News Sections
Safeguard In The News
DSNews "Safeguard Properties Connects Homeowners with Counseling Agencies"
more
Business Booms For Foreclosure Contractors - NPR
more
Chicago Tribune "The growing charge of the blight brigade"
more
ACA Sections
Hot Topics
Property Preservation
Code Compliance
HUD
VA
Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae
Hurricane Katrina
Subscribe

Receive the latest All Client Alerts in your inbox. Click here to subscribe!

RSS Newsfeed
RSS Safeguard's All Client Alerts, delivered to your desktop.
FHLMC December 5th Bulletin
Thursday, 06 December 2007
Freddie Mac has issued its December 5th Bulletin titled, "Temporary Selling Requirements for Mortgages Affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita Extended, Many Temporary Servicing Requirements Expire December 31, 2007".

Freddie Mac servicing requirements regarding credit reporting and Borrower-paid mortgage insurance cancellation will remain in effect until they are no longer applicable. The remaining temporary Servicing requirements will expire on December 31, 2007. Accordingly, Servicers should prepare to resume using normal Guide Servicing requirements for properties located in eligible Disaster Areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Credit reporting requirements remain in effect until no longer applicable
The credit reporting requirements announced in our February 10, 2006 Bulletin are being extended until they are no longer applicable. As a reminder, these requirements include the following:

  • For a Borrower who was 30 days or more delinquent on their Mortgage payment as of March 1, 2006 and remains delinquent, Servicers must not report any of the following payment statuses to credit repositories: Delinquent payments, repayment plans, forbearance plans, resumption or initiation of foreclosure, foreclosure sales, acceptance of a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, short payoffs, charge-offs and bankruptcies.
  • For a Borrower with a payment status of "current" as of March 1, 2006, Servicers must have resumed full-file reporting to credit repositories effective March 1, 2006.
  • For a Borrower who was current as of March 1, 2006, but subsequently experiences a delinquency, Servicers must continue full-file reporting despite the delinquency
  • For a Borrower who was 30 days or more delinquent on their Mortgage payment as of March 1, 2006, but subsequently becomes current on their Mortgage payment through reinstatement or through a workout option, Servicers must resume full-file reporting to credit repositories once the Mortgage is current.

Borrower-paid mortgage insurance cancellation requirements remain in effect until no longer applicable

Temporary requirements regarding payment history relief for Borrowers requesting cancellation of Borrower-paid mortgage insurance that were announced in our June 4, 2007 Bulletin are being extended until they are no longer applicable.

As a reminder, for Mortgages secured by properties located in eligible Disaster Areas, Servicers may disregard a delinquency occurring in the Mortgage payment history when a Borrower requests cancellation of Borrower-paid mortgage insurance if that delinquency was caused by either (a) Freddie Mac’s publicly-announced automatic payment suspension or (b) an extended forbearance plan in the form of payment suspension or reduction granted to the Borrower, if all of the necessary conditions are met.

Temporary servicing requirements that will expire on December 31, 2007
The remaining temporary requirements are not being extended and will expire on December 31, 2007:

  • Temporary requirements for Electronic Default Reporting (EDR) for properties affected by Hurricane Katrina and Rita.

  • Streamlined underwriting requirements for loan modifications.

  • Delegation to approve a short payoff

  • Suspension of the Guide requirement to collect Borrower documentation to determine eligibility for long-term forbearance

  •  Servicers. ability to extend forbearance on a individual assessment without Freddie Mac prior approval.

Servicers should continue to work with impacted Borrowers to provide assistance, including where appropriate, continued suspension or reduction of Mortgage payments, to address the particular circumstances faced by each Borrower.

Servicers that wish to extend forbearance to a Borrower beyond December 31, 2007 must submit a request on Form 105, Multipurpose Loan Servicing Transmittal, to Freddie Mac at distressed_properties@freddiemac.com. Freddie Mac will evaluate the request and inform the Servicer of its' decision.

Servicers are reminded that they must adhere to all Guide requirements for managing distressed and abandoned properties in Sections 67.27 and 67.28 and requirements for properties impacted by a disaster in Chapter 68.

Any questions or comments about the requirements contained in this Bulletin, should be directed to the respective Freddie Mac representative or by calling (800) FREDDIE.

To view the Bulletin in its entirety, including amendments to Freddie Mac's Selling requirements, please click here.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, OH  and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 450 employees.  Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.