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Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae Update Short Sale, Deed-In-Lieu Of Foreclosure Requirements
On November 25, Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2013-24 and Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-23, which revised numerous short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) requirements. The enterprises updated, among other things, eligibility requirements for exceptions to borrower documentation for short sales and DILs by (i) permitting a borrower whose mortgage debt has been discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy to be eligible for an exception to documentation, regardless of FICO score; and (ii) removing mortgages that were originated as investment properties from eligibility for an exception to documentation. The enterprises also required servicers to: (i) submit a short sale or DIL recommendation for approval when the borrower’s cash reserves exceed $50,000; and (ii) delay, or ensure that foreclosure counsel delays, the next legal action in the foreclosure process when such servicers receive a first complete borrower response package (BRP) more than 37 days prior to a scheduled foreclosure sale date, and the evaluation results in an offer to proceed with a short sale or DIL. Finally, the enterprises revised the timeframes within which servicers are required to conduct an expedited review of a completed BRP and updated requirements relating to borrower appeals.
Fannie Mae Announces Miscellaneous Servicing Policy Changes
On December 4, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-24, which: (i) updates the modification terms for the “Cap and Extend Modification for Disaster Relief” to require servicers to set the interest rate to a fixed rate; and (ii) establishes the steps servicers must follow to determine borrowers’ modified payment terms. Fannie Mae encourages servicers to implement the new requirements immediately, but will not require them to do so until February 1, 2014. The announcement likewise requires, with immediate effect, that servicers update Form 582 (Lender Record Information) promptly after any change in previously-submitted information occurs. Finally, the announcement adds to the Servicing Guide glossary a definition for “seriously delinquent mortgage loan.”
Fannie Mae Announces Servicing Policy Changes
On October 30, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-22, which describes various servicing policy updates. First, effective on or after February 1, 2014 for condominium insurance policy renewals, Fannie Mae is prohibiting the use of master or blanket insurance policies that cover multiple unaffiliated projects. Second, effective immediately for mortgage loan modifications, Fannie Mae is requiring that principal forbearance is payable upon the earliest of the maturity of the mortgage loan modification, sale or transfer of the property, refinance of the loan, or payoff of the interest-bearing unpaid principal. Third, effective January 1, 2014 for property inspection reimbursements, the Announcement updates the maximum amounts Fannie Mae will reimburse servicers for property inspections, outlines servicer responsibilities related to reimbursement requests, and clarifies the escalated case resolution process. Finally, the Announcement reminds servicers of their obligation to comply with both the Selling Guide and Servicing Guide, and informs servicers that requirements for maintaining eligibility and related fees were recently updated in the Selling Guide.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Issue Guidance Regarding CFPB Mortgage Servicing Rules
On October 11, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-20 and Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2013-21 to update their delinquency management and default prevention servicing requirements in response to the CFPB’s new mortgage servicing rules. These updated servicing requirements, which are effective for servicing activities completed on or after January 10, 2014, align with the CFPB’s final rules implementing the mortgage servicing provisions of RESPA and TILA. The policy changes announced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac include updates specific to mortgages secured by primary residences, as well as updates that apply to all mortgages. The servicing requirements affected by these policy changes, include, but are not limited to, (i) borrower inquiries and error resolution, (ii) written acknowledgement of a Borrower Response Package, (iii) early intervention and communication with delinquent borrowers, (iv) the evaluation of mortgage loan modification plans and the appeal process for the denial of such, (v) foreclosure referral and postponement, and (vi) pre-foreclosure reviews.
Fannie Mae Updates Standard Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosure Requirements
On October 17, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-21, which revises servicers’ responsibilities in finalizing standard deed-in-lieu of foreclosures (DILs). Servicers now must (i) complete a final interior property inspection no more than two business days following the receipt of the executed deed and all related documents, (ii) not complete final acceptance of the executed DIL until after they have received the results of the final property inspection, (iii) submit the case into HomeSaver Solutions Network (HSSN), regardless of the transition option chosen, to complete final acceptance of the DIL, and (iv) submit the REOgram within 24 hours of the date the servicer completes final acceptance of the executed DIL. The announcement also excludes from the three-month transition option program eligibility criteria the following requirements: (i) that at least three payments have been made since origination or since the last modification, (ii) that the loan is not 12 or more months delinquent when referred to Fannie Mae for transition option consideration, and (iii) that the borrower is not involved in an active bankruptcy proceeding. Finally, the announcement informs servicers that they are no longer required to ensure that a borrower will assign and transfer any rents to Fannie Mae and will collect rental income.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Extend Streamlined Modifications, Announce HAMP Changes, Increase Certain State Foreclosure Timelines
On September 16, Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2013-17, and on September 18, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-18, which extend those entities’ streamlined modification programs to include all streamlined modification trial period plans that become effective by December 1, 2015. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also extended the expiration date for HAMP such that Trial Period Plan Effective Dates must be on or before March 1, 2016 and Modification Effective Dates must be on or before September 1, 2016. Fannie Mae further applied these extended time frames to Second-Lien Modification Programs. In addition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac revised their eligibility requirements for proposed HAMP modifications that are submitted through the Treasury Net Present Value Model on or after January 1, 2014. Further, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (i) retired the annual servicer “Pay for Success” incentive for HAMP-eligible mortgages, effective for modifications with effective dates on or after April 1, 2014 and (ii) updated requirements for repurchased loans subject to a HAMP permanent mortgage loan modification or trial plan. Finally, the Freddie Mac bulletin increased state foreclosure timelines by 30 days in Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington, for all foreclosure sales completed after September 1, 2013, while Fannie took the same action through a separate servicing notice.
Fannie Mae Announces Requirements for Foreclosure Sale Eliminations and Rescissions
On September 18, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-19, which establishes requirements for eliminations and rescissions of foreclosure sales, effective immediately. The announcement states that when a servicer identifies an issue that requires an elimination and/or rescission, the servicer must submit a request for elimination and/or rescission within five days of that identification. When Fannie Mae identifies an issue that requires a property to be eliminated from its REO inventory or a foreclosure sale to be rescinded, Fannie Mae will initiate the elimination and/or rescission process through a report to the servicer, which will list Fannie Mae’s decision for each servicer-requested elimination or rescission, as well as those eliminations and/or rescissions that Fannie Mae has processed. The servicer must then (i) review the report for notification of servicer-requested elimination/rescission approvals and Fannie Mae-processed eliminations/rescissions, (ii) add each eliminated file back into its servicer system within 24 hours of notification of approval or notification that the file has been eliminated by Fannie Mae, and (iii) resume managing the eliminated/rescinded file pursuant to the Servicing Guide.
Fannie Mae Announces Miscellaneous Servicing Policy Changes
On August 28, Fannie Mae issued Announcement SVC-2013-17, which describes miscellaneous servicing policy changes and updates. The announcement provides that a servicer is no longer obligated to treat a servicer name change as a transfer of servicing (although all other notification requirements related to name changes remain unchanged). In addition, the announcement clarifies servicer obligations with respect to unemployment forbearance arrangements, providing that (i) prior to expiration of an initial unemployment forbearance term (or upon re-employment), the borrower must be evaluated for an extension or another workout option and (ii) prior to expiration of an extended unemployment forbearance term or upon notification of re-employment, the borrower must be evaluated for other available foreclosure alternatives. The announcement also provides that (i) a borrower in a trial period plan who receives an evaluation notice has 14 days to indicate his or her intent to accept or reject the modification offer, and (ii) in situations where a due-on-sale clause is not enforceable because the property transfer constitutes an “exempt transaction,” a servicer must implement policies and procedures allowing it to promptly identify and communicate with the new property owner (including a widow, executor or administrator of the borrower’s estate, or other authorized representative upon notice of the death of a borrower) and allow such new property owner to make mortgage payments, to pursue an assumption, and to be evaluated for foreclosure alternatives, as applicable. If a mortgage loan is delinquent and the new property owner is unable to bring the mortgage loan current, he or she must be evaluated for all available workout options, and the servicer must follow Servicing Guide eligibility and Borrower Response Package requirements in doing so. All changes and updates take effect immediately for mortgage loans that become delinquent on or after the date of the announcement, except those related to unemployment forbearance. Servicers are required to implement the unemployment forbearance policies no later than November 1, 2013.
Fannie Mae Updates Servicer Disaster Assistance Policies
On August 7, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-16, which updates assistance policies for borrowers affected by earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, or other catastrophes caused by a person or event beyond the borrower’s control. The announcement provides a table of new pre-approved forbearance terms for borrowers affected by a disaster. Fannie Mae reminds servicers that while they have discretion to determine the appropriate duration of forbearance, any forbearance that exceeds the set terms must be approved in writing by Fannie Mae. The announcement also (i) updates requirements for insurance claim settlements, (ii) requires that income documentation be no more than 180 days old at the time of the post-disaster foreclosure prevention alternative evaluation, (iii) directs servicers to suspend credit reporting for a disaster-impacted borrower during a repayment plan or Trial Period Plan if the borrower is making the required payments, (iv) reduces eligibility requirements for streamlined modifications for borrowers completing a disaster-related forbearance plan in a FEMA-declared disaster area, (v) introduces a new modification, the Cap and Extended Modification for Disaster Relief, and (vi) addresses escrow analysis requirements prior to offering a Trial Period Plan for certain disaster-related modifications. All of these policy changes took effect immediately.
Fannie Mae Updates Hardest Hit Fund Requirements
On July 1, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-14 to notify servicers that they must accept modification assistance received from a state housing finance agency for a mortgage loan in connection with any Fannie Mae modification, without regard to whether principal forbearance is required. In doing so, servicers must also comply with certain delinquency management and default prevention requirements outlined in Announcement SVC-2011-18. Servicers are required to implement the policy changes no later than October 1, 2013, and are encouraged to do so immediately.