The Critical Importance of Face-to-Face Contact
Mortgage Banking
Jun 07, 2023, 15:47 ET
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As the world continues to renormalize in the wake of the global pandemic, government agencies are considering changes to the policies that have kept the industry running during COVID. National Mortgage News Capital Markets Editor Bonnie Sinnock recently wrote about HUD’s deliberations on the matter for a recent story in NMN.
“A Federal Housing Administration requirement for servicers to make face-to-face contact with mortgage borrowers who are in default may be reimposed after its partial waiver due to the pandemic, which has been extended multiple times,” Sinnock wrote. “At the time of this writing, it appeared the Department of Housing and Urban Development was maintaining a Dec. 31 expiration date for the temporary measure, which has allowed mortgage companies to use alternative methods for outreach like phone interviews, video calling or email.”
Because she knows that NCCI is active in this part of the business, she reached out to NCCI President Matthew Pruess for a comment. At the time the article came out, no one was sure what direction HUD would go, but Pruess was clear that regardless of how the agency decided to handle the situation, servicers who made every effort to get into contact with their borrowers were more successful.
“I don't know if this waiver is going to continue, what I do know is that I continue to do face-to-face outreach for lenders and servicers," he said. “What we do is extend an olive branch that re-engages [borrowers] and humanizes the situation, because it's a person trying to reach out."
This is always important, but when the economy is changing quickly and there is a great deal of uncertainty as to future events, having the human connection is more important than ever.
As we finalize our preparations to meet with mortgage servicers at the upcoming Mortgage Bankers’s Association’s Servicing Solutions Conference in Orlando, we are planning on having a number of fruitful discussions with servicers who understand how important effective loss mitigation is in a changing economy.
If you’re planning on being at the show, be sure to find us on the exhibit hall floor, as we are proud sponsors of the event. If you want to be sure to meet with us, reach out to Doring at DLloyd@nationalcreditors.com to schedule a meeting.
