Archive Updates
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11.1.11
October Payments Delayed
For those of you have begun receiving mortgage payments, OHSI notified us last week that the October payments have been delayed, due to technical difficulties. OHSI is in communication with all of the servicers, but you will likely still get form letters from your servicer about the late payment. You don't need to do anything to follow-up with us or your servicer; OHSI will post the payments as soon as possible - maybe as soon as Tuesday. They still expect November payments to be made on time.
For information about when your payments have been made, please call OHSI Customer Service at 503-986-2025.
Random Audits
OHSI has begun conducting random audits of MPA files, statewide. These audits will not just be checking your ongoing verification status, but will also include a review of your original application and eligibility. It is possible, during the course of the audit, that you may be asked to provide additional documents to the underwriting department, regarding both your current income and details of your original application. We will be learning more about this process in the coming weeks and will keep you posted as soon as we have more details. In the meantime, we thought it was important for you to know about this possibility, here is what we know, so far:
- Roughly 20% of files will be selected for audit, statewide.
- Of those, some will 'pass' the audit with no further action needed, and you won't even know that your file was selected.
- If the audit uncovers a need for additional documentation, OHSI will notify NEDCO, and we will contact you. You will have only 5 calendar days to return the documents to us, so that we can get them back to OHSI by their deadline.
- Document requests will start in early November, and continue for about 6 weeks.
- If we receive a document request for you, we will first notify you by email, since this will let us list exactly what documents have been requested. Please check your email frequently during this time. We will title the email "Document Request from NEDCO", so you'll know to respond right away.
- As always, you can email, fax, mail or drop off the documents. Email (with *.pdf attachments) is easiest for us, if it works for you!
- Requested documents may relate to your current status or to your original application.
Credit Reporting
As many of you know, the original delays in payments from OHSI caused many servicers to report you as late to the credit bureaus, even after you had signed MPA loan documents. OHSI has been advocating with servicers to reverse this reporting, for all homeowners who were current when they entered the MPA program. Recently, Wells Fargo agreed to the correction, which is a major victory. OHSI is continuing to negotiate with all servicers. However, please note that the corrections will take time - even for Wells Fargo clients, the corrected information will not be sent to the bureaus until November at the earliest. The good news: once a correction is sent by the servicer, all trace of the late payments is removed from your credit report - it's as if it never existed. So the timing is less important than simply making sure it happens.
Assorted Notes on Monthly Verification
Monthly verification has been a bumpy road so far - with delays at the start of the month, technical problems with the website, and confusion about when to start. Here are a few helpful hints that we have learned so far:
- When to Start (1st Month): You will be notified by e-mail directly by OHSI when you are to begin Monthly Verification and the Homeowner Education Program. That e-mail will provide you with a link and instructions on how to begin the processes. You will not be able to access the OHSI site until you receive the e-mail from OHSI.
- When to Start (Ongoing): Please wait until AFTER the first of each month to download and print out that month's verification form. The form may change from month to month and you must submit the proper form to be counted as complete.
- Method of Submitting: Please provide your verification by ONE method only; when we receive your paperwork by email, mail and fax, it causes quite a bit of confusion!
- Fax cover sheets are not necessary. Our office is small enough that everyone knows where those forms need to go.
- How Will You Know We Got It? We will send an e-mail at the end of business on the 8th of each month to everyone: one email to those whose verification we have not received, and one to those we have received. Please wait to receive this e-mail prior to calling our office to confirm that your verification has been received. We wish we could confirm each as they come in, but we just don't have time!
Experiencing Technical Difficulties with the Verification or HEP Website?
We have a couple of trouble-shooting ideas on our website. If these don't work, please call OHSI Customer Service at 503-986-2025 or email homeownerhelp@hcs.state.or.us.
Workshops and Classes
Still thinking about a loan modification? Wondering about how to plan for the end of MPA? Or could you use a little help with creating a financial plan? NEDCO continues to offer Default Intervention Workshops and Financial Recovery Classes in each county. Click here for a link to our class schedules, and check back often for updates.
I think that's everything for today. As always, feel free to call or email with questions, and we'll try to resume our more regular email updates.
We will email a confirmation on November 8th that we have received (or not!) your verification paperwork. Please wait for this email, rather than calling our office to confirm.
Thank you so much for all of your continued understanding and cooperation with this program - we couldn't do it without your support.
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6.27.11
Application Status Questions:
Unless we receive a direct request from underwriting, or receive your loan documents, NEDCO has no way to check the overall status of your application. We will be in touch with you immediately if either of the above happens. Otherwise, please direct all questions about the status of your application to OHSI: 503-986-2025 or homeownerhelp@hcs.state.or.us.
Monthly Verification Process
The best news this week: OHSI has drastically simplified the monthly verification process. You will simply fill out a Verification Form to submit on which you will attest (or not) that you remain below 120% of state median income for your household size and confirm that you meet the other eligibility criteria. Then, each month, OHSI will select a random sample of homeowners to 'audit', and NEDCO will contact those homeowners to request full income documentation for that month. But most of the time, it will just be a single form, which should be much easier!
Monthly Verification Timing:
In addition, since many homeowners have still not received/signed loan documents, and since there have been problems with the wire transfers even for some who have signed, OHSI has changed the timeline of when monthly verification will start for each family: it will now begin in the month after OHSI has actually made your first payment. Please note that this may or may not be July (or the month after you sign your loan documents), depending on the timing of when payments are issued and whether there are any problems with the wire transfer.
On July 1st, OHSI will send an email to those homeowners who have had a payment made on their behalf, and who must start the verification process in July. There will be a link in the email to a new website, where you will be able to log in to get the verification form and access the homeowner education videos. (If you do not receive the second email, it means that a payment has not yet been issued for you, and you do not need to begin verification or education in July. The state will email you directly - likely on August 1st - when your verification begins.) OHSI will also provide a list to NEDCO of those families who start verification in July, so you may hear directly from us, as well.
Homeowner Education Program (HEP) Timing:
HEP will follow the same timing as your monthly verification. The month in which you first submit verification will also be the start of your first quarter on the HEP program. You will watch the videos that month, and turn in the HEP worksheets three months later. For example, if you start verification in July, you will need to watch the HEP videos in July, complete the worksheets during August and September, and turn the whole packet in with your verification form at the beginning of October. If you start verification in August, that all bumps back a month. Again, OHSI and NEDCO will be in touch directly, to let you know when your verification and HEP start. We already have in-person HEP workshops scheduled for July and will be scheduling more in August. If you do not receive an email from OHSI, you do not need to complete HEP in July.
Verification and HEP Website:
OHSI is finishing the last touches on a website for the verification process and HEP program. There will be a link from the www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org website, and we will provide a link from our website as well. You will need to create a personal login for the site, using the loan number from your MPA loan documents. (Therefore, you will not have access to the site until you sign your loan. For those who have already signed, the site should be live on July 1.) Each month, you will be able to print your verification form. And since you have a unique login, OHSI will be able to put the HEP videos on your account during the correct month, according to when your timeline begins. All HEP worksheets will also be available on your account.
[Note: Your MPA Loan Number is going to be used for as a tracking number for both the Monthly Verification and the Homeowner Education Program. You can find your MPA loan number in the bottom right corner of your loan documents. It begins with "MPA" and then is followed by 5 numbers, a dash then four more numbers. For example, it would look something like, "MPA12345-6789." You will need this number whenever you log into your OHSI account to access your Monthly Verification Worksheet and Homeowner Education Program materials and videos.]
If you do not have access to the internet, we encourage you to work with a friend, family member, or local agency (such as your local library) to be able to use this website. NEDCO will also work to have in-person workshops and forms available at our office, but the process will be much easier if you can access as much as possible through the website.
Chase and Wells Fargo Payment Issues:
Many of you who already signed loan documents received an email from us explaining that Chase and Wells Fargo both experienced technical problems receiving payment transfers from OHSI. Those problems have now been resolved, and OHSI has begun issuing payments to both Wells and Chase; however, it may take a week or two for OHSI to get caught up on the payments that should have happened last month. In addition, the July payments will be issued shortly, to all 5 major servicers, so the next 2 weeks will be a crucial test of the payment system.
Verifying Payments Made:
OHSI does not currently have a system to notify homeowners (or NEDCO) when payments have been issued on your behalf. And if you were already in foreclosure, you may not receive monthly statements. We encourage you to call your servicer periodically, to check if a payment has been made, and for which months. It's important that you know to which month the first OHSI payment was applied, because that will tell you when your 12 months of eligibility will end.
Servicer Participation:
Recently, several stubborn servicers have agreed to participate in MPA. You can see an updated list at www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org. Only 100 homeowners statewide have non-participating servicers. OHSI is creating a policy to be able to issue written checks on behalf of these homeowners, to eliminate the need for servicer cooperation. However, that complicates the process significantly, and will delay the timeline for these homeowners, and may present other problems. If you are one of these 100 homeowners, we will keep you posted as we know more.
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5.26.11
Loans Signed:
Lane County - 281
Marion County - 196
Clackamas County - 194
Verification and Education Components DELAYED - Now Starting July, 2011
- Homeowner Education Program (HEP) Workshops - an in-person alternative to the online HEP training:
- Lane County
- July 13th or July 27th - English
- July 21st - Spanish
- Marion County
- July 14th or July 28th - English
- July 21st - Spanish
- Clackamas County
- July 19th or July 26th - English
- To Be Announced - Spanish
- Financial Recovery Workshops - a two-part NEDCO class designed to help you plan a crisis budget, manage debt and repair credit (not required for MPA):
If you were given a flier at your loan signing session that listed the old dates, you can print a new flier:
Credit Reporting:
We have recently learned that the major servicers (Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, GMAC, Citi) have agreed that they will not report to the credit bureaus as long as you remain on MPA. This means that your participation in MPA will be completely neutral on your credit report/score - it will not have either a positive or a negative effect. Your servicer will resume reporting as soon as you exit from the program.
OHSI is still negotiating with the smaller servicers, so we do not yet know how (or if) they will report to the bureaus.
Foreclosure Sale Dates:
Just a reminder that if you have a foreclosure sale date pending, please contact us with that information as soon as possible NEDCO and OHSI can help you negotiate with your servicer, to try to get the sale date postponed, and give you a chance to participate in MPA.
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5.19.2011
Loans Signed:
Lane County - 37
Marion County - 55
Clackamas County - 60
Loan Document Update:
The bad news is obviously that we have not received a high volume of loan documents so far.
The good news is that, if we have not received your loan documents yet, you are actually in the majority - there is no need to worry that the delay means anything bad about your application.
The even better news: We expect to see a huge increase in loan documents in the next week, and OHSI expects to have loan documents issued for all homeowners by the end of June.
First Payments:
After you have signed the loan documents, we are seeing a fairly significant delay (several weeks, even a month) before the first payment hits your account. This is simply due to the logistics of OHSI wiring the money to your servicer, and should not be cause for concern. There is nothing else that you need to do, either for OHSI or your servicer - once you sign the loan documents, your part is done. You can be certain that the payment will be made, and that any foreclosure proceedings are already frozen. (Even when you talk to a customer service rep at your servicer, and they have never heard of MPA, and claim there is nothing in their computer system about it! Yes, it has happened.)
HAMP Trial-Period Modifications:
We have learned that MPA payments cannot be combined with a HAMP trial period modification.
(If you have a permanent modification, you are fine; if you have a trial-period or permanent in-house modification, you are also fine.)
If you have not yet signed your MPA loan documents, and you are considering, or are currently in a HAMP trial period modification, there are several options that may be available to you. Please contact our office, if you:
- If you have a pending application for a HAMP modification (that you have submitted to your servicer)
- If you are currently in a HAMP trial period modification
Our Foreclosure Intervention Counselors can help explain the situation in more detail.
Monthly Income Verification:
When you provide your updated income information for the monthly eligibility verification, you will be asked to provide year-to-date information. We will use the year-to-date figures to create and annual average - and compare that figure to 120% of state median income for your family size. For example, if your first month of verification is July, you would provide us with paystubs (or profit and loss, social security statement, etc) that showed your income for January through June. We would divide that by 6 months for a monthly average, and multiply by 12 to find the annual average.
As long as you are below 120% of median income for your household size, you will continue to meet the income eligibility requirement.
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Contact Information:
Lane County:
e-mail: mpalane@nedcocdc.org
phone: 541-345.7106
fax: 541.345.9584 (attn: MPA)
mail: 212 Main St., Springfield, OR 97477 (attn: MPA)
Marion County & Clackamas County:
e-mail: mpamarion@nedcocdc.org (Marion County)
mpaclackamas@nedcocdc.org (Clackamas County)
phone: 503.779.2680
877.320.1479 (Woodburn area)
fax: 503.779.2682 (attn: MPA)
mail: 2700 Market St NE Suite 110, Salem, OR 97301 (attn: MPA)
OHSI (Oregon Homeowner Stabilization Initiative):
website: www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org
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