Fannie Mae, Freddie Mae tweak automation around servicing procedures

Fannie Mae has released some changes to servicing requirements that will include new mandatory procedures for trial modifications, mortgage assistance, and cramdowns.

While the procedural changes are relatively minor, compliance is crucial to servicers given the regulatory attention around their ability to provide continuity of care to distressed borrowers in particular. 

In instances where assistance fully reinstates the loan, servicers working with the government-sponsored enterprise have been canceling the plan. But under a policy change that’s effective immediately and becomes mandatory on Dec. 1, they must instead contact Fannie online through its loss mitigation email for assistance in processing a trial mod.

In situations where bankruptcy courts force creditors to accept new loan terms, servicers have been filling out an online template with information about the cramdown when it occurs. On a go-forward basis, they’ll be able to use Fannie’s Servicing Management Default Underwriter technology for this purpose. Use of the automation for this purpose will become mandatory in March of next year.

Freddie Mac also is changing some of its servicing procedures as it builds out system functionality around post-forbearance workouts such as modifications, which are aimed as making loans more affordable to those with long-term hardships, or transitions into payment deferrals. Deferrals postpone payment of forborne amounts and allow borrowers to resume regular loan payments.

Freddie plans to be able to process Flex Modification requests for trial plan approval and eligibility through a user interface it has called Resolve by Dec. 5, and add functionality to settle mods some time in the first quarter of next year. By the second quarter of 2023, it plans to be processing deferrals through Resolve. The GSE is setting July 31, 2023 as the deadline for migrating the processing of Flex Mods and deferrals to either Resolve or its Retention application programming interface.