Ginnie Mae Issues Guidance to Issuers Affected by Hurricanes’ Harvey and Irma
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — Ginnie Mae issued an All Participants Memorandum (APM) – PM 17-02 to Single-Family Issuers providing buyout guidance for loans impacted by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.
Effective immediately, Chapter 34-2 of the Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities Guide, HUD Handbook 5500.3 Rev-1 (”MBS Guide”) provides expanded loan buyout authority to support issuers offering relief to borrowers impacted by natural disasters, including “relief in the form of late fee waivers, forbearance periods, loan modifications, and foreclosure moratoriums to the extent permissible under the guidelines of the federal agency guaranteeing or insuring each loan.”
“The purpose of this action is to facilitate the ability of our issuers to provide relief to borrowers as provided for by the federal agencies that guarantee the loans in Ginnie Mae securities,” said Michael Bright, Ginnie Mae Acting President. “In extraordinary situations such as this, accelerating buyout authority allows issuers to render assistance more quickly than under standard program guidelines.”
Under the APM guidance, Ginnie Mae will permit issuers to buy out loans that meet the following specific eligibility requirements: the property securing the loan must be damaged and be located within a designated disaster area; or the borrower must be experiencing economic hardship related to the designated disaster as established by the underlying federal insuring or guarantying agency.
Issuers must request and obtain prior written approval from Ginnie Mae and are urged to contact their Ginnie Mae Account Executive with questions. The loan buyout authority extended under this APM will expire on March 31, 2018.
The complete All Participants Memorandum can be found here.
Information on designated disaster areas can be found from the Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.FEMA.gov/disasters.
About Ginnie Mae
Ginnie Mae is a wholly-owned government corporation that attracts global capital into the housing finance system to support homeownership for veterans and millions of homeowners throughout the country. Ginnie Mae mortgage backed securities MBS programs directly support housing finance programs administered by the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the HUD Office of Public and Indian Housing, and the Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service. Ginnie Mae is the only MBS to carry the explicit full faith and credit of the United States Government.
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Ginnie Mae issued an All Participants Memorandum (APM) – PM 17-02 to Single-Family Issuers providing buyout guidance for loans impacted by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.
