Safeguard Properties

Freddie Mac: Are You Ready for New Imminent Default Evaluations in Workout Prospector?

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Investor Update
February 26, 2018

Workout Prospector® now captures imminent default evaluations for Freddie Mac Flex Modifications®. This transparent, rules-based approach replaces our Imminent Default Indicator® tool and is one of the ways in which we’re building a better mortgage process.

You can begin using Workout Prospector today for data submissions and reporting new imminent default evaluation requirements to Freddie Mac. On and after July 1, when we retire Imminent Default Indicator, you must use Workout Prospector for new data submissions and reporting imminent default evaluation requirements to Freddie Mac. We strongly encourage you to implement these new imminent default evaluation requirements as soon as you’re able to do so.

For More Information

Source: Freddie Mac

FHLMC Guide Bulletin 2018-2: Charge Off Recommendations, Document Custody Requirements and More

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Investor Update
February 14, 2018

Charge Off Recommendations

  • Specifying when Servicers must recommend a charge off to Freddie Mac instead of proceeding with foreclosure.
  • Updating lien release requirements when Freddie Mac approves a charge off request.
  • Enhancing the Guide glossary definition of the term Risk of Property Ownership.

Document Custody Requirements and Other Updates

  • Announcing that in November 2017, we began permitting Seller/Servicers to use Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. as a designated custodian. We’re updating the Guide to reflect this change.
  • Permitting Seller/Servicers to enter into tri-party agreements with up to two document custodians, provided that one of them is a designated custodian.
  • Notifying Servicers that Freddie Mac may contract with certain document custodians to perform certification and/or verification services outside of the United States using images of original documents.
  • Informing Servicers that The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. will no longer automatically send Seller/Servicers notes and/or related documents for mortgages paid in full.

Forms 16SF and 1107SF

  • Updating Forms 16SF and 1107SF to give Servicers more flexibility.

For more details on these changes and other important updates, read Guide Bulletin 2018-2 [pdf] or contact your Freddie Mac representative.

System Update Reminder: Workout Prospector® will be updated on February 26, 2018, to accommodate data submissions and reporting to Freddie Mac related to the new imminent default evaluation requirements. Read Guide Bulletin 2017-27 [pdf] for more information.

Source: Freddie Mac

FHFA: Refinance Report – Fourth Quarter 2017

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Investor Update
February 14, 2018

  • Total refinance volume increased in December 2017 as mortgage rates in November remained below the levels observed at the beginning of the year. Mortgage rates increased in December: the average interest rate on a 30?year fixed rate mortgage rose to 3.95 percent from 3.92 percent in November.

In the fourth quarter of 2017:

  • Borrowers completed 6,309 refinances through HARP, bringing total refinances from the inception of the program to 3,484,025.
  • HARP volume represented one percent of total refinance volume.

Year to date through December 2017:

  • Borrowers with loan?to?value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 19 percent of the volume of HARP loans.
  • Twenty?six percent of HARP refinances for underwater borrowers were for shorter?term 15? and 20?year mortgages, which build equity faster than traditional 30?year mortgages.
  • HARP refinances represented five or more percent of total refinances in Nevada and Florida ?? more than double the two percent of total refinances nationwide over the same period.
  • In December, 5 percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan?to?value ratio greater than 125 percent.
  • Borrowers who refinanced through HARP had a lower delinquency rate compared to borrowers eligible for HARP who did not refinance through the program.
  • Nine states and one U.S. territory accounted for over 70 percent of the Nation’s HARP eligible loans with a refinance incentive as of September 30, 2017.

Attachments: Refinance Report – 4Q 2017

Source: FHFA

FHFA: Foreclosure Prevention Report – November 2017

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Investor Update
February 8, 2018

November 2017 Highlights

The Enterprises’ Foreclosure Prevention Actions:

  • The Enterprises completed 22,411 foreclosure prevention actions in November, bringing the total to 4,013,134 since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008.  Over half of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.
  • There were 11,264 permanent loan modifications in November, bringing the total to 2,140,484 since the conservatorships began in September 2008.
  • Forty three percent of modifications in November were modifications with principal forbearance. Modifications with extend term only accounted for 41 percent of all loan modifications during the month.
  • There were 930 short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure completed in November, down 19 percent compared with October.

The Enterprises’ Mortgage Performance:

  • The serious delinquency rate increased from 0.95 percent at the end of October to 1.05 percent at the end of November.

The Enterprises’ Foreclosures:

  • Third-party and foreclosure sales decreased slightly from 4,776 in October to 4,730 in November.
  • Foreclosure starts increased from 13,601 in October to 18,605 in November.

Attachments: 

Foreclosure Prevention Report – November 2017

Source: FHFA

FHFA: 2018-2020 Housing Goals For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Finalized

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Investor Update
February 6, 2018

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today published a final rule that establishes new housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) for 2018 through 2020 in accordance with the provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.  The new goals replace the previous goals, which were in effect through the end of December 2017.

The final rule establishes single-family and multifamily housing goals.

Source: FHFA (full news release)

FHA INFO #18-07: REMINDER: TOTAL Scorecard Database Upgrade Begins on Friday, February 16, 2018

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Investor Update
February 14, 2018

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is issuing this reminder regarding the planned upgrade to its TOTAL Scorecard database beginning at 10:00 PM on Friday, February 16, through Monday, February 19, 2018.

During the upgrade, TOTAL Scorecard and FHA Connection (FHAC) will remain accessible during standard operating hours; however, data from transactions routed through the TOTAL Scorecard will not be transferred to FHAC until the upgrade is complete.

It is important to note that the database upgrade does not impact the completion of the endorsement process for those transactions where TOTAL scoring is complete prior to the start of the upgrade. Also note, that this is an upgrade to the database only; there is no impact or change to the version of TOTAL Scorecard currently in use.

If you have any questions regarding the upgrade, TOTAL Scorecard, or FHAC, or require additional information, contact the FHA Resource Center.

Quick Links

Resources

Contact the FHA Resource Center:

  • Visit our online knowledge base to obtain answers to frequently asked questions 24/7 at:
    https://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-CALL-FHA (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.

Source: HUD (FHA INFO #18-07 full version)

Additional Resource:

HUD (FHA INFO #18-05)

FHA INFO #18-05: TOTAL Scorecard Database Upgrade Begins on Friday, February 16, 2018

Posted on by Safeguard

Investor Update
February 8, 2018

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced a planned upgrade to its TOTAL Scorecard database beginning at 10:00 PM on Friday, February 16, through Monday, February 19, 2018.

During the upgrade, TOTAL Scorecard and FHA Connection (FHAC) will remain accessible during standard operating hours; however, data from transactions routed through the TOTAL Scorecard will not be transferred to FHAC until the upgrade is complete.

It is important to note that the database upgrade does not impact the completion of the endorsement process for those transactions where TOTAL scoring is complete prior to the start of the upgrade. Also note, that this is an upgrade to the database only; there is no impact or change to the version of TOTAL Scorecard currently in use.

If you have any questions regarding the upgrade, TOTAL Scorecard, or FHAC, or require additional information, contact the FHA Resource Center.

Quick Links

Resources

Contact the FHA Resource Center:

  • Visit our online knowledge base to obtain answers to frequently asked questions 24/7 at:
    https://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-CALL-FHA (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.

Source: HUD (FHA INFO #18-05 full version)

FHA INFO #18-04: Newly Redesigned ECLASS and EVARS Web-Based Applications Announced

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Investor Update
January 26, 2018

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that it recently launched newly redesigned and enhanced Electronic Courses on Loss Mitigation and Servicing System (ECLASS) and the Extensions and Variances Automated Requests System (EVARS) web applications.

ECLASS is a portal to self-paced, online training for FHA-approved servicers, FHA-approved housing counseling agencies (HCA), and other non-profit housing counseling agencies. Our ECLASS web-based registration portal provides more opportunities for servicers/lenders and HCAs to easily self-enroll in the FHA National Servicing Center’s self-paced,
online, and onsite training, and is accessible 24×7.

EVARS is a web-based application that gives servicers the ability to request Extensions of Time and Variances related to FHA-insured Title II forward loans.

The updated web-based applications first became available to users on January 16, 2018.

Quick Links

Resources

  • Contact the FHA Resource Center:
  • Visit our online knowledge base to obtain answers to frequently asked questions 24/7 at:
    https://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-CALL-FHA (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.

Source: HUD (FHA INFO #18-04 full version)

Fannie Mae: Updated Imminent Default FAQs; New Servicer eLearning Courses; and More

Posted on by Safeguard

Investor Update
February 28, 2018

New Imminent Default Evaluation FAQs

Fannie Mae, in alignment with Freddie Mac and FHFA, is replacing the current Imminent Default Indicator™ model with a rules-based evaluation of borrowers for imminent default for conventional mortgage loan modifications. The new Imminent Default Evaluation FAQs provide additional details on the new evaluation rules. Servicers may begin using the new Imminent Default Evaluation, available now in Servicing Management Default Underwriter™ (SMDU™), and must implement no later than July 1.

New courses added to Introduction to Servicing eLearning series

Two new courses are available now in our self-paced eLearning series for new servicers: QC Audit and Compliance and Subservicer Oversight. Get up to speed quickly with each of these 15-minute courses.

Enhancements to AMN/HSSN

During the weekend of March 24, Fannie Mae will implement enhancements to Asset Management Network (AMN)/HomeSaver Solutions™ Network (HSSN). Please refer to the release notes for more information. As a reminder, to implement this release, AMN/HSSN will be unavailable for processing from 7 a.m. ET until 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 24. Due to related release work, SMDU Auto Decision functionality may experience some intermittent outages because SMDU relies on some HSSN/DARTS case data. If you experience an exception, please wait a few minutes and resubmit.

Reminder: Notifying document custodians for servicing transfers

After Fannie Mae has approved a servicer’s Form 629: Request for Approval of Servicing or Subservicing Transfer, the transferor servicer or the transferee servicer must notify their document custodian of the servicing transfer and include a final list of all transferred loans. Notification must occur even if the document custodian does not change. Review the list of active document custodians.

Join us at these upcoming events:
March 4-7 | Lenders One Winter Conference | Scottsdale, AZ
March 13-17 | ICBA Community Banking Live 2018 | Las Vegas
March 18-21 | Capital Markets Cooperative Annual Summit | Miami

View more events.

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Recent Tweets

74% of lenders told us that new industry-wide initiatives for standardizing and managing mortgage data are valuable. Details:
http://bit.ly/2BULCDK

Feb. 27

We recently partnered with @UCLAZimanCenter for Real Estate to discuss California’s affordable housing supply crisis. Here’s a recap:
http://bit.ly/2ES5ytB

Feb. 26

Source: Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae Two New Courses Added to Introduction to Servicing eLearning Series

Posted on by Safeguard

Investor Update
February 7, 2018

We’ve added two new courses to our self-paced series for new servicers: QC Audit and Compliance and Subservicer Oversight! Get up to speed quickly with each of these 15-minute courses. 

Source: Fannie Mae (Introduction to Servicing elearning page)