InfoBytes Blog
Freddie Mac Updates MERS Requirements, Fraud Reporting, Other Selling And Servicing Policies
On June 19, Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2014-12, which updates and revises numerous selling and servicing requirements. According to the Bulletin, Freddie Mac has determined that because sellers/servicers will have difficulty complying with the CFPB’s borrower notification requirements for ARMs with lookback periods less than 45 days, as of January 1, 2015, Freddie Mac will no longer purchase those loans. Freddie Mac also announced that, effective October 15, 2014, mortgages originated in Montana, Oregon, and Washington where MERS is not the original mortgagee of record, but is a subsequent assignee, are not eligible for sale to Freddie Mac. The Bulletin updates and clarifies several other MERS-related requirements. In addition, the Bulletin announces revisions to fraud reporting requirements to require a seller/servicer to report fraud and suspected fraud to Freddie Mac when the seller/servicer has a reasonable belief that certain actions occurred during origination or servicing of a mortgage, and to extend the number of days within which a seller/servicer must report fraud and suspected fraud to Freddie Mac from 30 to 60 days. Finally, the Bulletin provides numerous additional updates related to (i) certain servicing-related forms; (ii) relief refinance mortgages; (iii) monthly debt-to-income ratio requirements; (iv) requirements for verification of large deposits; (v) area median income estimates; and (vi) several other selling issues.