Loan Servicing

A pilot program is getting underway in five U.S. cities to offer assistance to elderly homeowners who are at risk of having their reverse mortgages called due and payable because they are in technical default for non-payment of taxes and insurance.

HUD published the following update for FHA servicers, including a new address for its servicing contractor and emails to submit comments and questions.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development updated its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document for HECM servicers to include guidance on short sale closing costs that has been an issue of concern for several servicers and borrowers.

Following is a memo written by NRMLA's EVP of Policy, Steve Irwin, which provides a technical explanation for how service fee and repair set-asides work.

The NRMLA Servicing Committee reached a unanimous decision to adapt the NRMLA “Curative Approach” white paper as industry best practices in the handling of those cases that reach a default status due to non-repayment of advances for Taxes and/or required Insurance.

In cooperation with NRMLA's Servicing Subcomittee, HUD has developed the following Q&A that offers detailed guidance on questions relating to the assignment of HECM loans.

The following guidance on assigning loans was provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for educational purposes.

Effective immediately, Fannie Mae will begin accepting delivery of reverse mortgages on security instruments that name MERS as the mortgagee of record.

Every loan originator should be able to discuss in detail how a reverse mortgage works, explain the role of processing and underwriting, but most importantly what happens after a loan closes.

The following Q&A was taken from an e-mail exchange between HUD and a member of NRMLA.

The issuance of Mortgagee Letter 2005-48, Repair and Inspection Requirements for existing properties and revisions to FHA Appraisal Protocol, on December 19, 2005, introduced a shift in FHA's emphasis on the repair of minor property deficiencies to only requiring repairs for those property conditions that rise above the level of cosmetic defects, minor defects or normal wear and tear.

The Federal Housing Administration clarified yesterday that MERS registration was permissible for HECM loans.

The processes that many conventional loan servicers use do not apply to reverse mortgages, or must be "dramatically adjusted" to successfully manage the product, according to a report published by Fitch Ratings.