FHFA OIG Recommends Changes To Fannie Mae Short Sale Oversight

Fannie Mae Mortgage Servicing FHFA Short Sale

On November 20, the FHFA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report critical of Fannie Mae’s oversight of its short sale process and the servicers who participate in that process. The OIG determined—based on a review of 41 short sale transactions handled by multiple Fannie Mae servicers—that five servicers were not always collecting all of the required documentation before making borrower eligibility determinations or seeking Fannie Mae approval. The report states also that servicers sometimes failed to conduct adequate reviews supporting borrower eligibility determinations. Further, the OIG found that borrowers with potentially significant financial resources sold multiple non-owner occupied properties through Fannie Mae’s streamlined documentation program, which allows servicers to approve short sales based only on low FICO scores and delinquency status. The OIG recommends that Fannie Mae strengthen its oversight of the short sale program by (i) enforcing the requirement that all borrowers outside the streamlined documentation program provide a borrower-certified borrower assistance form; (ii) establishing controls to identify and resolve inconsistencies between the borrower assistance form and supporting documentation; (iii) considering whether its servicer compensation structure should include the quality of borrower eligibility determinations for short sales and success in limiting losses; and (iv) enhancing controls over collection and use of electronic information from servicers on the financial condition of borrowers. The OIG also suggests that the FHFA should: (i) determine whether the streamlined documentation program should be available to borrowers seeking approval to short sell non-owner occupied properties; and (ii) provide examination coverage of Fannie Mae’s short sale activities with particular emphasis on identifying systemic deficiencies related to borrower submissions, Fannie Mae eligibility determinations, servicer compensation structure, and reliability of electronic information used in managing short sales.