Stewart Lender Services (SLS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Title Co., has announced a new service designed to help national lenders and servicers comply with the Treasury Department's Supplemental Directives for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
SLS' infrastructure and experience enable it to assist servicers in complying with the directives in a timely, cost-effective manner, the company says.Â
Supplemental Directive 09-09, for example, introduced the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, which requires that borrowers be offered an alternative to foreclosure if they are unable to qualify for a loan modification. SLS says its borrower-outreach team and established workflows can alert borrowers to the HAFA foreclosure alternatives and that it can also collect necessary financial packages from these borrowers and conduct the underwriting to establish their eligibility. In addition, SLS can perform a title review upfront to determine any impediments to completion of a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
Supplemental Directive 10-01, Resolution of Active Trial Modifications, is intended to convert HAMP from a "stated income" model to a "verified income" model, SLS explains. To assist servicers that are struggling to meet borrower-review schedules and communication deadlines, SLS provides a fully automated borrower correspondence and compliance solution.
The Treasury has also revised its imminent-default rules. In addition to a measurement of debt-coverage ratio, any borrower who is 60 or fewer days delinquent must be measured for imminent default and must be reviewed using the revised Request for Modification and Affidavit form.
"We offer the ability for a servicer to completely outsource a pool of loans where Stewart manages a property from loan modification through short sale, deed-in-lieu and [real estate owned] asset management and disposition," says Scott Gillen, SLS senior vice president.
SOURCE: Stewart Lender Services
