Freddie Partners With Stewart Subsidiary to Help Servicers Handle Mod Volumes

""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com has announced an agreement with Home Retention Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ""Stewart Lender Services, Inc."":http://www.stewart.com, to help regional servicers process thousands of backlogged applications for Making Home Affordable modifications.
Specifically, Home Retention Services will assess the eligibility of delinquent borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages for modifications under the government program or other possible workouts, as well as process borrowers’ financial information for the servicers to review and approve.
Ingrid Beckles, SVP of default asset management at Freddie Mac, said, ""By using Home Retention Services' staff and resources we can ease some of the pressures on our servicers' staff while helping more borrowers pursue a mortgage workout. Today's announcement builds on Freddie Mac's strategy to improve the borrower experience when seeking a mortgage workout and our commitment to the Making Home Affordable program's success.""
While the new initiative will supplement the capacity of participating servicers to process loan modifications, Beckles emphasized that ""borrowers should continue to call their servicers first to determine the best solution for their situation.""
Freddie Mac explained in a press statement that potentially eligible borrowers identified by a participating servicer will receive a letter from Freddie Mac asking them to call Home Retention Services using a proprietary toll-free number. The letters will be specially formatted and include unique borrower PIN numbers to protect borrowers from counterfeits produced by fraud artists.
Home Retention Services will then work with the borrower, assess their eligibility for the Home Affordable Modification Program, complete the documentation and income gathering processes, and advise the borrower of their proposed modified payment.
The borrower's modification trial period begins once the servicer approves the modification and receives the borrower's check for the new monthly mortgage amount. Home Retention Services will also advise borrowers of other Freddie Mac workout options if they don't qualify for the Making Home Affordable Program.
Jason Nadeau, president and CEO of Stewart Lender Services, commented, ""We are pleased to be working with Freddie Mac and their servicers to bring additional capacity to the Making Home Affordable program process. Home Retention Services specializes in supplementing servicers' efforts to preserve home ownership for their borrowers.""
Freddie Mac says employing Home Retention Services to relieve servicers of preliminary workout steps builds on the GSE’s earlier outreach initiatives. Freddie Mac has used the Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Atlanta and San Francisco to contact low- and moderate-income borrowers at high risk of default since 2005, and selected Ocwen Financial Corporation to target borrowers with delinquent high-risk mortgages in 2009.