American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc.

(AHMSI) Online Library

Table of Contents
This table of contents was created by the Western Center on Law and Poverty to facilitate access to documents explaining the
policies and procedures American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc. (AHMSI) employs in managing REO properties. AHMSI rebranded
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itself as Homeward Residential Holdings in May 2012, and now operates as an Ocwen subsidiary. The documents below were
produced in August 2011 pursuant to a court order compelling AHMSI to respond to Plaintiffs discovery requests in Nativi v.
Deutsche Bank. The page numbers correspond with the page numbers of the entire PDF document and not with the individual pages
numbers found in the various documents. To jump to an exact page, type exact page number into the white box found in PDF
document viewer
. . To search specific key terms, use CTRL+F on your keyboard.

REO Administration .................................................................................................................................................... 1

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Scope .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Policy .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
Property Preservations .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Valuations ...................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Negotiations and Closing ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Quality Standards ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Acquisition Assignment ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Scope .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Procedure ........................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Property Assignment Processing ................................................................................................................................... 6
Exceptions to Assignment Guidelines ............................................................................................................................ 7
Hard to Place Assets ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
Declined Assets .............................................................................................................................................................. 9
Unaccepted Assets ......................................................................................................................................................... 9
Accepted Assets ........................................................................................................................................................... 10
Ordering Independent Values (Appraisals, BPO, and/or VRR) .................................................................................... 10
Ordering Title Reports .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Termite Report Review and Reconciliation ................................................................................................................. 11

Processing a Relocation Assistance Program Agreement .................................................................. 13

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Qualifications ............................................................................................................................................................... 14
Jurisdictions with Special Requirements Vendor Process ......................................................................................... 14
Relocation Assistance Program Property/Assignment Team Task Process ............................................................. 15
Determining the Eviction Status Broker/Agent Process ........................................................................................... 15
Offering Relocation Assistance Program Sales Team Pre-Marketer Process ............................................................ 16
Processing the Relocation Assistance Program Agreement Broker/Agent Process ................................................ 17
Ordering the Relocation Assistance Check Sales Team Pre-Marketer Process ....................................................... 18
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Bloomberg Businessweek

Delivering Relocation Assistance Check to Occupant Nationwide Property Preservation ....................................... 18

Vendor Process
Completing the Relocation Assistance Agreement Broker/Agent Process ............................................................... 19

Rent Receipt and Processing .............................................................................................................................. 20

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 20
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 20
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 20
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Identifying Occupants as Tenants ................................................................................................................................ 21
Valid Leases and Rent Collection ................................................................................................................................. 21
Rent Processing ............................................................................................................................................................ 22
Reporting Requirements .............................................................................................................................................. 22
Vendor Monitoring ...................................................................................................................................................... 24

Eviction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 25
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 25
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 25
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 25
New Acquisition Eviction Referral ................................................................................................................................ 25
Eviction Referral Monitoring ........................................................................................................................................ 26
Closing Eviction Referral .............................................................................................................................................. 26

Repairs

........................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 27
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 27
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Types of Repairs ........................................................................................................................................................... 27
Evaluating Repairs ....................................................................................................................................................... 28
Obtaining Bids .............................................................................................................................................................. 28
Repairs Approval .......................................................................................................................................................... 28
Completion of Repairs .................................................................................................................................................. 28

Marketing Strategy .................................................................................................................................................. 29

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 29
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 29
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 29
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Determining Fair Market Value (FMV) ......................................................................................................................... 29
Developing the Marketing Strategy ............................................................................................................................. 30

Broker/Agent Setup and Qualification Process ........................................................................................ 32

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 32
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 32
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 32
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 32
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Selecting a Real Estate Broker/Agent ......................................................................................................................... 32

Activating the Real Estate Broker/Agent in DARES ...................................................................................................... 33
Quality Assurance ........................................................................................................................................................ 36

Real Estate Approval Guidelines

...................................................................................................................... 37
Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 37
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 37
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Approvals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Documentation ............................................................................................................................................................ 38
Maximum Maintenance Allowance ............................................................................................................................. 38
Maximum Repair Allowance ......................................................................................................................................... 39
Return on Repair Investment ....................................................................................................................................... 40
Valuation, Maintenance and Repairs ........................................................................................................................... 40
Maximum Valuation Variance ...................................................................................................................................... 40
Listing Approval Categories .......................................................................................................................................... 41
Commission Rates ........................................................................................................................................................ 42
Maximum Percentage of Sales Price for Other Sales Expenses ................................................................................... 42
Review Maximum Days in Inventory Aged Files .......................................................................................................... 42
Maximum Broken Bonus .............................................................................................................................................. 42
Contract Approval Categories ...................................................................................................................................... 42
Percentage Buyers Incentive of Sales Price ............................................................................................................... 42

Offers and Contracts ............................................................................................................................................... 44

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 44
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 44
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Submitting and Reviewing the Purchase Offer ............................................................................................................ 44
Signing the Contract ..................................................................................................................................................... 46
Commission Fee Structure ........................................................................................................................................... 46

Escrow/Closing ........................................................................................................................................................... 47
Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 47
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 47
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 47
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 47
Closing Document Preparation ................................................................................................................................... 47
Monitoring the Closing ................................................................................................................................................ 48
Processing Sales Proceeds ........................................................................................................................................... 48
Quality Assurance ........................................................................................................................................................ 48

Handling REO Property Title Issues ................................................................................................................. 49

Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 49
Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................ 49
Responsibilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 49
Procedure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 49
Curing Title .................................................................................................................................................................. 49
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Filling Title Claims ......................................................................................................................................................... 50

Monitoring Litigated Files ............................................................................................................................................ 50
Addressing Investor Escalated Issues ........................................................................................................................... 51

Power REO Management Services, Inc.: Broker/Agent Guidelines

.............................................. 52
Overview of Power REO Management Services, Inc. ....................................................................................................... 53
Power REO Broker/Agent Requirements ........................................................................................................................ 54
Registration ................................................................................................................................................................. 54
Media Relations Policy Statement ............................................................................................................................... 55
Power REO Contact Info .............................................................................................................................................. 56
DARES Business Portal ................................................................................................................................................ 56
Property Condition/Occupancy Status ........................................................................................................................ 57
Relocation Assistance Option ...................................................................................................................................... 58
Eviction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Rental Properties ......................................................................................................................................................... 62
Property Preservation .................................................................................................................................................. 64
Broker Price Opinion (BPO) Reporting ......................................................................................................................... 67
Monthly Reporting ....................................................................................................................................................... 67
Mortgage Insurance (MI)/ Special Investor ................................................................................................................. 68
Marketing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 68
Listing Process ............................................................................................................................................................. 68
Auction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 69
Offers ........................................................................................................................................................................... 69
Accepted Contracts ................................................................................................................................................. 71
Closing .......................................................................................................................................................................... 71
Exception Bid Requirement(s) ..................................................................................................................................... 72
Exception Reimbursement Request ............................................................................................................................. 73

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