Just as the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) have announced their Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) programs, MOS Group Inc., one of the nation’s largest loss mitigation service providers to mortgage lenders and servicers, has announced the expansion of its loss mitigation services. The company’s loss mitigation services will now include short sales and deeds-in-lieu that comply with the Treasury Department’s HAFA program requirements. MOS Group, one of the country’s largest HAMP outsourcers, is leveraging its end-to-end, borrower-focused methodology, comprehensive employee training and education program and leading technology platform to assist HAFA-qualified borrowers throughout all phases of the short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure process.
The Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program has been targeted to assist roughly four million Americans at risk of losing their homes. According to the U.S Treasury’s April 2010 Servicer Performance Report, approximately 1.2 million of those borrowers have gone through the HAMP program. However, of the borrowers that have entered the modification trial, there have only been 295,000 borrowers that have converted these trial modifications into permanent ones. Under HAFA, all homeowners that do not qualify for a HAMP loan modification must be considered for participation in the HAFA program before a lender forecloses. By participating in HAFA, borrowers may be able to avoid foreclosure by electing to participate in a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. In addition to the nearly one million borrowers that have not been awarded a permanent loan modification through HAMP, there are also millions of other borrowers that are currently delinquent or in foreclosure. Online real estate marketplace and information source Zillow.com estimates that 7.3 million mortgages that are delinquent or in foreclosure as of March 2010.
“The process of transitioning borrowers from the hope of securing a loan modification to the reality of letting go of their homes through a short sale or deed-in-lieu is sensitive one,” says Greg Hebner, president of MOS Group. “MOS is the largest and most successful HAMP outsourcer in the market, and we’ve expanded our loss mitigation services to give servicers the benefit of our experience and success with HAMP. Even more so than the HAMP process, HAFA transactions require not only efficient and structured methodology, but also compassionate and empathic communication.”
Like MOS Group’s HAMP services, the company’s HAFA services will leverage a proven, highly transparent technology platform that delivers a “high touch” and “high tech” approach that is unique among current loss mitigation services providers while providing a rich data set that can be used for reporting transparency and business intelligence. Because MOS Group is a fully licensed debt collector, it is able to conduct all borrower outreach from the initial denial or fall-out from HAMP, through final liquidation and resolution providing a single point of contact for the servicer throughout the loss mitigation process.
“MOS Group has been a proven leader in providing outsourced services to support the HAMP program, and our clients know that—they’re showing a lot of confidence in formula we’ve created,” says Hebner. “Our servicer clients have seen what we’ve done in the HAMP arena and they know that our proven formula will allow us to reach a higher number of HAFA eligible borrowers, engage them in necessary but challenging foreclosure alternative discussions, and ultimately achieve higher resolution rates.”
MOS Group has worked with over 250,000 HAMP borrowers and assisted in completing over 60.000 permanent HAMP modifications. The company’s clients have consistently led the monthly U.S Treasury’s Servicer Performance Reports in terms of servicer performance.
For more information, visit www.MortgageOutreach.com.
