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ยป VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 13 GET YOUR DAILY DOSE OF DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Start your day with the most current and critical news on the mortgage default servicing industry from DSNews.com. Sign up for our e-mail newsletter and get the top stories delivered direct to your inbox every day. Register to receive your Daily Dose at DSNews.com FREDDIE FRESHENS UP ITS SERVICING FORM Freddie Mac released a joint bulletin with Fannie Mae that updates its guidelines for standard servicing policies, which are unrelated to its special initiatives to aid those affected by the hurricanes that ravaged the continental United States. In order to provide a better borrower experience for consumers, and under the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the GSEs made amendments to requirements to complete Borrower Response Packages, including hardship, income, and other documentation involved with Guide Form 710: Uniform Borrower Assistance Form to Mortgage Assistance Application. According to the bulletin, these changes will reduce supporting documentation required for the form and "provide a more flexible, streamlined application process for borrowers and evaluation process for servicers." Freddie will be making changes to the following categories of the form: borrower information, hardship information, property information, and borrower income and required income documentation. e form will no longer require information regarding monthly household expenses. e GSE will also be making changes to the information required for self-employed individuals and income calculations for calculating gross income. Servicers will also be required to include non-borrower household income. ese changes will be effective starting June 1, 2018. In order to help maintain the preservation and maintenance of REO and abandoned properties, the GSEs have also increased the reimbursement limits for servicers, effective October 9. Maintenance covered includes yard maintenance, property cleaning and waste removal, and other miscellaneous expenses, such as mold treatment, fence repair, extermination, and HVAC repair. Freddie Mac will also allow up to $2,000 in reimbursement for expenses related to clear- boarding windows. is stipulation took effect September 25.