MH Assists in the national Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR)

For more than two years, Maddin Hauser (as one of only a small handful of law firms nationwide) has assisted in the national Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR), the largest investigation of its kind regarding the default servicing practices of the nation’s largest mortgage servicing companies. We helped independent consultants and federal regulators develop methods for evaluating servicer compliance with state and federal laws (including the SCRA, RESPA, FCRA, and Bankruptcy Code).  As part of the IFR process, our Maddin Hauser team:

• Evaluated and applied foreclosure laws and processes from all 50 states
• Worked with federal regulators to create proposed guidance addressing unique legal issues, particularly in areas where there was little or no judicial authority interpreting or applying key statutes and regulations
• Worked with independent consultants in the implementation of agency consent orders
• Evaluated mortgage servicing systems, including document retention and software systems, and helped identify potentially problematic procedures
• Reviewed and applied GSE Investor Requirements (including FNMA, FHA, VA and others) on a wide range of issues, including loan modifications, payment applications, default servicing, and escrow and suspense account maintenance
• Evaluated loan modification processing – from application through underwriting – as well as proper application of investor funds to modified loans (including proper capitalization and escrow reconciliations)
• Evaluated servicer compliance with internal policies and procedures
• Evaluated the appropriateness of potential borrower remediation