Background
On February 18, 2009, President Obama announced the Homeowner Affordability and Stability
Plan to help up to 7 to 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages to avoid
foreclosure. As part of this plan, the Treasury Department (Treasury) announced a national
modification program aimed at helping 3 to 4 million at-risk homeowners – both those who are
in default and those who are at imminent risk of default – by reducing monthly payments to
sustainable levels. Today, the Treasury issued uniform guidance for loan modifications across
the mortgage industry. This Announcement provides guidance to Fannie Mae servicers for
adoption and implementation of the Home Affordable Modification program (HMP) for Fannie
Mae loans.

Under the HMP, servicers will use a uniform loan modification process to provide eligible
borrowers with sustainable monthly payments. The HMP implementation guidelines set forth in
this Announcement apply to all eligible one- to four-unit owner-occupied properties securing
Fannie Mae portfolio mortgages and MBS pool mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae. The HMP
will replace the Streamlined Modification Program introduced in Announcement 08-33 and the
Early Workout™ program announced in Announcement 08-31. The HMP will expire on
December 31, 2012.

All servicers must participate in the program for all eligible Fannie Mae portfolio mortgages and
MBS pool mortgages.

Servicers may also elect to participate in the HMP for other qualifying mortgage loans that:

• are not subject to Fannie Mae’s credit loss guarantee, and
• are held by servicers in their own portfolios or are serviced by servicers for other portfolio or
  securitization trusts or investors.

These other qualifying mortgages are referred to as Non-GSE Mortgages in this Announcement.
As announced by the Treasury, in order for a servicer to participate in the HMP with respect to
Non-GSE Mortgages, the servicer must execute a servicer participation agreement and related
documents with Fannie Mae as Financial Agent for the United States (as designated by the
Treasury).

This Announcement also introduces a new HomeSaver Forbearance™ foreclosure prevention
option and a new Fannie Mae loan workout hierarchy. The HomeSaver Forbearance provides an
additional foreclosure prevention option for borrowers who are NOT eligible for the HMP.

This Announcement covers the following topics:

• HMP Eligibility
• Underwriting
• Modification Process
• Servicer Delegation, Duties and Responsibilities
• Reporting Requirements
• Fees and Compensation
• HOPE for Homeowners
• HomeSaver Forbearance
• New Workout Hierarchy
• Retirement of the Streamlined Modification and Early Workout Programs 

To view the Announcement in its entirety, please click here.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio 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 500 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.