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 the magnitude and aftermath of the hurricane, loan servicers must inspect properties that secure SFHGLP loans to ascertain the extent of damage and the occupancy status, particularly if contact has not yet been made with the borrower.

Loan servicers seeking to assist SFHGLP borrowers may pursue any of the relief options referenced in the following USDA guidance. Complete details outlining “Assistance in Natural Disasters” is located in Chapter 18, Section 4, 7 CFR 3555.307 of the SFHGLP Handbook.

1. FORBEARANCE: USDA Rural Development encourages SFHGLP loan servicers to extend forbearance alternatives to borrowers in distress as a result of Hurricane Florence. Careful and precise communication with borrowers should help determine whether their difficulties are directly or indirectly related to Hurricane Florence, or whether they stem from other sources which must be addressed.
2. FORECLOSURE SUSPENSION: Although the loan servicer is ultimately responsible for determining when to initiate foreclosure, USDA Rural Development requires that holders establish a 90-day suspension from the date the President declared the disaster on foreclosure actions involving properties or the borrower’s place of employment affected by Hurricane Florence. The properties should also be in Presidentially declared disaster areas designated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as eligible for individual assistance. The foreclosure suspension applies to the initiation of new foreclosure actions and to foreclosure actions already in process.
3. DOCUMENTATION: Holders and loan servicers should fully document their decisions when loss mitigation servicing actions are provided.

Questions regarding this announcement may be directed to SFHGLP in the Rural Housing National Office at 202-720-1452.

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)

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 and Extend Modification for Disaster Relief policy when certain requirements are met.
• Clarify servicer requirements for servicing and subservicing transfers.

Read about these and other miscellaneous updates in Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2018-06 and the executive overview from Carlos Perez, Chief Credit Officer for Single-Family. View the executive perspectives video presented by Mindi Hartman, Credit Risk Manager, Servicing & Expense Policy.

Enhancements to SMDU coming this weekend

This weekend, we will implement enhancements to Servicing Management Default Underwriter™ (SMDU™). SMDU will be unavailable to process transactions from Friday, Sept. 21 at 10 p.m. ET through Saturday, Sept. 22 at 11 a.m. ET. For more information, review the release notes that will be published on the SMDU page before the release, or contact your Fannie Mae Servicing Account Manager.

Ask Poli for SMDU

Beginning with this weekend’s SMDU release, users will have in-application access to Ask Poli™, Fannie Mae’s policy question search tool. Questions for both Fannie Mae servicing policy and the SMDU application are easily asked and answered by clicking on the floating Ask Poli widget on the bottom right side of the screen. Visit the Ask Poli page or use it in the SMDU UI next week!

Updates to the Servicer Expense Reimbursement Job Aid

The updated Servicer Expense Reimbursement Job Aid includes changes to the Servicer Expense Process Flow section, removal of the list of required documents at the time of claim submission, and updates to the pre- and post-payment review sections. Check out these updates plus modifications to existing expense information, the addition of new expenses to the list, and changes to the Helpful Information and FAQ sections in the job aid on the Servicer Expense Reimbursement page.

AAA matrix updates

We’ve updated the Hawaii and New Mexico AAA matrices to align with the revised Allowable Foreclosure Attorney Fees Exhibit, effective Sept. 18, and to update the Mediation Fees in New Mexico. To view the updated matrices, visit the Excess Attorney Fee/Cost Guidelines page.

Join us at these upcoming events:

Sept. 18-20 | 2018 Optimal Blue Client Conference | Plano, TX
Sept. 23-25 | MBA’s Risk Management, QA & Fraud Prevention Forum | Los Angeles
Sept. 23-25 | Pacific Northwest Mortgage Lenders Conference | Seattle

View more events.

Recent Tweets

Disasters happen. Fraud doesn’t have to. Learn how to spot it here: http://bit.ly/2xjvW9U

Sept. 18

The second quarter marked the ninth anniversary of the economic expansion, but did it also mark its high point? Find out what @D2_Duncan has to say in his September Economic and Housing Outlook: http://bit.ly/2PIeB1f

Sept. 17

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.

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
• Updated requirements for mortgages secured by properties subject to resale restrictions
• Additional flexibility in the use of sweat equity as a source of down payment for Home Possible® Mortgages

With these changes, we can work better together to help increase homeownership opportunities for very low-, low- and moderate-income families in historically underserved markets.

For More Information

• Read Guide Bulletin 2018-16  [pdf]
• Complete our training on Community Land Trust mortgages
• Review related resources available on our new Single-Family Duty to Serve web page
• Affordable Housing Preservation
• Rural Housing

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 additional resource); and
• Reminding servicers that they may submit payment changes with future effective dates starting on Oct. 28.

For more information, view Announcement SVC-2018-07.

The new expense reimbursement experience is here!

Expense reimbursements are now faster and easier. Starting this week, many expense reimbursement claims no longer require documentation, saving you time and effort in the reimbursement process. (Some claims may be selected for pre-payment manual reviews or post-payment reviews, but documentation will be required only upon request.) Reverse mortgages will be included at a later date. And, coming Sept. 28, the new self-service Expense Reimbursement Dashboard offers a single, centralized reporting location for claims, inquiries, and excess fee decisions. Visit the Servicer Expense Reimbursement page for more information.

MI Factor: Streamlined claims begin Oct. 1

MI Factor is a streamlined approach to the mortgage insurance (MI) claim settlement process designed to save both time and cost without adding risk. Starting Oct. 1, eligible claims with participating MI companies — ARCH/United Guaranty, Genworth, MGIC, and Radian — will be processed under the MI Factor program. Check out the fact sheet to learn more.

Changes to SF Master Servicing communications — coming in November

We’re making small changes in November to how Single-Family (SF) Master Servicing receives your calls and emails. Here’s what you can expect:

1. When calling 1-800-2FANNIE, you will be required to enter a valid servicer number to reach an analyst.

2. When emailing the SF Master Servicing team:

• You will receive an auto-response if you do not include your servicer number in your email. Reply to the email with your servicer number.
• You will also receive a case number in your auto-response (this will replace what we currently refer to as the ticket number).
• You can reach the SF Master Servicing team at (master_servicing@fanniemae.com) or call 1-800-2FANNIE (Option 1, then Option 6). For assistance with our technology applications, contact the Technology Support Center at 1-800-2FANNIE (Option 1, then Option 1) or via web chat, available 24/7 (except major holidays). See the Call Center Reference Guide for details on all available options.

Join us at these upcoming events:

Oct. 1-3 | MBAC 63rd Annual Conference | Asheville, NC

Oct. 14-17 | MBA Annual Convention and Expo 2018 | Washington, DC

Oct. 18-20 | AREAA National Convention | Las Vegas

View more events.

Recent Tweets

Thanks to your input, we’ve given the Desktop Underwriter Findings report a brand new look! See how the updated features and new design should make the report easier for #lenders to use and understand. http://bit.ly/2xCyvUY

Sept. 25

Focus on your safety during #HurricaneFlorence. After the storm passes, know that you have options when it comes to mortgage relief. http://bit.ly/2Q1SV09

Sept. 24

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 claim interest and other costs that resulted from lender noncompliance with HUD’s loan-servicing timeframe requirements.

HUD paid an estimated $413 million in unnecessary interest and other costs for 27,634 preforeclosure claims because lenders failed to complete servicing actions for defaulted loans within established timeframes.  Although the unnecessary amounts were caused by lenders’ inaction, HUD reimbursed lenders for these added costs through FHA insurance claims.  This condition occurred because HUD’s requirements and procedures do not limit unnecessary preforeclosure claim interest and other costs that result from lenders’ servicing delays.  As a result, the FHA insurance fund incurred unnecessary and unreasonable costs and fewer funds were available to pay other claims or apply toward reducing FHA borrower mortgage insurance premiums.

We recommend that HUD’s Office of Single Family Housing implement a change to regulations at 24 Code of Federal Regulations Part 203, to require curtailment of preforeclosure interest and other costs that are caused by lender servicing delays, resulting in $413 million in in funds to be put to better use..  This should include updating or seeking statutory authority to update HUD’s regulations as necessary and coordinating with HUD’s Office of Finance and Budget, well before any changes go through departmental clearance, to ensure that planned curtailment requirements can be consistently enforced through the claims process.