NOTICE:
The
Department of Housing and Urban Development delayed implementation of the revised
requirements for the preservation and protection of properties that secure FHA-insured
single-family mortgages. These requirements, which are provided in Mortgagee Letter
2007-03 became effective on April 30, 2007. This
additional time was provided in response to the industry's request. Also at the
industry's request, the Department simplified several reimbursement schedules
and integrated those schedules, including related clarifications into the mortgagee
letter attachment. To ensure that you have the most updated version of this mortgagee
letter, please use only those copies of the mortgagee letter that were downloaded
from hud.gov on or after the effective date of the mortgagee letter, April 30,
2007. If you have any questions regarding this issue, please contact the National
Servicing Center through the FHA
Resource Center. The
Department will periodically add to this list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ),
related to Preservation and Protection issues. About
Mortgagee Letter 07-03
Frequently
Asked Questions document,
revised May 12, 2008 by adding Question & Answer L5 regarding
the securing or replacing of a shed door.
About
Mortgagee Letter 03-05 At
the request of the industry, the Department is clarifying the debris removal guidance
that was provided in Mortgagee Letter 2003-05, page 4. The guidance cautioned
mortgagees that second bids were to be independent and competitive and that the
second bids were not to be channeled through the same national field service company
that the mortgagee may have used to obtain the initial bid.
The
Department delayed enforcement of this requirement until June 20, 2003. During
that delay, mortgagees were not considered to be in violation of this requirement
in circumstances where a national field service company provided the initial bid
and also provided assistance to the mortgagee in obtaining the second bid.
Questions
and Answers to clarify the second bid for debris removal requirements identified
in Mortgagee Letter 2003-05, issued April 4, 2003:
1. My company uses a national field service provider company. Is it permissible
to use only my national field service provider for both bids?
Each bid must be provided by a separate contractor and both bids
must be separate and independent. The second bid is to be an independent and competitive
bid and must not be channeled through the same source. 2.
Then, am I required to use two separate national field service providers in order
to get two independent and competitive bids?
No. The mortgagee may obtain the second bid from any firm of their
choice, provided that the second bid is independent and competitive and was not
channeled back through the same national field service provider.
3. Can
the national field service provider that I am using provide me with names of companies
that may perform debris removal for the purpose of obtaining the second bid?
Yes, The mortgagee should use all resources available including referrals from
peers, trade associations and even yellow pages in obtaining the second bid since
the lender remains accountable to ensure that the two bids are both independent
and competitive. 4.
Can the national field service provider that I am using order the second bid?
Yes. The national field service provider may order the second bid
for debris removal, however the completed bid must be submitted directly to the
mortgagee and not channeled back through the national field service provider.
This will ensure the bid is independent and competitive.
5. What
is meant by "channeled"?
The Department expects that the second bid is independent and competitive
and that there is no appearance that the entity that provided the first bid altered
its bid or provided information to the second contractor regarding the property.
The second bid must be based upon an independent evaluation at the site and not
based upon information provided by the first contractor. In addition, there must
be no appearance of a conspiracy in the development of the two bids.
6. Can
the field service provider obtaining the second bid meet the primary contractor
at the property site for access inside, if necessary?
Yes. The primary contractor can meet the secondary contractor at
the property for access. This will not always be necessary as lock codes are the
same in each region, and if a contractor has previously done work on a FHA-insured
mortgaged property, he is likely to have the designated key.
7. Can
the second bid go directly to the management and marketing (M&M) contractor?
Under no circumstances may the mortgagee allow field service providers or contractors
to process and submit either bid directly to the M&M contractor without the mortgagee's
review and approval of both bids. Both bids are the responsibility of the mortgagee
to ensure that each is independent and competitive. The bids upon approval by
the mortgagee, may then be forwarded to the M&M contractor.
8. If the
second bidder is the lowest, how is that contractor compensated?
The mortgagee may either pay the contractor directly, or may use its national
field service contractor to issue payment to the contractor that performed the
work. 9.
Was there an extension beyond June 20, 2003 for the implementation of this part
of ML 2003-05?
No. The provisions of ML 2003-05 were effective June 20, 2003. |