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37 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM FIVE MINUTES WITH Get to Know Industry Executives Beyond the Boardroom As Chief of the Homeownership Preservation Office in the United States Department of the Treasury, Mark McArdle oversees the management of the Treasury's Making Home Affordable (MHA) program. He leads programs that aim to help those most affected by the housing crisis with a goal of getting homeowners back on financial track. McArdle opens up to DS News about the impact of MHA and The Hardest Hit Fund, as well as what motivates him to continue to strive to make a difference. What are some of the long-term goals the MHA hopes to achieve? Making Home Affordable has made at least four significant contributions. First, the creation of a transparent and standardized loss mitigation framework that focuses on affordability. Most proprietary modifications now look a lot like Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) modifications. Second, many of our standards for customer care, such as the prohibition of dual tracking and offering a single point of contact, became part of the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement and then Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) servicing rules. Third, we introduced new tools for the industry such as the Second Lien Modification Program, the Principal Reduction Alternative program, the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative program, and our new post-modification counseling requirement that we believe could become an important part of the loss mitigation process. Finally, our compliance, public reporting, and third-party escalations process helped make the industry better able to deal with homeowners by increasing servicer accountability. You have a long history of helping people who are either homeless or in a precarious housing situation. What motivates you to continue to serve people in need? I have always believed housing is central to people's lives. Where we live determines our access to schools, jobs, and the communities in which we raise our children. A home is also the central investment in most people's lives and the single biggest asset passed on from one generation to the next. The opportunity to work on MHA, and help families stay in their homes where possible, has been very meaningful to me. In what ways have you had to adapt the Homeownership Preservation Office to deal with shifting market conditions? We are actually a relatively small and nimble team; I think the primary way we deal with changing conditions is we try to listen to everyone—homeowners, servicers, oversight bodies, advocates, counselors, regulators, and our many partners in this program. We have made changes to our programs based on many of their recommendations as we are always looking for opportunities to make our programs more efficient and responsive to the needs of homeowners. The Hardest Hit Fund seeks to help the 18 states most affected by the housing crises. What is the status of these 18 states today, compared to 2007? Those 18 states and the District of Columbia are still hard hit in many ways—the majority of negative equity is still in those states, and they have significantly higher unemployment rates. This crisis was deep and particularly painful for these jurisdictions; it will likely be years before some of these hard hit housing markets fully recover. The programs and infrastructure created by the Hardest Hit Fund in these areas since 2010 will play a part in stabilizing these markets and will continue to demonstrate new approaches to loss mitigation. What is the first thing a struggling homeowner should know about MHA? That help is still available. MHA has been extended through December 31, 2015, and most Hardest Hit Fund programs are still able to provide assistance to folks. For more information about options, homeowners should call 1.888.995.HOPE (4673) to speak to a HUD-approved housing counselor. CHIEF OF THE HOMEOWNERSHIP PRESERVATION OFFICE IN THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Mark McArdle

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