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25 ยป VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM FREDDIE MAC ANNOUNCES NEW FORECLOSURE PREVENTION GUIDELINES, REVISIONS Government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac has announced a set of new loss mitigation and foreclosure prevention guidelines and revisions in Guide Bulletins 2014-19 and 2014-20 that include a new deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure incentive, increased foreclosure timelines, and additional foreclosure relief for service members and their dependents. Freddie Mac is offering a supplemental incentive of up to $7,000 for new borrower evaluations for deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure that are conducted on or before December 1, 2015. Borrowers in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, or Pennsylvania who complete a Freddie Mac standard deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transaction are eligible. e new deed-in-lieu borrower incentive is scheduled to go into effect on February 1, 2015, but servicers at Freddie Mac have been encouraged to implement the new incentive as early as November 14, 2014. Foreclosure timelines have been increased in 47 jurisdictions for all foreclosure sales completed on or after November 1, 2014, as a result of Freddie Mac's recent review of state foreclosure timelines. An updated list of Freddie Mac's state foreclosure timelines can be found in Guide Exhibit 83. As part of Freddie Mac's commitment to active-duty service members, Freddie Mac is offering additional foreclosure relief to service members and their dependents. Foreclosure relief will be extended to mortgages while the service member is active for one year after military service ends when the borrower: 1) is a service member and the mortgaged property is the service member's primary residence, regardless of when the mortgage loan was originated; 2) is a dependent of the service member and the mortgaged property is the primary residence of the service member or his or her dependent; 3) was a service member who died during active military service and the mortgaged property continues to be the primary residence for a dependent of the service member. Servicers can determine if a borrower is eligible for these benefits by checking Freddie Mac's Mortgage Relief Options for Service Members website. DESPITE OCTOBER'S MONTHLY SPIKE, FORECLOSURES DECLINED IN 10 STATES While foreclosure activity in the U.S. spiked by 15 percent from September to October, the largest monthly increase in four years, 10 states still saw a month-over-month decline in foreclosures in October, according to RealtyTrac's October 2014 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. e state with the largest month-over- month decline in foreclosure filings (notices of default, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions/REOs) for October was New Jersey, at 41.8 percent, according to RealtyTrac. e Garden State had the third highest foreclosure rate of any state in the third quarter with one foreclosure filing for every 218 housing units, but the latest month- over-month decline pushed New Jersey down to ninth in foreclosure rate for October with one in every 878 housing units, according to RealtyTrac. In October, approximately .11 percent of residential housing units in New Jersey were in foreclosure. e other states that saw month-over- month declines in foreclosure filings in October were Colorado (37.5 percent), Rhode Island (36.12 percent), Maine (33.6 percent), Connecticut (22.1 percent), Massachusetts (12.6 percent), Iowa (5.4 percent), New York (3.2 percent), North Carolina (2.7 percent), and Florida (2.2 percent) according to RealtyTrac. e year-over-year difference in foreclosure filings was a different story, however. Foreclosure filings declined by 8 percent nationwide from October 2013 to October 2014, according to RealtyTrac. e state with the largest year-over-year decline in foreclosure filings was Rhode Island with 57.2 percent, followed closely by Colorado with 56.8 percent. Rhode Island and Colorado ranked 41st and 44th among states with the highest foreclosure rate, respectively, according to RealtyTrac. In all, 26 states saw a year-over-year decline in foreclosure filings in October, according to RealtyTrac.