Fannie Mae has issued Lender Letter 07-07 titled, "Reimbursement to Fannie Mae Servicers for Borrower Counseling Through the HOPE NOW Alliance" .

With this Lender Letter Fannie Mae announces that servicers will be reimbursed for counseling fees on behalf of borrowers through the HOPE NOW Alliance.

The amount of the reimbursement will not exceed $100 per case for each mortgage loan. This reimbursement is applicable for borrowers receiving delinquency counseling through the HOPE NOW Alliance on or after December 20, 2007 and will remain in effect for counseling cases that are opened by May 31, 2008 and invoiced no later than July 31, 2008.

All servicers are encouraged to have borrowers with delinquent loans who may benefit from delinquency counseling to contact the Alliance's toll-free hotline 1-888-995-HOPE (1-888-995-4673).

A servicer must be fully aware of the status or outcome of all counseling efforts made by the counseling agency for a specific case. At least once a month, the servicer should update its servicing system with the actions taken by a counselor. At a minimum, the servicer is expected to retain in its individual loan servicing records information related to the reason for delinquency and any financial information obtained from the borrower.

Reimbursement Process
For 25+ reimbursement requests per month:

• Prepare a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that includes the servicer name, the Fannie Mae seller/servicer number, the Fannie Mae loan number(s), the servicer loan number(s), the property address(es), and the amount of the counseling fee(s) (the lesser of the actual cost or $100). The spreadsheet should include the total amount being requested for reimbursement.

• Submit one spreadsheet per servicer via e-mail to NPDCrequest@fanniemae.com on the fifth business day of each month.

For fewer thaan 25 reimbursement requests per month, Servicers should follow the standard cash disbursement guidelines using Fannie Mae’s Cash Disbursement Request (Form 571) to request the counseling fee (lesser of the actual cost or $100) using line E. "Loss Mitigation Workout Fee."

Servicers should maintain copies of counseling invoices and must be able to submit them to Fannie Mae upon our request.

Any questions or comments regarding this Lender Letter should be directed to Fannie Mae's  National Servicing Organization’s Customer Care Support Center at 1-888-326-6438 (option 2 – Servicing, then option 3 – General Servicing). 

To view the Lender Letter in its entirety, 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.