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COVID-19 is much more than a health crisis. e virus has
placed a stranglehold on the economy, employment, and the
housing market.
Agencies such as the Federal
Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and
the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) have enacted mortgage
forbearance programs, allowing homeowners
impacted by the virus the ability to either not
make payments, or to make reduced payments
for up to a year.
As with virtually every American
industry, mortgage servicing is also feeling
the pressure brought on by the pandemic,
from staffing concerns and shifts to remote
working, to a liquidity crunch as homeowners
go into forbearance but servicers remain
obligated to pay investors for the mortgage-
backed securities created from the bundled
loans. Across the board, servicers are facing
increased workloads, making loss-mitigation
more crucial than ever.
One possible source of relief ? Financial
services law firms. ese firms, themselves
struggling with lost business loads as
foreclosures grind to a halt and courts close
across the country, are now working to assist
servicers with the ever-increasing volume of
loss mitigation calls.
PIVOTING TO HELP
Financial services law firms are uniquely
positioned to assist servicers with loss
mitigation needs, according to Caren Castle,
Senior Attorney at the Wolf Firm, as their
staff is already trained to communicate and
reach out to borrowers in distress.
"We do that everyday, and have done
FLATTENING
THE CURVE
As the industry deals with increased forbearance plans and loss-
mitigation, financial services law firms are offering a helping hand.
Feature By: Mike Albanese
