Safeguard Properties

Freddie Mac: Building Continues: Additional Investor Reporting Technical Specifications

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Investor Update
January 18, 2017

Today, we published the second of two technical specifications releases to support our Investor Reporting Change Initiative. This publication builds on our previously published business requirements, with:

  • Several updates to existing data requirements.
  • One new technical specification document detailing the business-to-business draft file layout.

Onward Towards the New Standard
 
To further support your continued development, we recommend that you:

  • Analyze the technical specifications [pdf] to see how they’ll impact processes and procedures throughout your organization. Discuss them with any vendors who support you, and allocate sufficient resources towards development work through implementation in October 2018.
  • Review our updated FAQs. We’ve made comprehensive updates to our FAQs document to address common questions we’ve heard from you.
  • Check out our detailed timeline to stay on track – see where we are and where we’re going throughout this initiative.

Remember, these investor reporting changes affect all Freddie Mac Seller/Servicers, regardless of whether you use a vendor, proprietary systems or the Freddie Mac Service Loans application.
 
Heads Up: Requirements Updates and Upcoming Survey
 
Today, we’re also announcing the following:

  • We’ve published minor updates to our business requirements [pdf], which were originally released on October 18, 2016. These updates help clarify some of the requirements and further expand upon data cutover activities. Please review Appendix C for more details.
  • During Q1 2017, you may receive a survey from us gauging your testing capabilities to support these investor reporting changes. We anticipate external testing will begin in Q1 2018 and would appreciate working with you to lay the foundation for a successful implementation.

For More Information

  • Visit our redesigned Investor Reporting Change Initiative web page.
  • Read Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Bulletin 2016-15 [pdf] and our FAQs.
  • Visit Freddie Mac’s Learning Center for more on our training programs and reference tools.
  • Contact your Freddie Mac representative or email us directly.

Source: Freddie Mac

FHFA: Refinance Report – November 2016

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Investor Update
January 17, 2017

November 2016 Highlights

Total refinance volume rose in November 2016 as mortgage rates in October remained near lows last observed in 2013. Mortgage rates increased by over a quarter percent in November: the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.77 percent.

In November 2016:

  • Borrowers completed 4,530 refinances through HARP, bringing total refinances from the inception of the program to 3,442,967.
  • HARP volume represented 2 percent of total refinance volume.
  • Five percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125 percent.

Year to date through November 2016:

  • Borrowers with loan?to?value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 21 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 6 or more percent of total refinances in Nevada, Florida, and Georgia, double the 3 percent of total refinances nationwide over the same period.

Borrowers who refinanced through HARP had a lower delinquency rate compared to borrowers eligible for HARP who did not refinance through the program.

Ten states accounted for over 60 percent of the nation’s HARP eligible loans with a refinance incentive as of June 30, 2016.
 
Attachments: Refinance Report – November 2016

Source: FHFA

FHFA: Foreclosure Prevention Report – October 2016

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Investor Update
January 19, 2017

October 2016 Highlights

The Enterprises’ Foreclosure Prevention Actions:   

  • The Enterprises completed 14,370 foreclosure prevention actions in October 2016, bringing the total to 3,802,258 since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008. Over half of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.
  • There were 9,213 permanent loan modifications in October, bringing the total to 2,002,905 since the conservatorships began in September 2008.
  • The share of modifications with principal forbearance increased to 21 percent. Modifications with extend-term only remained high at 41 percent of all permanent modifications due to improved house prices and a declining HAMP eligible population.
  • There were 1,771 short sales and deeds-in-lieu completed in October, down 8 percent compared with September.

The Enterprises’ Mortgage Performance:

  • The serious delinquency rate fell from 1.16 percent at the end of September to 1.14 percent at the end of October.

The Enterprises’ Foreclosures:

  • Third-party and foreclosure sales decreased 13 percent from 6,975 in September to 6,094 in October. Foreclosure starts increased 15 percent from 16,744 in September to 19,194 in October.

Attachments: Foreclosure Prevention Report – October 2016

Source: FHFA

FHA INFO #17-04: HECM Final Rule Published (Docket No. FR-5353-F-03); and New Servicing Guidance for FHA-insured Properties Encumbered with a PACE Obligation (ML 17-06)

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Investor Update
January 19, 2017

Strengthening the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program Final Rule Published Today

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published in the Federal Register a final rule, Strengthening the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program (Docket No. FR-5353-F-03). This HECM final rule is a major milestone that codifies HECM requirements implemented under the authority granted to HUD in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013, and statutory authority. The rule updates existing regulatory content, and provides new regulatory guidance that carries forward FHA’s ongoing work to ensure the HECM program is a safe and viable financing option for seniors, usable by mortgagees, and protects FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund.

FHA will host an industry briefing conference call to provide an overview of the HECM final rule on February 9, 2017. Details for joining this call are included at the end of this FHA INFO.

Provisions Contained in the Final Rule
The publication of the HECM final rule follows more than three years of work to stabilize the HECM program and reduce risk to the MMI Fund, so that the program remains a sustainable option for seniors. In 2013, Congress passed the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act, authorizing FHA to quickly enact policy changes via administrative issuance such as a Mortgagee Letter to address immediate program concerns, with the expectation that FHA would follow with formal rulemaking. The HECM final rule fulfills this commitment, and:

  • Includes FHA’s assessment of public comments received in response to its May 19, 2016, proposed rule;
  • Updates Part 206 of the Code of Federal Regulations in its entirety for the first time since 1989, providing a complete and current source for HECM regulations; and
  • Contains both new policies and revisions to existing policies that become effective on September 19, 2017.

Implementing the Provisions Contained in the Final Rule
The HECM final rule contains both new policies and revisions to existing policies that will require actions on the part of mortgagees, other program participants, and FHA to implement. FHA established an eight-month lead time between the
publication of the final rule and the effective date of the provisions it contains in order to:

  • Provide mortgagees and other program participants the time to understand the contents of the rule, and then
    to begin planning for any necessary process, operational, or systems changes;
  • Allow time for FHA to issue the necessary implementation guidance for mortgagees and other program
    participants; and
  • Complete the necessary system changes that will be required within the FHA Connection system, the Home
    Equity Reverse Mortgage Information Technology system, and other FHA technology systems.

FHA is currently finalizing its implementation approach, and will be communicating more specifics about operational and system changes in the coming months.

Industry Briefing Conference Call on February 9th
Mortgagees and other stakeholders are invited to attend an industry briefing conference call on February 9th. During this call, FHA subject matter experts will provide an overview of the provisions contained in the final rule.

  • Title: HECM Final Rule Overview
  • Date: February 9, 2017
  • Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Eastern)
  • Dial-in: (800) 707-9573
  • Access Code: 415732

Mortgagees may submit questions in advance of this call to FHA’s special email box, FHASFCall@hud.gov, by midnight (Pacific), Sunday, February 5th. Questions submitted will be considered by FHA subject matter experts for responses during the call. Please note that this is an unattended e-mail box to be used only for submitting questions for this call. FHA will be unable to respond in writing to individual questions or inquiries submitted to this e-mail box.

Quick Links

New Guidance For Servicing FHA-insured Mortgages Encumbered with a Pace Obligation

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter 2017-06, Servicing of FHA-insured Mortgages on Properties Encumbered with a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Obligation. This Mortgagee Letter provides policies for payment of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) obligation assessments, appraisal of PACE encumbered properties, and property title and conveyance requirements.

This guidance applies to all FHA Title II forward mortgage programs, and the policy revisions are effective immediately. These policy updates will be incorporated into an upcoming update of the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1.

Quick Links

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.

Source: HUD (FHA INFO #17-04 full version)

FHA INFO #17-03: Changes to HECM Claim Type 22 Assignment Requests; IT Security and Data Privacy Protocols

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Investor Update
January 18, 2017
 
Consolidated and New Guidance on HECM Claim Type 22 Assignment Requests

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter 2017-05, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Claim Type 22 Assignment Requests. This Mortgagee Letter consolidates policy found in various existing Mortgagee Letters and Handbooks for mortgagees submitting HECM assignment requests by initiating a Claim Type 22 (CT-22) in HUD’s Home Equity Reverse Mortgage Information Technology system. By consolidating this information into one source, FHA is making it easier for mortgagees to locate the information needed to submit a HECM assignment request. This, in turn, may help improve accuracy of HECM claim submissions and improve processing times for claim requests; thus, contributing to the overall goal of making it easier to do business with FHA.

This Mortgagee Letter does not contain new policy specific to assignment eligibility; however, the stacking order of items needed for the various documentation packages has changed. As noted in the Mortgagee Letter:

  • Mortgagees submitting documentation packages in support of their Assignment Request must look closely at the requirements and ensure ALL documents required are included, and that they are in the correct stacking order.
  • If any documents are missing and/or are not in the correct stacking order, the assignment request will be denied and the mortgagee will have to resubmit the request.

Servicers are able to implement guidance in Mortgagee Letter 2017-05 as early as the publication date for all new HECM CT-22 Assignment Requests, but no later than 90 days after the publication date.

Quick Links

New FHA FAQ Describes Information Technology Security and Data Privacy Protocols

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has made available on its Resource Center’s FAQ site, a new frequently asked question (FAQ), “Does FHA have specific information technology (IT) security and data privacy requirements for FHA-approved mortgagees?” The new FAQ response describes the requirements for communicating IT security and consumer data privacy issues to FHA by all FHA-approved mortgagees and lenders.

Quick Links

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.

Source: HUD (FHA INFO #17-03 full version)

FHA INFO #16-80: Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 December Update

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Investor Update
December 30, 2016

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published the quarterly update to its Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 (SF Handbook). This update incorporates previously published Mortgagee Letters into both the online and portable document format (PDF) SF Handbook.

This update does not include any new policy. The SF Handbook’s December 30th Transmittal, available in FHA’s Online Housing Policy Library, provides additional details. In conjunction with today’s update, FHA published a revised FHA Single Family Housing Claim Filing Technical Guide that updates several hyperlinks within the document.

Today’s publication is the latest in a series of SF Handbook quarterly updates. FHA intends to maintain this quarterly schedule whenever possible, so that mortgagees and other stakeholders will know when to expect and can plan for updates.

Revised Pre-Foreclosure Sale Forms
In addition, mortgagees should note that FHA revised the following forms, referenced in the SF Handbook, that support existing pre-foreclosure sale policy:
— Form HUD-90035, Information Sheet, Pre-foreclosure Sale Procedure;
— Form HUD-90041, Request for Variance, Pre-foreclosure Sale Procedure;
— Form HUD-90045, Approval to Participate, Pre-foreclosure Sale Procedure, Property Sales Information, Property Occupancy & Maintenance;
— Form HUD-90051, Sales Contract Review, Pre-foreclosure Sale Procedure; and
— Form HUD-90052, Closing Worksheet, Pre-foreclosure Sale Procedure.

The revisions to these forms were described in FHA’s 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection (Docket Number FR-5909-N-33) published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2016. The revised forms were posted on December 13th and are available on the Forms Resource pages on HUD.gov.

Quick Links

Review the December 30th SF Handbook Transmittal available at: http://www.allregs.com/tpl/public/fha_freesite.aspx
Access the online or portable document format SF Handbook from HUD’s Client Information Policy Systems’ Housing Handbooks web page at: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/hudclips/handbooks/hsgh

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.

Source: HUD

Fannie Mae: Standard Modification Interest Rate Exhibit

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Investor Update
January 6, 2017

The Fannie Mae Standard Modification Interest Rate is subject to periodic adjustments based on an evaluation of prevailing market rates. The servicer must use the current Fannie Mae Standard Modification Interest Rate indicated below when evaluating a borrower for a conventional mortgage loan modification, excluding Fannie Mae HAMP Modifications.

NOTE: As a reminder, the interest rate used to determine the final modification terms must be the same fixed interest rate that was used when determining eligibility for the Trial Period Plan and calculating the Trial Period Plan payment.

Source: Fannie Mae (full exhibit)

Additional Resource:

Freddie Mac (Freddie Mac Standard Modification Interest Rate)

Fannie Mae: Servicer Webinar and Forums; Updated Project Insurance Requirements FAQs

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Investor Update
January 5, 2016

January All-Servicer Forums: Fannie Mae Changes to Investor Reporting

Please plan to attend one of our upcoming Fannie Mae Changes to Investor Reporting-All Servicer Forums.

Transition Month Overview
January 26, 2017 from 2 – 3 p.m. ET

Loan Activity Processing (Transaction Type 96) Forum — January 17, 2017 from 2 – 3 p.m. ET

Overview of Interest Rate/Payment Changes and MI Discontinuation — January 18, 2017 from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET

Loan Re-class and Loan Modifications — January 19, 2017 from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET

Who should attend?
Every servicer who does business with us. Register today via one of the links above, or via our web page. Be sure to forward this message to others in your organization who would also benefit from these forums.

Learn More
Visit the Fannie Mae Changes to Investor Reporting page to register for a forum and receive the latest information and resources. Questions? Contact your Servicer Integration Lead or email call-in_information@fanniemae.com.

Updated Project Insurance Requirements FAQs

Fannie Mae’s Project Insurance Requirements FAQs have been updated to reflect recent policy changes. Sellers and Servicers can find information related to Fannie Mae’s property, flood, and liability insurance requirements for projects, and related requirements for individual units in condo, coop and planned unit development (PUD) projects, including HO-6 coverage.

Source: Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae: Lender Letter LL-2017-01

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Investor Update
January 4, 2017

This Lender Letter contains updates to the following:

  • United Guaranty Corporation Acquired by Arch U.S. MI Holdings, Inc., and
  • Approved Mortgage Insurance Forms.

United Guaranty Corporation acquired by Arch U.S. MI Holdings, Inc.
Fannie Mae has approved the acquisition of United Guaranty Corporation, including mortgage insurers United Guaranty Residential Insurance Company and United Guaranty Mortgage Indemnity Company, by Arch Capital Group, Ltd. These United Guaranty entities are wholly-owned direct subsidiaries of Arch U.S. MI Holdings, Inc. At this time, there is no change to the use of MI Code (“12”) or the ULDD Enumerated Value (”UGI”) delivered by lenders to identify loans insured by either of these United Guaranty entities. If we change our delivery requirements in the future, we will provide advance notice to sellers and servicers.

Approved Mortgage Insurance Forms
We have updated the list of approved mortgage insurance forms as follows:

  • Replaced the previous Essent Guaranty, Inc. endorsement with: Illinois State Variation Endorsement, EGI-1003.104 (11/16);
  • Corrected the Radian Guaranty Inc. endorsement: No Arbitration Endorsement (for GA and MO), RAF487 12/13; and
  • Added a new Radian Guaranty Inc. endorsement: Florida Arbitration and Limitation of Action Endorsement, RAF507 9/16.

The updated list is available on Fannie Mae’s website.

Lenders who have questions about this Lender Letter should contact their Account Team.

Carlos T. Perez
Senior Vice President and
Chief Credit Officer for Single-Family

Source: Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae: Changes to Investor Reporting Release Notes

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Investor Update
January 6, 2017

As announced in Lender Letter LL-2014-06, Announcement SVC-2015-07 and Lender Letter LL-2016-01, Fannie Mae is updating its Single-Family Investor Reporting requirements effective February 1, 2017. These updates include eliminating the Single-Family MBS “call-in” requirement and adjusting due dates for monthly loan reporting. These updates affect all loans and servicers. Servicers will need to adhere to these policy changes when reporting loan activity that occurs on or after February 1, 2017. Fannie Mae’s Servicing Guide and investor reporting manual will be updated and available mid-January 2017.

Outlined in this document are the Investor Reporting business process and technology changes that will occur as part of this release. More details on the process requirement changes can be found here.

Source: Fannie Mae (full Release Notes)