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Why the banks are in the WIN WIN

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Fannie Mae Says Foreclosure Delays Represent a Breach by the Servicer

Fannie Mae issued a notice this week alerting servicers that it is monitoring all delinquent loans in its portfolio and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) pools to ensure foreclosures are handled within an acceptable time frame.

By the tone of Fannie’s announcement, it wants these nonperformers off its books as quickly as possible. The GSE says it may assess penalties for poor servicer performance when it comes to completing foreclosures in a timely manner.

Fannie says it will be keeping tabs on all whole mortgages, participation pool mortgages, and MBS pool mortgages with a special servicing option referred to an attorney or trustee to initiate foreclosure proceedings on or after July 1, 2010. Company officials will be scrutinizing servicer data to identify delays in the default management process.

According to the GSE, it may elect to perform a more extensive servicing review – possibly on-site – to further evaluate the actions the servicer took on certain mortgage loans. Servicers must send the requested documentation or make it available…within the time frame specified in the notification. If the servicer fails to do so, Fannie Mae may assess compensatory fees without first reviewing the loan or exercise other available remedies, the GSE warned.

Fannie Mae will communicate any performance deficiencies to the servicer, who will then be given an opportunity to explain any mitigating circumstances or factors that justify the servicing actions it took or did not take within a reasonable time frame.

“A compensatory fee not only compensates Fannie Mae for damages but also emphasizes the importance placed on a particular aspect of the servicer’s performance,” the GSE stated in its servicing guide.

Fannie also updated the allowable foreclosure time frames for four states: Florida – 185 days; Maryland – 90 days; Nevada – 150 days; New York (upstate) – 300 days; and New York (downstate) – 420 days.

Why Unicorns and Loan Mods are Similar

The Loan Mod Myth

What do Successful Loan Mods and Unicorns have in common? They are both mythical creations. The difference is that Successful Loan Mods did exist at one time before HAMP, but now seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur. Although there is that rare individual that receives a "permanent" modification, there are also rare individuals that win the lottery. Even if a homeowner does get a "permanent" modification there is about a 50/50 chance it will result in an increase in their monthly payments.

The MSA's (Mortgage Servicing Agreements) and PSA's (Pooling and Servicing Agreements) between the lender (servicer) and investment groups, defines the number of loans that can be modified in a portfolio. Typically this number is less than 5%, which is why the lenders allowed some modifications and then stopped. There was no consideration that AAA rated securities would have the default rates occurring today and therefore there were no provisions to handle the mess we are in now. Most of the residential loans were securitized into mortgage backed securities and pieces sold to junior tranche owners that get paid only after the senior tranche owner has been paid in full. The effect of MBS distributions and any funds paid by Mortgage Insurers have created a situation in which investors are typically receiving 95% of market value from a foreclosure of a property.

You may notice that we have used quotes on the word "permanent". That is the term used by lenders as it is defined in HAMP. The reality is that these loans in almost every modification are not permanent; meaning they are not fixed for balance of the term of the loan. Rather, the loan is modified for 3 to 5 years and then adjusts or returns to an increased interest rate. The 3 to 5 year period is just long enough to get the homeowner past the 2012 deadline for the Mortgage Debt Relief Act. This means that the homeowner could miss their opportunity for an exit without tax consequences by accepting a modification.

Another reason that the term "permanent" is illusory as it relates to loan mods is that many of the lenders will repeal the modification that was supposedly approved and granted. This leaves the homeowner unable to pay off the accrued, unpaid payments, interest and fees to prevent a default and the home will usually be taken in a foreclosure.

Even if the homeowner is extremely lucky and gets a loan modification, that lowers their monthly payment, the issue of negative equity has not been addressed nor resolved. Unless and until the homeowner receives a loan modification that includes a reduction of the principal balance so as to eliminate or appreciably reduce the negative equity, the primary problem faced by the homeowner will continue to exist.

The reason it is important to understand the fallacy of a loan mod is that homeowners spend months or in some cases even years playing this game with the lender and may miss their best opportunity for a clean exit from the property through short sale.

This information and some helpful tools are provided by www.mortgagemediationgroup.com .

Contact me at www.michellefischer.com for more information.

What If....

Recently, a report came out showing the Case Shiller Index for resale housing prices. It displays the ebbs and flows of the index as our country experienced two World Wars, three real estate booms and one great depression. Then look below to the next chart...what if we didn't have the 2004-2006 real estate boom?

What if the Booom

What if the Boom Never Happened