DFAST) demonstrated the consequences of inaction. In the last crisis, from the market peak in the summer of 2006 to the bottom in 2012, housing prices declined by 27 percent. The 2019 DFAST modeled a scenario where residential real estate prices decline by 25 percent. Under such conditions, the Enterprises forecasted combined total losses of $43.3 billion during the stress-test period.

Given that housing supply appears to have become more inelastic since the crisis, we should expect greater price volatility going forward.

Our housing finance system also undercuts sustainable homeownership. The Enterprises have expanded with the economy recently yet maintained risk and capital levels that ensure they will fail in a downturn. This pro-cyclical pattern harms low-income borrowers, making it easier to buy homes beyond their means when the economy is strong and harder to keep those homes when the economy is weak.

Our housing finance system is supposed to serve homeowners and renters while protecting taxpayers. Currently, it fails on both counts. The Administration’s plans aim to address these problems.

Only Congress, however, can enact the structural reforms needed to fix today’s broken model.

Compared to the duopoly of the Enterprises, a fair and competitive secondary mortgage market would better serve borrowers and renters and promote long-term stability by ensuring that inefficient firms do not survive and that no institution is “too big to fail.” We have witnessed in one industry after another that the best guarantee for delivering lower prices to consumers is an open, competitive market, not a monopoly or duopoly.

Some argue reform should wait for a crisis. This shortsighted thinking fueled the last housing market collapse. As we learned then, it is impossible to solve complex problems in the middle of a crisis.

To paraphrase President Kennedy, the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. Now is the time for bold reforms because our economy and housing market are strong. This will not always be the case.

I am not forecasting a downturn. Rather, as a prudential regulator, I believe my job is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Therefore, I intend, fulfilling my statutory duties, to strengthen FHFA, enable the Enterprises to build capital to match their risk profiles, and end the Enterprise conservatorships.

These reforms are critical to building a resilient mortgage finance system that protects taxpayers and delivers a diverse range of housing options at market-affordable prices. In the interim, modest reforms can improve FHFA’s ability to do its job.

For example, in June, I asked Congress for the authority, similar to other financial regulators, to develop capital standards for the Enterprises and to charter new enterprises. This common-sense proposal need not wait for broader reform.

In far too many areas of our Nation, we face a housing affordability crisis. Too often this has been the result of misguided local land-use and building regulations. In other areas, housing supply remains limited due to a lack of construction labor. For the Enterprises to play an important role in addressing this crisis, they themselves must be fixed.  Adding more weight to an already cracked foundation is to invite collapse.

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to answering your questions.

Contacts:

Media: Stefanie Johnson (202) 649-3030 / Corinne Russell (202) 649-3032

Fannie Mae: SVC-2019-06: Servicing Guide Updates

Posted on by Ashley Shepherd

Investor Update
September 11, 2019

Source: Fannie Mae

The Servicing Guide has been updated to include changes or clarifications related to the following:

• Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Allowable Attorney Fees*
• Miscellaneous Revisions
o Guide Updates for Maximum Servicing Fee for UMBS Loans**
o Reporting Bankruptcy Notifications to Fannie Mae**
o Document Custodian Timing Requirements for Post-Delivery Servicing Transfers

*Policy change applies only to HomeKeeper® loans and is not applicable to Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loans.
**Policy change not applicable to reverse mortgage loans.

Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Allowable Attorney Fees
We are updating the maximum allowable foreclosure attorney fees in all jurisdictions except Maine, New Hampshire, Washington (foreclosures for e-Notes only), Hawaii, Iowa (non-judicial foreclosures), and South Dakota. We determined that fees do not need to be adjusted at this time for those states. Additionally, we are updating the following maximum allowable bankruptcy attorney fees for legal services provided on mortgage loans we own or securitize:

▪ Motion for Relief for Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 cases;
▪ Proof of Claim Preparation and Plan Review for Chapter 11, 12, and 13 cases;
▪ Objection to Plan for Chapter 12 and 13 cases; and
▪ Response to Final Cure Payment Notice for Chapter 13 cases.

Updated Servicing Guide Exhibits
▪ Allowable Foreclosure Attorney Fees
▪ Allowable Bankruptcy Attorney Fees

Effective Date
The allowable fee updates are effective as follows:

▪ The new allowable foreclosure fees apply to all matters referred to counsel for initiation of foreclosure proceedings, regardless of referral date, if the matter is still active as of September 11, 2019. Servicers are encouraged to implement the new fees for the impacted states immediately, but must do so no later than December 1, 2019.
▪ The new allowable bankruptcy fees apply to all legal services performed on or after December 1, 2019.

Servicers may exercise reasonable discretion in determining how to implement the changes, including working as needed with the law firm or an applicable invoicing technology provider.

Miscellaneous Revisions
Guide Updates for Maximum Servicing Fee for UMBS Loans. To support the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities (UMBS), we previously announced new maximum servicing fees for fixed-rate mortgage loans delivered on or after June 1, 2019 in Lender Letter LL-2019-03. We are now incorporating these changes into the following topics of the Servicing Guide:
▪ F-2-09, Servicing Fees for MBS Mortgage Loans
▪ F-2-10, Servicing Fees for Portfolio Mortgage Loans

Reporting Bankruptcy Notifications to Fannie Mae. Currently, servicers must notify us when they learn after the foreclosure sale date that a borrower has filed for bankruptcy. In response to servicers’ feedback and to resolve confusion, we have created the Bankruptcy Notification Template to clarify the information that servicers must provide to us in connection with bankruptcy filings identified after the foreclosure sale date.

Updated Servicing Guide Topics
▪ E-2.3-07, Responding to Bankruptcies Identified After Foreclosure Sale
▪ F-4-01, References to Fannie Mae’s Website
▪ F-4-03, List of Contacts

Effective Date
Servicers are encouraged to use the template immediately, but must do so by December 1, 2019.

Document Custodian Timing Requirements for Post-Delivery Servicing Transfers. To enable timely and accurate recertification of custodial documents, we have updated A2-7-03, Post-Delivery Servicing Transfers to require that when a post-delivery servicing transfer occurs, the transferor servicer must advise the transferor document custodian maintaining possession of the custodial documents within 30 days of the transfer effective date.

Effective Date
Servicers are encouraged to implement this change immediately, but must do so for post-delivery servicing transfers that occur on or after January 1, 2020.

Contact your Fannie Mae account team, Portfolio Manager, or Fannie Mae’s Single-Family Servicer Support Center at 1-800-2FANNIE (1-800-232-6643) with any questions regarding this Announcement.

Malloy Evans
Senior Vice President and
Chief Credit Officer for Single-Family

OCC Bulletin 2016-20: Flood Disaster Protection Act

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Investor Update
August 27, 2019

Source: OCC

Summary

The Task Force on Consumer Compliance of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council1 (FFIEC) adopted revised interagency examination procedures for the Flood Disaster Protection Act (FDPA). The revised procedures reflect the amendments to the regulations regarding loans in areas having special flood hazards to implement the private flood insurance provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters Act). The amendments to the regulations were issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit Administration, and the National Credit Union Administration and published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2019.2

This bulletin makes available on the OCC website the revised interagency FDPA examination procedures that reflect the private flood insurance requirements, which are effective July 1, 2019.

Rescission

The “Flood Disaster Protection Act” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook is rescinded with the issuance of the interagency examination procedures. OCC examiners will rely on the interagency procedures. This bulletin also rescinds OCC Bulletin 2017-35, “Flood Disaster Protection Act: Revised Comptroller’s Handbook Booklet.”

Note for Community Banks

The interagency examination procedures apply to examinations of all national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations.

Highlights

The FFIEC members developed these examination procedures to promote consistency in the examination process and communication of supervisory expectations. The new regulatory requirements are effective on July 1, 2019. The interagency procedures reflect regulatory provisions that

◾ require a regulated lending institution to accept private flood insurance policies that meet the definition of  “private flood insurance” in satisfaction of the flood insurance purchase requirement.

◾ include a compliance aid to facilitate a regulated lending institution’s determination that a policy meets the definition of  “private flood insurance.”

◾ permit a regulated lending institution to exercise its discretion to accept a flood insurance policy issued by a private insurer that does not meet the definition of  “private flood insurance,” subject to certain restrictions.

◾ permit a regulated lending institution to exercise its discretion to accept flood coverage provided by a mutual aid society, subject to certain restrictions.

Further Information

Please contact Paul R. Reymann, Director for Consumer Compliance Policy, at (202) 649-5470.

Grovetta N. Gardineer
Senior Deputy Comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy

Related Link

◾ “Interagency Flood Disaster Protection Act Examination Procedures”

1 The FFIEC comprises the following six voting members: a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the Comptroller of the Currency; the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration; and the Chairman of the State Liaison Committee.

2 Refer to 84 Fed. Reg. 4953.

 

VA: VALERI Servicer Newsflash

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Investor Update
September 9, 2019

Source: VA

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Transfer of Custody (TOC) – Some TOC events reported via servicing system nightly files are not being generated in VALERI. In these instances, the event should be reported manually on the Events Bulk Upload Template. The template and the VALERI Servicer User Guide are available at https://www.benefits.va.gov/HOMELOANS/servicers_valeri_guides.asp. If the TOC event is rejected and the only business rule that fails is for late event reporting (15 days), the appeal link will be enabled.

Claim and Incentive Payments (Update from 8/15/19 Newsflash) – Issue with payments not generating on some incentives has been resolved. The claim payment generation issue is still pending.

Analytics Reports (Update from 8/15/19 Newsflash) – The system issue affecting reported events not reflecting in reports as of July 12, 2019, and June 15 through June 21, 2019, has been resolved.

Supplemental Claims – A system issue was identified where servicers are receiving an error message when attempting to submit a supplemental claim. Additional information will be provided at a later date.

Appeals – Servicers must upload documents and select the ‘Submit’ button to complete the appeal submission.
Loan Technician Contact Information – Loan Technician contact information is now located as an article in ‘Knowledge’ in VALERI. It is also still available at https://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/servicers_valeri.asp.

REMINDERS

Accessing VALERI – The new VALERI application must be accessed with the Google Chrome browser.

VALERI Assistance – The assigned loan technician should continue to be the first point of contact (VA Servicer Handbook M26-4, Chapter 1). VALERI system related inquiries for loans that are unassigned must be directed to valeri.vbaco@va.gov. Loan Management policy inquiries should still be directed to the VALERI Helpdesk at valerihelpdesk.vbaco@va.gov. When submitting inquiries related to upload issues, servicers must provide the uploaded spreadsheet and the auto-generated error message received.

HUD: FHA INFO #19-47: Training Opportunities

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Investor Update
September 4, 2019 

Source: HUD

Webinar Title: NEW Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2019-14: Updates to FHA’s Loss Mitigation Options for Borrowers in Presidentially-Declared Major Disaster Areas (PDMDA)

Date/Time: This webinar will be offered twice. Select the date and time of your choice:

• Thursday, September 12, 2019 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM (Eastern) or
• Thursday, September 26, 2019 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM (Eastern)

Event Location: On-line Webinar – No Fee

Jurisdictional Host: National Servicing Center

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2291915896603259907

Description:

This free, on-line webinar will provide attendees with a detailed overview of the loss mitigation policies announced in ML 2019-14. Additionally, it will highlight the amended loss mitigation procedures referenced in Section III.A.3.c. iv. of FHA’s Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 for disaster-affected borrowers whose FHA-insured property or place of employment is in a PDMDA.

Audience:

This webinar is targeted primarily to FHA servicing industry participants; however, other stakeholders may also benefit from attending.

Special Instructions: For additional information, contact Stacey Brown at: stacey.a.brown@hud.gov.

Resources
Contact the FHA Resource Center:
• Visit our online knowledge base to obtain answers to frequently asked questions 24/7 at: www.hud.gov/answers.
• E-mail the FHA Resource Center at: answers@hud.gov. Emails and phone messages will be responded to during normal hours of operation, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Eastern), Monday through Friday on all non-Federal holidays.
• Call 1-800-CALLFHA (1-800-225-5342). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may reach this number by calling the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

USDA: Post-Closing Lender Self Report

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Investor Update
September 4, 2019

Source: USDA

Revisions to HB 3555-1, Chapter 4, “Lender Responsibilities,” were published on June 28, 2019. Paragraph 4.12 provides guidance on submitting post-closing lender self-reports and refers lenders and loan servicers to Attachment 16-C of Chapter 16 of the handbook for additional information. Attachment 16-C provides the following:

A self‐report must include:

• Borrower ID/GUS Application ID and last name to select the correct file
• Description of the issue
• Provide supporting documentation, if applicable
• Lender/Servicer Contact information

Submit this information via email SFHGLD.Compliance@usda.gov. Response time is dependent on the issue and number of submissions received by USDA. It is the responsibility of the lender to ensure their investor will accept responses from USDA for investor delivery.

The revised Chapter 16 will be published at a later date. However, an advance copy of Chapter 16 with the new Attachment 16-C is available in the USDA LINC Training and Resource Library.

A Procedure Notice (PN) will be issued at least 30 days prior to publication of HB 1-3555, Chapter 16.

Questions regarding this announcement may be directed to the National Office Division at
(202) 720-1452 or via email to SFHGLD.Compliance@usda.gov.

Thank you for your support of the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program!

Help Resources

Policy Questions
Customer Service Center
Phone: 866-550-5887
Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Division
Phone: 202-720-1452

USDA ITS Service Desk Support Center
For e-Authentication assistance
Email: eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov
Phone: 800-457-3642, option 1 (USDA e-Authentication Issues)

Rural Development Help Desk
For GUS system, outage or functionality assistance
Email: RD.HD@STL.USDA.GOV
Phone: 800-457-3642, option 2 (USDA Applications); then option 2 (Rural Development)