Clarifire and Indisoft have partnered to inject HUD-approved housing counselors (HCAs) into loss mitigation workflows via an integration with IndiSoft’s National Housing Advocacy Platform (NHAP).
With this integration, the HCAs can provide foreclosure alternative counseling and loss mitigation assistance to homeowners while they are in servicing workflows, thus streamlining the process and improving communication, the companies say in a release.
“We are thrilled to partner with Clarifire, the renown SaaS provider of process automation, as investors, servicers and the federal agencies are leveraging these counselors to augment and complement the interactions with the borrowers preparing for an uptick in loss mitigation activity,” says Hans Rusli, CEO of IndiSoft. “HCAs are playing an increasingly critical role to help distressed homeowners navigate complex loss mitigation options, manage finances and communicate with servicers on their behalf in pursuit of a foreclosure alternative.”
“Numerous pieces of legislation are providing increased funding to HCAs to assist at-risk homeowners,” says Jane Mason, CEO of Clarifire. “The Housing Stability Counseling Program (HSCP), and the Homeowner’s Assistance Fund (HAF), for example, speak volumes about the importance of providing free, safe and effective assistance to homeowners who are ill-equipped or are under tremendous stress when faced with mortgage payment problems. To complement these developments, we’re providing proven technology to deliver visibility and results.”
Since the Great Recession and the passing of the Dodd-Frank Act, there are many options, relief programs and protections available for at-risk homeowners. While these efforts have helped minimize foreclosures, they come with regulatory, process and eligibility complexities that only increase the importance of HCAs as indispensable trusted advisors for homeowners.
By fully integrating IndiSoft’s HUD-certified Client Management System with Clarifire’s loss mitigation process automation, mortgage servicers gain a single point of access to nearly 2,000 HCAs using the IndiSoft system.
The integration makes these important interactions more robust while relieving the tremendous process burden on HCAs who must deal with different communication channels for each servicer. It also democratizes access to NHAP’s nationwide network of community-based HCAs and the homeowners they represent while preempting loss mitigation scams, which proliferate when economic times worsen.
“As service providers, HCAs will be seamlessly presented to servicers through our configurable dashboards,” Mason says. “Consumers can also access and interact with counselors through our self-service, consumer-direct portal.”
“We strongly encourage mortgage servicers, investors, the FHA, VA, USDA and the GSEs to participate in the NHAP to interact with HCAs nationwide,” adds Sylvia Alvarez, executive director and founder of Housing & Education Alliance (HEA) a HUD-approved counseling agency in Tampa, Florida.
“While the foreclosure and nonperforming mortgage loan data are at manageable levels, we are seeing a groundswell of economic challenges facing homeowners which will at some point affect their ability to make mortgage payments,” Alvarez adds. “So, a single, standardized access-point and communication channel will be a critical factor for our ability to effectively and efficiently assist homeowners seeking our assistance to avoid foreclosure or obtain financial assistance from the many relief programs now available.”
