Resolve^® Release Archives API Integration

Reminder: New Flex Modification Types

• As of December 1, 2024, Workout Program Type FLX and FLXD will be retired for new evaluations. For borrowers being newly evaluated for Flex Modifications and disaster Flex Modifications on and after this date Servicers must select FLXM or FLXDM, respectively.
• For any Flex Modification or disaster Flex Modification Trial Period Plans in approved status prior to this date, Servicers should continue to utilize FLX and FLXD, respectively, for Workout Approval (WAReq) and Settlement (SETReq) submissions.
• These updates ensure the workout adheres to the updated Flex Modification terms announced in Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin 2024-E.

Restore and Retain Workout terms for Payment Deferrals and Flex Modifications

• Servicers can restore and retain the prior workout terms for a previously cancelled Flex Modification in Trial Period Approved (TPAD) status or a payment deferral in Workout Approved (WAD) status. Requests will be submitted for exception review.
• This change gives flexibility to Servicers to restore a workout, easy identification of previously reviewed terms and the ability to upload bulk submissions.
• For transferred loans, the Transferee Servicer can reinstate the terms offered prior to the transfer.
• The borrower can retain previously approved terms, potentially providing faster mortgage assistance.

Flex Modification Appeals

• As per Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule: Regulation X, Servicers can submit an appeal for a prior ineligible Flex Modification Trial Period request and retain the original proposed workout terms. Requests will be submitted for exception review.
• This change provides a streamlined path for Servicers to submit appeals, with fewer data fields and easy identification of previously reviewed terms.

Unsettled Flex Modifications and Payment Deferrals

• Servicers can complete a Flex Modification in Trial Period Approved (TPAD) or Workout Approved (WAD) status, or a payment deferral in Workout Approved (WAD) status, that hasn’t been settled as of the first payment due date. Requests will be submitted for exception review.
• This change allows Servicers to complete an unsettled workout. It also provides flexibility to complete a workout even if a first payment due date or modification effective date is in the past.
• In the case of a loan transfer, it ensures that the borrower will receive the terms offered.

Processing of Retention Workouts on Loans with Odd Due Dates and Daily Simple Interest Loans

• Servicers can process retention workouts for loans that have an odd due date or daily simple interest calculation method.
• This change allows Servicers to process and settle a payment deferral using the Resolve-calculated original terms and eliminates the need to calculate the delinquent interest.
• The Servicer no longer needs to submit a request in Servicing Data Corrections to realign the payment due date following settlement for this type of payment deferral.

New Workout Program Types: FLXM and FLXDM

• Starting November 1, 2024, two new workout program types will be available for workout submissions in every status category: FLXM (Flex Modification) and FLXDM (disaster Flex Modification).
• Servicers are encouraged to implement the new workout program types with evaluations as early as November 1, 2024, and are required to implement them no later than December 1, 2024.
• These new workout program types highlight a delineation between existing and enhanced Flex Modifications, with a minimal level of effort to adopt.
• To support these new workout types, the dashboard and retention template have been updated.
• Based on the guidelines announced in Bulletin 2024-E, the Flex Modification waterfall calculation has also been updated to determine the post-workout terms:
  • The new mark-to-market loan-to-value (MTMLTV) threshold of 50% enables more borrowers to potentially be eligible for Flex Modifications.
  • The steps to determine the Flex Modification terms have been reordered. They will be applied incrementally until a 20% principal and interest (P&I) payment reduction is achieved or the steps have been exhausted.
• Eligibility rules are triggered for the new workout program types. This provides version control and more clarity between the existing and enhanced Flex Modification program.

Ability to Submit Flex Modifications for Exception Decisioning

• Servicers can submit Flex Modifications for exception review when parameters fall outside policy guidelines.
• This extends the capability to submit for additional review in situations in which a borrower doesn’t meet the eligibility requirements, but the Servicer believes it’s the best option for addressing a delinquency.

New Error Message for Short Sale Submissions

• New message LI002098 triggers in tandem with LI002038 when a short sale request is submitted for exception review and no Minimum Net Proceeds (MNP) value is available. This provides more transparency and detail when an exception submission isn’t successful.

Payment Deferral Eligibility for Borrowers with Disaster-Related Delinquency

• Resolve now issues a conditional approval when a borrower must make a payment in the evaluation and/or processing month to be eligible for a disaster payment deferral. (The Servicer must collect and report the payment(s) via Loan Level Reporting before submitting the settlement request.)
• This change allows a borrower evaluated in the 13th month of a disaster-related delinquency to be eligible for payment deferral, provided they make a payment in the evaluation and/or processing month..
• It also allows more borrowers to conditionally qualify for payment deferrals and provides clearer messaging to Servicers.

Payment Deferral Eligibility with Required Payment in Evaluation/Processing Month

• Resolve now issues a conditional approval when a borrower must make a payment(s) in the evaluation and/or processing month to be eligible for a payment deferral or disaster payment deferral. (The Servicer must collect and report the payment(s) via Loan Level Reporting before submitting the settlement request.)
• This change enables the Servicer to collect a payment during the evaluation and processing months to bring the payment deferral within the program limits.
• It also ensures the borrower remains eligible for a payment deferral or disaster payment deferral.

Flex Modification Delinquency

• If a loan became 60 days delinquent within 12 months of the first payment due date for a prior Flex Modification and the borrower hasn’t brought the loan current following the delinquency, submitting a workout request for a standard Flex Modification will trigger a fatal error.
• This change increases accuracy of Flex Modification evaluations.

Historical Data Added for Loan Modifications

• Resolve now includes all historical data from prior modifications, which is located under the prior history section.
• This provides a more complete picture and accurate account of past modification data.

Updated Message for Existing Upfront Retention Rule

• The description for message RE001050 has been updated to be more user-friendly by providing additional instructions for exceptions during processing.

Updated Message Related to Broker Price Opinion (BPO) Orders

• An update to message RE001054 asks Servicers to verify the property address and provides additional instructions to update incorrect addresses to prevent a BPO order being cancelled or delayed.
• It provides faster determination of workout eligibility, additional information regarding the delays and aligns data between Freddie Mac and the Servicer.

Updates to foreclosure triggers for Flex Modifications and payment deferrals

• When processing all types of Flex Modifications and payment deferrals that have a scheduled foreclosure sale date, the timing of warning and fatal triggers has been updated.
• Resolve will trigger a fatal or warning error if the subject property is in a state that follows the judicial foreclosure process, and the scheduled foreclosure sale date is within 60 days of the workout submission; or if the subject property is in a state that follows a non-judicial foreclosure process and the scheduled foreclosure sale date is within 30 days of the workout submission.
• This reduces exception requests and increases the accuracy of when warning and fatal edits trigger.

Modified criteria for validating loan origination date

• The criteria for determining eligibility for standard Flex Modifications and payment deferrals is now based on the current workout evaluation date instead of the loan origination date and is counted in days instead of months.
• This eliminates confusion on the eligibility for a standard Flex Modification or payment deferral, as loans may be eligible 365 days (366 in a leap year) from the date of origination. It also increases the accuracy of when the fatal error triggers.

Update to EDR for Flex Modification Trial Period Plans

• The action begin date in EDR for the cancellation request submitted on an in-progress Flex Modification Trial Period has been updated to the last day of the prior month when the cancellation is reported.
• This change increases accuracy of default reporting when Servicers submit for cancellation.
• It also ensures the cancellation process falls in the proper accounting cycle, preventing late processing which can result in a negative impact to the borrower and to a Servicer’s performance metrics.

Update to deferred principal calculation

• For all types of payment deferrals submitted via the Resolve UI or API, the deferred principal calculation has been updated to use Servicer-provided delinquent interest.
• This change aligns Freddie Mac’s response data to reflect the amount of deferral principal and interest (P&I) when a Servicer uses the requested delinquent interest field for a workout approval request (WAReq) submission.
• It also reduces the need to submit via Servicing Data Corrections.

Updates to imminent default criteria

• Imminent default criteria for eligibility for all types of Flex Modifications have been updated from less than three to less than two months, better reflecting existing policy.
• This update increases the number of approved Flex Modifications in early delinquency.
• It also eliminates the need for an imminent default indicator check and reduces the number of required data elements for borrowers who are within a delinquency period of 60 to 90 day.
• Note: Servicers must continue to send applicable data to evaluate if the borrower meets imminent default criteria. Refer to Guide Section 9206.7.

Reminder: Status requests on exceptions reviews can be made weekdays from 9 a.m. ET to 5 p.m. ET, and not more frequently than hourly.

Workout eligibility determined via prior workout first payment due date

• Resolve now uses the prior workout first payment due date to determine eligibility for the current workout.
• The change ensures that the rules are consistent for payment deferral and Flex Modification® evaluations.

Conditional approval for payment deferral eligibility

• Resolve now issues a conditional approval when a borrower must make a payment in the evaluation and/or processing month to be eligible for a payment deferral. The Servicer is expected to collect the payment before submitting a settlement request and report the payment via Loan Level Reporting.
• When the borrower is required to make a single payment to remain eligible, Resolve will reflect the actual number of payments to be deferred (See the Deferred Payment Count on the Workout Details page.).
• This change allows more borrowers to conditionally qualify for payment deferrals if they can make a payment in the evaluation/processing month. Servicers will also get clearer messaging in Resolve.

Updated delinquency eligibility check

• Resolve now determines a borrower’s eligibility as it pertains to delinquency based on the payment received/due date of last paid installment (DDLPI) as reported in Loan Level Reporting.
• Once payment has been reported, Servicers must resubmit the workout in Resolve so it can be re-decisioned based on the latest delinquency information.
• If the Servicer hasn’t done monthly reporting in Loan Level Reporting for the current cycle, Resolve will take the delinquency information value from the prior cycle.
• The new process is designed to ensure consistent evaluation for all workouts. It also eliminates the possibility of declining a borrower of a valid workout option simply based on the timing of the Servicer’s reporting in Loan Level Reporting relative to the workout evaluation request.

Flex Modification Enhancements

• For Draft Requests (DraftReq) and Trial Period Approval Requests (TPAReq), Servicers now have flexibility to notify Freddie Mac ahead of time of the intended Trial Period date.
• For Draft Requests (DraftReq) and Trial Period Approval Requests (TPAReq), a fatal edit will trigger if the borrower is less than 3 months delinquent and their income is 0—not only if their income information is missing. This gives Servicers a clearer understanding about the eligibility requirements for a workout based on a borrower’s delinquency.
• If a Servicer cancels a Trial Period that’s in progress and starts a new one on the same day, they no longer need to send the cancellation code to EDR, as Resolve automatically sends it.

Flex Modification/Payment Deferral Updates

• Servicers must now wait to process a new submission when the prior submission is still in progress for the same loan. This prevents errors occurring from back-to-back submissions.
• If the Servicer cannot make Quality Right Party Contact (QRPC) with the borrower, the information about the property type usage, occupancy and hardship reason are conditional based on the delinquency of the loan.
• Servicers cannot attempt to process a workout if the scheduled foreclosure date is within 30 days of submission of the workout.
• For Workout Approval Requests (WAReq), Trial Period Approval Requests (TPAReq) and Settlement Requests (SETReq), Servicers can now track recurring fatal edits if they need to make any adjustments, giving a more complete picture of what edits were triggered.
• For Workout Approval Requests (WAReq) and Trial Period Approval Requests (TPAReq), Servicers now have flexibility to submit for an exception along with comments, in cases where, due to the borrower’s unique circumstances, Freddie Mac needs to make an exception decision. This allows Servicers to submit loans with scenarios that fall outside of our general workout programs for exception review.
• For Workout Approval Requests (WAReq) and Settlement Requests (SETReq), the property valuation evaluation date and property value type are now listed in additional to the property valuation amount.

Mandatory Effective Date of Expansion of Payment Deferral Program

• As of October 1, 2023, all Servicers must fully transition to the expanded Payment Deferral Program.
• Loans that are between 60- and 180-days delinquent are eligible for a payment deferral.
• For more information, see the Payment Deferral Solutions webpage, Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin 2023-8 or the July 3, 2023, Resolve release information.
• This expansion is designed to make payment deferrals available to a larger number of homeowners.

Ability for Servicers to Edit Delinquent Interest

• Servicers can edit the delinquent interest on payment deferral workout approval requests to overcome penny differences.
• This allows Servicers to provide the delinquent interest in their requests to prevent any delinquent interest variances calculated between Freddie Mac and the Servicer. 

First Payment Due Date Adjustment for Payment Deferrals

• Servicers can edit the First Payment Due Date during the draft submission stage for a payment deferral.
• This provides greater flexibility in qualifying borrowers for payment deferrals, since Servicers can receive preliminary results including the impact of inserting a processing month at the time of a Draft Request (DraftReq) in addition to the Workout Approval Request (WAReq).

Weekend Processing of Workout Requests

• Servicers can process workout settlement requests during the weekend for Flex Modifications and payment deferrals.
• This provides greater accessibility and flexibility by expanding the timeframe for submission.
• Note: When submitting a Settlement Request (SETReq), Servicers will receive a response indicating the updated status; however, the loan will settle the following business day. Loans settle on each business day, with the exception of the first business day of the month; if a loan is submitted on the first business day of the month, it will settle on the second business day.

Expansion of Payment Deferral Program

• Servicers who are operationally available to do so may begin offering the expanded payment deferrals on July 1, 2023, at 12:00 a.m. By October 1, 2023, all Servicers must fully transition to the expanded Payment Deferral Program.
• Borrowers who are between 60- and 180-days delinquent may be eligible for payment deferrals.
• A rolling delinquency is no longer applicable for a payment deferral, so borrowers will no longer be required to have made at least two consecutive monthly mortgage payments immediately prior to completion of a payment deferral.
• Per the mandate announced in Bulletin 2023-8, borrowers on a payment deferral with an effective date on or after July 1, 2020, who fall 60 days or more delinquent, qualify for a streamlined Flex Modification.
• During the transition period from July 1, 2023 – October 1, 2023, Resolve will support the existing payment deferral as well as the expanded payment deferral. However, Servicers may only offer one version of the payment deferral (i.e. if a Servicer adopts the expanded payment deferral prior to October, 1, 2023, they can no longer offer a payment deferral to borrowers who are less than 60 days delinquent).
• For more information about the expansion of the Payment Deferral Program, see the Payment Deferral Solutions web page or Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin 2023-8.

Deferral of Escrow and Expenses

• An update to the standard payment deferral terms now allows escrow and expenses to be deferred, in addition to the non-interest-bearing unpaid principal balance (UPB), as outlined in Guide Section 9206.15(b).
• This enhancement makes payment deferrals a more attractive loss mitigation option for borrowers, as it allows deferment of expenses as well as standard monthly payments.

Workout Eligibility for Loans Nearing Maturity

• A new rule helps determine the best workout options for borrowers with loans that are nearing maturity.
• This applies when loans are less than 36 months from the maturity date or less than 36 months from the projected payoff date of the interest-bearing UPB.

Update to Flex Modification Submissions

Servicers don’t need to cancel a failed Trial Period approval request (‘TPAREQ’ failure) in the Resolve API, allowing the user to re-evaluate the submission data and reprocess the evaluation without receiving an error.

Payment Deferral Due Date Updates

• When the due date of last paid installment (DDLPI) for a standard payment deferral workout approval request is the same as the prior month’s DDLPI, the tool will trigger an LM000072 fatal edit. (UI/API)
• A new fatal error LM000144, appears when there are misaligned payment due dates. (UI/API)
• For workout requests on a payment deferral, when the reported first payment due date is the same month as, or three months or more after, the requested submission date, the tool will trigger an LM000074 fatal edit. (UI/API)

• API updates were made to Resolve Retention API Request Validation error messages, Resolve Workout Options, API Request Validation error messages, and the Resolve Retention API Guide for Version 2 schema. All three have been updated and posted to the Developer Portal. Specific updates to the error messages are listed on the Version History tab.
• Resolve will trigger the following message when API requests are submitted during deployment downtime: “Resolve is currently undergoing maintenance. Please try submitting your request again later.”
• Some other updates in this release impact those who access Resolve through the UI or an API. Please reference the UI section above for more details on the enhancements and changes in this release for API users.

**REMINDER: Required use of UI for both UI and API users in some scenarios

• A workout exception request in Info Requested status must be updated via the Workout Details screen in the Resolve UI to provide additional data or information requested by the Freddie Mac analyst, even if the request was submitted via the Resolve Retention API.
• The Resolve UI must also be used to submit a forbearance extension request or to settle an FHA, VA or RHS loan in your Freddie Mac portfolio.
   

Starting December 5, 2022, the UI will expand to include Flex Modification submissions. Here’s what it means for Servicers and technology providers leveraging the Retention API:

• The dashboard will display the full portfolio view of Flex Modifications submitted via Resolve, including exception requests. This new option is easy and convenient for viewing aggregated information on Flex Modifications.
• Since Resolve is fully integrated for Flex Modifications, workouts submitted in the API can continue to be processed and finished in the UI, and vice versa.
• No duplicate data entry is required; there is direct integration with your loss mitigation system.
• If you submit a case via API for exception review for which Freddie Mac has requested more information, you will need to provide the requested data via the UI.
• Please note, the ability to view workout details from the dashboard will not be available until Q2 2023. Continue to use your API response file for that data.
   

Modification to COVID-19 Flex Modification (FLXCVD)

• Similar to a standard Flex Modification, if the principal and interest generated by a COVID-19 Flex Modification (FLXCVD) are greater than the amount before the modification, Servicers can now request an exception review. Fatal edit check (LM000018) and the same message now apply to both.
• Please note: Users who have not yet adopted Retention schema V2 must submit exception review requests via the negotiated path in Workout Prospector.

This release enhances workout processing for Flex Modifications.

Flexibility for Trial Period State Date

• Servicers now have the flexibility to request a Trial Period Start Date other than the one that Resolve calculates. For example, the Trial Period Start Date may be a date that is before or after the calculated date, depending on the unique borrower circumstance.
• This enables Servicers to accommodate a homeowner who is about to start a Trial Period for a Flex Modification.

Timely Flex Modification Settlements

• For circumstances when homeowners make early Trial Period payments, Servicers now can request workout approval before the homeowner completes the Trial Period.
• This enables Servicers to prepare the final workout documents that need to be signed by the homeowner and speed up the overall Flex Modification settlement process.

Submit Retention Exception Requests

The Retention API schema enhancements bring you one step closer to a fully integrated default management solution.

• Download the updated Retention API schema (version 2) from the Developer Portal to submit exception requests for payment deferrals and Flex Modifications.
  • Request file: Enhancements to Retention API schema provides capability to indicate when exception decision is needed for payment deferrals and Flex Modifications in Resolve. Note that there are placeholders for upcoming enhancements.
  • Response file: Receive exception decision status and comments from the Freddie Mac analyst to support exception decisioning, along with post-workout terms. Additionally, receive new data elements, such as property evaluation type and date, deferred interest and deferred principal.
• With this update, your exception requests are integrated with the Resolve UI. This means you have another option to track those requests in a simple and intuitive dashboard.
• Additionally, both schema versions (1 and 2) for the Retention API provide near real-time decisioning on active (non-delinquent) loans.

Timing Update for Modification Trial Information

• Trial Period details for Flex Modifications have changed from the 1st calendar day to the 4th business day of the month.