Today, Freddie Mac released Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin 2009-23. This Single-Family Advisory e-mail provides key information contained in the Guide Bulletin, including:
* Updates to Home Affordable Modification program (HAMP) Requirements
* Important HAMP Reminders
* Key Dates
* Resources For More Information
Updates to HAMP Requirements
With today’s Guide Bulletin, we are:
*
Requiring Freddie Mac Servicers to use Workout Prospector® when evaluating all borrowers for a modification under HAMP beginning November 1, 2009. Servicers may rely on their own proprietary or third-party system, provided they adhere to the requirements outlined in today's Guide Bulletin. If a modification cannot be completed under HAMP, the Servicer must continue to use Workout Prospector to evaluate the borrower for other Freddie Mac foreclosure alternatives.
o Servicers will be notified in a future communication of when they can begin using Workout Prospector for HAMP loans.
o A Workout Prospector Users’ Guide will be available on our secure HAMP Web page soon.
o Access Workout Prospector from our Servicing Technology Tools Web page. You will need your secure Workout Prospector ID and password to access the tool. If you are a first-time user of Workout Prospector or need to update your account, complete the online Workout Prospector registration form.
o The Borrower Qualification Worksheet (BQW) will no longer be available beginning November 1, 2009, since you will be required to begin using Workout Prospector on this date for all new HAMP evaluations.
o Servicers must use the property values provided in Workout Prospector, if available. Effective January 1, 2010, Freddie Mac will no longer publish the report of automated values on its Web site.
* Retiring the Program Performance Reporting Spreadsheet (also referred to as “the Weekly Summary”), and instead, Servicers must submit to Freddie Mac via e-mail, on a weekly basis, one data file for Freddie Mac mortgages that only includes the three separate data file types that Servicers are required to send to the program administrator. These data files include the data required in Exhibits A, B, and C of Supplemental Directive 09-01, except that Servicers may not transmit, but rather suppress, data protected by applicable privacy laws. In the same e-mail, Servicers must also provide the summary-level data regarding their borrower solicitation efforts.
* Instructing Servicers to comply with the Government Monitoring Data requirements provided in Section P of the HAMP Supplemental Documentation – Frequently Asked Questions posted on HMPAdmin.com.
* Incorporating special requirements for mortgages with second liens, in accordance with the new Making Home Affordable Second Lien Modification Program.
* Permitting Servicers to use any temporary waivers to requirements posted by the program administrator on HMPAdmin.com.
* Providing additional guidance on Supplemental Directive 09-06, which was previously announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The announcement provides further clarification on a portion of the data requirements in Exhibit D that must be reported by Servicers to the program administrator.
We are also updating the HAMP Modification Agreement requirements for recordation, and revising the requirements around the capitalization and reimbursement of property inspection fees. The requirements for capitalizing expenses and delinquent amounts for processed modifications not related to HAMP have also been updated.
Important HAMP Reminders
* Effective September 30, 2009, Servicers must begin using the revised HAMP Modification Agreement, Trial Period Plan, and Hardship Affidavit with the August 2009 revision date. These documents are now available on our secure HAMP Web page.
* Beginning October 1, 2009, Servicers must report the new Electronic Default Reporting (EDR) codes that were announced in our
May 26, 2009, Guide Bulletin.
* By October 26, 2009, Servicers must have updated their systems (MIDANET®, EDR, and electronic data interchange) to support the new file formats for reporting additional default action codes as announced in our July 7, 2009, e-mail.
Key Dates
September 30, 2009
* Servicers must use the revised HAMP Hardship Affidavit, Trial Period Plan, and Modification Agreement with the August 2009 revision date. These documents are now available on our secure HAMP Web page, and they must be used no later than September 30.
October 1, 2009
* Servicers must report the new EDR codes that were announced in our May 26, 2009, Guide Bulletin.
October 5, 2009
* Servicers must report the same HAMP data files they report to the program administrator to Freddie Mac on a weekly basis and report summary-level data regarding their borrower solicitation efforts.
October 26, 2009
* Servicers must have updated their systems (MIDANET, EDR, and electronic data interchange) to support the new file formats for reporting additional default action codes as announced in our July 7, 2009, e-mail.
November 1, 2009
* Servicers must use Workout Prospector when evaluating borrowers for a modification under HAMP or to transmit data when using their own proprietary or third-party system.
* The BQW will be retired.
November 1-5, 2009
* Mortgages with a first modified payment due date occurring prior to November 1, 2009, which have not already been closed, must be entered into Workout Prospector.
December 14, 2009
* Servicers will be required to use the new loan-level file format for investor reporting.
December 31, 2009
* All mortgages under an existing HAMP Trial Period Plan where the Trial Period offer was sent to the borrower prior to November 1, 2009, must be submitted to Workout Prospector.
January 1, 2010
* Freddie Mac will no longer publish the report of automated values on www.FreddieMac.com, and Servicers must begin using the property values provided in Workout Prospector, if one is available.
For more information, visit these resources:
* Review the September 18 Guide Bulletin.
* Visit Freddie Mac’s Home Affordable Modification program Web page.
* Visit our Learning Center for educational resources on the Home Affordable Modification program.
* Review information for borrowers about the federal Making Home Affordable program on the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Web page.
From an email I received this afternoon.
