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Timeline Management

Effective timeline management processes are essential for mitigating risk, reducing costs, and maintaining performance. Timeline management includes the servicers' processes, abilities, and competencies to handle bankruptcy, foreclosure, and post-foreclosure accounts. Additionally, these established processes ensure the servicers manage performance expectations in compliance with Fannie Mae guidelines, and that they remain in compliance with Fannie Mae, statutory, and regulatory requirements.

Process Area

Critical Success Factor

Assessment Area

7.3.1 Bankruptcy

7.3.1.1

Process Management

Bankruptcy case opening and servicer system update

Proof of Claim filing and case review

Adherence to payment plans or other arrangements

Managing post-discharged Chapter 7 loans

7.3.1.2

Timeline Management and Reporting

Managing key bankruptcy milestones and timelines

Adherence to Fannie Mae bankruptcy referral guidelines

7.3.2 Foreclosure

7.3.2.1 Process Management

Pre-referral to foreclosure review on loans determined eligible for foreclosure

Timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of referral package

Pre-foreclosure sale management and oversight

7.3.2.2 Timeline Management and Reporting

Adherence to Fannie Mae foreclosure timelines and reporting requirements

Monitoring attorney performance

7.3.3 Property Preservation and Post-Foreclosure Management

7.3.3.1

Preserving, Protecting and Maintaining Fannie Mae Collateral

Properly maintain property condition through inspection, preservation and maintenance

7.3.3.2

Post Foreclosure Review

Fannie Mae guidelines for REOgrams are always met

Servicer elimination/rescission notifications

MI Claims Management

7.3.3.3

Title Exceptions

Conveyance of clear and marketable title to Fannie Mae

Introduction

Timeline management encompasses management and oversight of bankruptcy, foreclosure, and post-foreclosure activities.

Servicers are responsible for establishing thorough processes and procedures for monitoring and resolving bankruptcy cases, which include but are not limited to monitoring bankruptcy filings and initiating appropriate servicer processes, managing and monitoring the bankruptcy attorney's performance, timeline performance and cure rates, and providing foreclosure prevention activities, where applicable. The servicer is responsible for providing a complete referral package to the bankruptcy attorney, any additional documentation, information, or signatures the bankruptcy attorney requests, and for fulfilling all of its other servicing obligations.

Fannie Mae requires its servicers to perform all necessary steps to ensure that foreclosure proceedings are conducted appropriately. Foreclosure processes and procedures vary by jurisdiction. In many states, foreclosures have become complex and require attorneys who are adept at understanding and assimilating dynamic legal processes. Servicers must use attorneys that meet Fannie Mae’s minimum requirements to execute the foreclosure process. Servicers are expected to maintain frequent and high-quality communication with foreclosure attorneys, and have the necessary processes and oversight functions to ensure required foreclosure timelines and legal expense guidelines are met.

Fannie Mae expects servicers to properly manage foreclosure timelines and avoid any controllable delays. As servicers work to move loans through the foreclosure process, delays should be limited to processes that are uncontrollable such as loss mitigation and bankruptcy delays. Servicers can take a proactive approach to identify loans with controllable delays by pulling loans that are beyond timeline, perform a quality control assessment and build in controls to limit those instances. Through the STAR program, Fannie Mae will evaluate a servicer’s ability to manage the foreclosure timelines and the actions taken to prevent controllable delays. When a STAR servicer is identified as having performance issues in the area of foreclosure timeline management, Fannie Mae will work with the servicer to identify the root causes for the delays and implement an effective remediation process to fix the issue.

Servicers are expected to follow certain procedures after foreclosure. Following a foreclosure, REOgram notifications should be reviewed and confirmed within one business day upon receipt which initiates post-sale activities. Fannie Mae then takes steps to prepare the Real Estate Owned (REO) property for sale. Although the marketing and sale of the REO unit is conducted by Fannie Mae, the servicer is responsible for promptly notifying Fannie Mae of foreclosure completion, conveying clear and marketable title, and preserving the property until conveyance to Fannie Mae. Collectively, these steps help limit timelines and contain costs associated with the acquisition and disposition of REO properties.

Process Level Profile

The STAR Program requires organizational and shared process information related to the various functions under scope. The focus of organizational information is on scale, complexity, and broader environmental factors while that of shared processes is on people, process, and technology dimensions.

Applications used to support the processes, the extent of automation / integration between the various modules and the maturity of control procedures are reviewed.

People management practices are also reviewed. This requires servicers to provide key metrics identified in the following table and supporting documentation.

Specific focus areas for required data include performance metrics and staffing information used across all critical success factors within the Timeline Management section of the guide.

 

Timeline Management Level Profile

Organizational Overview
  • Number of geographic locations
  • Outsourced functions
  • Key vendor relationships
  • Description of organization structure including span of control

Applications and Environment
  • Major applications and services used for timeline management
  • Degree of module integration and # of manual workarounds
  • Controls documentation

People

General Background

  • Number of FTEs

  • Average number of years of mortgage experience

    • Staff

    • Supervisors

    • Managers

  • Average number of years of timeline management experience

    • Staff

    • Supervisors

    • Managers

Recruitment and Retention

  • Number of open positions

    • FTE

    • Part-time

    • Fill times

  • Turnover rates for past twelve months

    • Staff

    • Supervisors

    • Managers

Capacity Management

  • Work load

    • Number of files

    • Number of supervisors

    • Number of managers

  • Skills assessment practiced

Training

  • Number hours of training

  • Number hours of Fannie Mae related training

  • Number hours of bankruptcy training

  • Number hours of foreclosure training

  • Compliance

Bankruptcy Data
  • Average days between closing order and removal from bankruptcy status**
  • Average days in bankruptcy chapter 7**
  • Average days in bankruptcy chapter 13**
  • Percentage of Motions for Relief referrals submitted timely to attorney*
  • Number of delinquent loans without referral for all bankruptcy chapters exceeding Fannie Mae referral guidelines**
  • Bankruptcy no LPI movement to Bankruptcy Inventory*
  • Average age of referral**

Foreclosure Required Data*
  • Percentage of sales held inventory*
  • Pull-through rate*

 
  • 180 plus days Loans not in a Foreclosure Status*
  • Scheduled sales to foreclosure inventory**
  • Sales held to foreclosure inventory*
  • Foreclosure holds to inventory**
  • Beyond Time Frame Resolution*
  • Average Age of Loans Beyond Allow able Foreclosure Time Frame**
  • Average Days Above Timeline*
  • Percentage Above Timeline*

Property Preservation and Post Foreclosure Management Required Data*
  • Percentage of REOgrams reviewed and confirmed within timelines**
  • Number of servicer elimination/recession notifications**
  • Percentage of servicer elimination*
  • Number of title exceptions**

* Metric details are available in the STAR Performance Scorecard White Paper

** Performance data may be collected through the Servicer self-assessment and data collection form