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35 "We've seen a huge investment not only by us, but by many of the mortgage companies invested in digital platforms, and this has created an improved digital experience for many borrowers." provide new mortgages for those that want to participate in this housing market. What are some ways the mortgage industry should be preparing to assist borrowers as they exit forbearances and the foreclosure moratorium begin to lapse? As the pandemic comes to an end, many of these COVID-19 programs will also end. I want to mention that I think some things will not end. For example, I don't see an end to the investments in digital platforms. Borrowers are now willing to use—and can more easily access—these digital platforms. I hope that much of that will stay since it will benefit us all. ink of forbearance; it is not something that we created during this pandemic. Forbearance is something that we've had in our toolkit when we've seen natural disasters or wildfires. One of the reasons we were able to respond so quickly during this pandemic is because we were able to quickly adapt our existing toolkits, the ones that we've applied in very specific areas, and broaden them. To the extent that something in the future necessitates us rolling forbearance out again, we'll be able to do so quickly. Can you give us an inside view of how these homeowner options are performing in today's market? Of the hundreds of thousands of borrowers in Freddie Mac's portfolio that have started on forbearance, we've seen roughly two-thirds of them already exit forbearance. In the last couple of months, we've seen a huge improvement in several key indices. We're seeing the economy open back up, the unemployment rate go down, and things are definitely moving in the right direction. We're seeing more and more borrowers gracefully exit forbearance and sustain homeownership, which is so important. We're not out of the woods, but we've seen huge success so far. At the same time, we still have many borrowers still on forbearance, with most of them on it for close to a year. eir circumstances are probably more serious than the other borrowers that have already come off forbearance. So, the tools that worked for the first half of the borrowers might need to be different than the tools that we exercise for the remaining borrowers. We have options for them, such as our Flex Modification program, which not only allows them to resume making a mortgage payment but also allows a reduced mortgage payment for those borrowers that need it. Having our servicers/ mortgage companies work with borrowers is key, and we constantly emphasize sustainable homeownership, encouraging borrowers to keep working closely with their mortgage companies. A mortgage company can advise borrowers on the relief options available to them and help them understand their options better. We're constantly listening to our servicers so that, whenever we need additional tools to help support homeowners, we're here, ready, and able to roll those out. THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com. THEFIVESTARINSTITUTE