News | Housing Leadership Council

Freddie Mac -Additional Details on the New Standard Modification Now Available

August 16, 2011 by Housing Leadership Council

Source: Freddie Mac

Additional Details on the New Standard Modification Now Available

We have released our preliminary requirements for our new loan modification option, the Freddie Mac Standard Modification — a core component of the Servicing Alignment Initiative. Because you are a valuable resource when counseling distressed homeowners and working with Freddie Mac Servicers, I wanted to provide you with key details on the Standard Modification’s preliminary requirements today.

The new Standard Modification will reduce the risk of potential borrower re-defaults by providing borrowers with an option to achieve affordable first-lien mortgage payments, ultimately positioning them for greater long-term success and sustainable homeownership. Key features include:

Borrower Eligibility

The Standard Modification will provide a modification option for your clients who are ineligible for the Home Affordable Modification program (HAMP). In addition, eligible borrowers must:

Be 60 days or more delinquent, or current or less than 60 days delinquent and determined to be in imminent default based on current Freddie Mac imminent default requirements in place for HAMP.
Be able to document an eligible hardship that caused a permanent or long-term increase in expenses or decrease in income. (Unemployment and other temporary hardships are not eligible.)
Have verifiable income available to make the modified mortgage payments. (Unemployment benefits are not eligible.)

If a borrower’s situation does not meet all the eligibility requirements, Servicers may submit a recommendation to Freddie Mac for review. This includes modifications where the gross unpaid principal balance (prior to capitalization) is less than 80 percent of the current mark-to-market valuation of the property.

Modification Structure

The key to the success of the Standard Modification is to reduce the eligible borrower’s first-lien monthly principal and interest mortgage payment by at least 10 percent and create a modified housing debt-to-income ratio that is greater than or equal to 10 percent and less than or equal to 55 percent. If the borrower’s pre-modified gross unpaid principal balance is greater than or equal to 80 percent of the current mark-to-market valuation of the property, the Servicer will follow a sequential process in the order specified below to determine the proposed modification terms and final eligibility:

Capitalize the accrued interest and other eligible amounts (capitalize arrearages).
Adjust the interest rate to a 5 percent fixed rate.
Extend the amortization term to 480 months.
Provide principal forbearance to certain borrowers whose current mark-to-market property value is significantly less than their debt.

Trial Period

The Standard Modification will require a three-month trial period (or longer if the borrower is in bankruptcy) to ensure that borrowers are able to meet the modified terms before being placed into a permanent modification. Among other requirements, borrowers must make timely monthly payments for each month of the trial period at the estimated modified payment amount to complete the trial period successfully and obtain a permanent modification. If the borrower does not complete the trial period successfully, Freddie Mac Servicers are required to pursue with the borrower all additional alternatives to foreclosure that may be available, such as a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Effective Dates

Servicers may begin evaluating new borrowers for the Standard Modification upon the publication of our requirements, provided the trial period plans do not start earlier than October 1, 2011. All permanent Standard Modifications must have a first modified payment due date of January 1, 2012, or later. We will retire the existing Freddie Mac cash flow/surplus income modification in a phased approach that will allow a smooth transition for considering new borrowers for the new Standard Modification.

In conjunction with our focus on earlier and more frequent borrower contact, the Standard Modification’s structure will allow for a quicker evaluation and decision-making process for your clients seeking a loan modification. We are finalizing our operational approach and underwriting terms, and will issue complete requirements for Freddie Mac Servicers in the near future. We will contact you again as soon as these requirements are announced.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your continued support of the Servicing Alignment Initiative.

More Information

A fact sheet with more details on this initiative is available on the Housing Professionals Resource Center on FreddieMac.com. Freddie Mac offers a complete suite of webinar training opportunities on our new requirements specifically for housing counselors. Visit our Housing Professionals Resource Center for dates and times.

Sincerely,
Christina Diaz-Malone
Director, National Initiatives
703-903-2558

Metropolitan Delinquency and Foreclosure Data, March 2011

August 16, 2011 by Housing Leadership Council

Source: Foreclosure Response.org

What: Foreclosure-Response.org’s newest serious delinquency data and analysis from March 2011

When: Released today Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Where: Foreclosure-Response.org

The three co-creators of Foreclosure-Response.org — Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Urban Institute and the Center for Housing Policy — have compiled the newest data from March 2011 on seriously delinquent mortgages for all 366 U.S. metro areas. The data and accompanying analyses are released today, August 16, 2011 and are available at Foreclosure-Response.org.

The new data are the latest in a series of quarterly data, released by the Foreclosure-Response.org team first in late 2010, that provided the first-ever data on serious delinquency rates for all 366 U.S. metros.

Key findings from the March data:

Although the rate of serious mortgage delinquencies has been stabilizing in the vast majority of metropolitan areas, the foreclosure rate continues to rise. On average, the serious delinquency rate (which consists of loans that are 90+ days delinquent and/or in foreclosure) is historically high but no longer rising. The continued rise in the foreclosure rate, however, indicates that properties may be lingering in foreclosure for an extended period of time and delaying recovery for both households and communities.

Since the national peak in December 2

Florida Community Loan Fund receives $1.5 million CDFI Fund Award

July 19, 2011 by Housing Leadership Council

Source: Florida Community Loan Fund

July 19, 2011

Florida Community Loan Fund receives $1.5 million

CDFI Fund Award

Capital Award will Increase Lending for Community Development Projects Across Florida.

The Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) has received a $1,500,000 Financial Assistance (FA) award from the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund of the U.S. Treasury Department. The funds will allow us to provide financing to support organizations that work to create affordable housing, supportive housing, community facilities and economic development opportunities in distressed communities throughout Florida.

“FCLF was created over fifteen years ago by visionaries who recognized the need for improvement in low-income neighborhoods through Florida,” said Ignacio Esteban, Executive Director of the Florida Community Loan Fund. “The CDFI Award allows us to continue creating pathways for capital to reach the areas where it is most needed and the organizations providing on-the-ground services.”

FCLF was one of two organizations in Florida to receive funding from the CDFI Fund FA/TA program this year. Since its first award from the CDFI Fund in 1998, FCLF has secured over $6.2 million through this program, consistently ensuring this important federal resource is effectively put to work on behalf of organizations that support low- and moderate income Floridians statewide.

Since 1996 FCLF has delivered $103 million in cumulative financing through 160 loans. Our ability to leverage these dollars with other sources of private and public capital has enabled us to support over $350 million to finance a wide range of community, social and economic development projects that improve lives and create jobs.

Nationally, the CDFI Fund announced $142.3 million in Financial and Technical Assistance awards – the largest single round of monetary awards in the CDFI Fund’s history – to 155 different organizations for the FY 2011 fiscal year. Awards range in size from just over $45,000 to a maximum award size of $1.5 million. The CDFI Fund received 393 applications requesting nearly $466 million.

For more information:
About the Florida Community Loan Fund visit: http://www.fclf.org
About the CDFI Fund Awards visit: http://www.cdfifund.gov
FCLF on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Florida-Community-Loan-Fund/50514298124

About the Florida Community Loan Fund

FCLF provides flexible capital and technical assistance primarily to nonprofit organizations working in community development through its three financing programs: Community Development Loan Pool, New Markets Tax Credits, and the Florida Preservation Fund. Since it began lending in 1996, FCLF has originated more than $100 million in low-cost credit to projects sponsored by community-based nonprofit and mission-focused for-profit organizations throughout Florida and has leveraged an additional $350 million in loans and grants from various public and private sources for those projects. FCLF has a broad range of investors including most major financial institutions operating in Florida, individual investors, religious investors, national foundations and trade associations. FCLF is certified as both a Community Development Financial Institution and a Community Development Entity, and is a member of Opportunity Finance Network.

OUR VISION: Every community in Florida is productive and sustainable.
OUR MISSION: The Florida Community Loan Fund harnesses the power of financial capital and human creativity to transform lives and communities.

FCLF • Main Office: 501 N. Magnolia Avenue, Suite 100 • Orlando, FL 32801
Also serving the State with Offices in Jacksonville, Tampa, Sarasota, West Palm Beach
Email: info@fclf.org

Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County Announces New Executive Board of Directors

July 15, 2011 by Tina Puliese

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida—The Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County has announced their new Executive Board of Directors.

Lucy Carr, who has been serving as Vice-Chair for the past year was elected as Chair of the Executive Board. Ms. Carr, who is the Assistant Vice President of Community Development for PNC Bank, has served as a board member of the Housing Leadership Council for 5 years.

Ramon Rodriguez, who works in Community Development at Citi Bank, was elected as Vice-Chair and served on the HLC Board for 3 years.

Robert Wechsler has served on the HLC Board for the past 3 years and has been re-elected as the Treasurer.

Christina Pearce, a Commercial Realtor, has served on the HLC Executive Board as a member at large and has been elected to the seat of Secretary.

Jim Walker, the newest member, is an employee for the Florida Community Loan Fund, and has been elected as Executive Board Member at large.

Skip Miller who has served the Housing Leadership Council for over 5 years will stay on as a member of the Executive BOD as past Chairman. Mr. Miller, an attorney at Ruden McClosky, served as Chair for the HLC Executive Board for the past two years.

Double-digit rent hikes are on the way

January 13, 2011 by Housing Leadership Council

Source: MarketWatch

Apartment dwellers could be facing double-digit rent increases in the coming years as a shortage of new multifamily units coupled with a rise in prime renter-age households gives landlords clout they haven’t seen since the mid-1990s, development experts said Thursday.