…continued on page 4

January 2016

Take 5

New board chair, Faith Schwartz,

discusses her history with HLP

and the future of the organization.

Page 2

Bank of America Onboard

Hoping to resolve more foreclosure

cases and lower costs, BOA

has begun submitting foreclosure

mediation cases through HLP

Page 3

Green-Lighting HLP

Greenlight Loans has become the

first mortgage originatior to provide

applicants access to HLP.guru

Page 4

HLP Guru Launches New Home Buying EraWith its launch in December, HLP.guru became the first consumer financial applica-

tion to help people qualify for homeownership. The new app—which can be accessed

at HLP.guru—will be used by consumers and other stakeholders in the home buying

process, such as lenders, realtors and nonprofit counselors. Early adopters of the

platform include Greenlight, a subsidiary of Nationstar (see related story on page 4) and

the Tim Brown Foundation as a part of their national homebuyer events in 2016.

Through HLP.guru, HLP is expanding its traditional role of connecting stakeholders in

homeownership into the affordable lending and origination markets. “There is a tremen-

dous need for consumers, nonprofit counselors and lenders to collaborate together if we

are going to increase the homeownership rate, particularly in lower income and com-

munities of color,” said Cam Melchiorre, HLP’s chief executive officer. HLP.guru provides

a new platform for all these parties to work together to address a potential borrower’s

credit, borrowing capacity and home buying team, while also having access to objective

advice through nonprofit housing counselors.

Putting the Buyer in ControlMany people, particularly prospective first-time homebuyers, don’t understand how to

buy a home. They also believe that they have little control over the process.

HLP.guru changes all that with an app

designed to help today’s consumers who

use web and mobile apps in their daily

lives. It gives each person the tools need-

ed to manage their credit, improve their

borrowing capacity, connect with a certi-

fied nonprofit housing counselor and build

their home buying team.

“HLP.guru is a breakthrough; it’s an easy-

to-use app that puts borrowers in control of

the home buying process,” said Mark Cole,

You are one of HLP’s founders. Why did you get involved with the organization?

With its ability to track and store documents, HLP became

our industry’s primary solution regarding missing loan

documents during the mortgage crisis. HLP helps reach

borrowers through leveraging a trusted partner—nonprofit

housing counselors—and submitting workout packages

that safely get to the loan servicer. Sadly, communications

or miscommunications among all stakeholders became

one of the most chronic issues around the mortgage crisis.

HLP moved the dial and helped solve that problem.

What is your vision for HLP?

We’ve adjusted our strategy to focus on access to credit

to help promote homeownership. We also have other

priorities, such as providing compliance for MSR sales in

order to maintain the modification process among mort-

gage servicers. We are also addressing state level medi-

ation and can provide strong communication to enable

multiple parties that deal with modifications, short sales

and deeds in lieu.

HLP will continue to help homeowners get back on track,

working with pre-purchase counseling agencies and

lenders that desire to reach all ends of the market. HLP

focuses on the full lifecycle of the loan which allows for all

stakeholders to properly communicate more efficiently and

effectively.

What are the new opportunities for HLP?

We are in an interesting period for housing finance; credit

is tight and we are facing new demographics. While the

players are looking for ways to expand credit access for

homeowners in a safe way, HLP leverages the models of

homeownership readiness through its new Homebuyers

Club and pre-purchase counseling groups. So the chang-

ing marketplace is an opportunity for a nonprofit, low cost

provider that works with the largest players in the mort-

gage market to build partnerships among institutions that

care about the homeowners’ experience.

What are the biggest challenges facing the housing industry today? How can HLP help?

The housing market is shifting for several reasons: new

regulations, new capital coming into the system through

new players, and a tight credit market. There are many

uneven markets that are recovering slowly and need atten-

tion. HLP can be used in many ways in this new world of

players and partners. It’s a talented team with very strong

technology platform that allows HLP to be a nimble and

effective player. My sense is that being a good partner will

be key to HLP’s success going forward.

Why did you decide to take the position as HLP’s new chair?

I’ve enjoyed watching it grow more mature and innovative;

I also enjoy working with a very talented board to be stew-

ards of the portal. Bill Longbrake is someone who led HLP

through many challenging years. We agreed together, with

the board, that we would make the leadership transition

in 2016. Given my history with HLP, I was a natural choice.

We all believe in HLP and want to support it through all

of these market changes so it continues to be a valuable

resource for homeownership..

Faith Schwartz was elected HLP new chair in November,

succeeding Bill Longbrake. Schwartz is one of HLP’s founders

through her leadership at the HOPE NOW Alliance and has

served on the board of directors since 2009. Schwartz discusses

her history with HLP and the direction she sees for the organiza-

tion in the near future.

Bank of America Using HLP for Foreclosure Mediation in Deleware

Hoping to resolve more cases involving homeowners in

foreclosure and lower its costs, Bank of America has start-

ed submitting its foreclosure mediation cases in Delaware

to HLP. If the company experiences favorable results with

its customers in Delaware, it will consider using HLP for

cases in other states in the near future.

Available in 27 states that require or encourage mediation

in conjunction with the judicial foreclosure process, HLP

is a trusted resource for a growing number of attorney,

mediators and servicers.

Mediation is an increasingly popular tool to help people

find an alternative to fore closure. HLP expanded its tech-

nology platform in 2014 to handle the growing number of

foreclosure mediation cases from around the nation.

One obstacle to a quick resolution of cases sent to fore-

closure mediation is the number of people involved in the

process. A typical foreclosure mediation cases includes

the homeowner, their attorney, a nonprofit housing coun-

selor, the mortgage servicing company, its attorney and the

mediator. Because all parties often don’t have access

to the same documents, mediation sessions are often

canceled or rescheduled, resulting in wasted time, extra

expense and missed opportunities to find solutions.

HLP helps solve that problem. Our portal enables all par-

ties to see all documents simultaneously, as well as any

updates. “Everyone has a real-time view of the proceed-

ings,” says Cam Melchiorre, HLP’s chief executive officer.

“All parties can see and take action based on the docu-

ments in the portal. And the mediator can move each case

along much faster.

There are several benefits for mortgage servicers, ranging

from operating more efficiently to easier compliance with

regulations.

For more information about how your organiza-

tion can benefit from any of HLP’s services, please

contact us at support@hlp.org.

Everyone has a real-time view of the proceedings. All parties can see and take action based on the documents in the portal. And the mediator can move each case along much faster.

Melchiorre to Participate in FHFA EventHLP Chief Executive Officer Cam Melchiorre will serve as a panelist on Tuesday, February 2, as part

of the Federal Housing Finance Administration’s symposium on the Future of Loss Mitigation at

the Constitution Center in Washington, D.C.

The focus of the symposium is the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The program is

scheduled to expire at the end of 2016 and the conference will focus on possible programs and other

solutions to replace it. Melchiorre’s panel begins at 1 p.m. and is titled Making it Work—Operational,

Technical, and Regulatory Challenges.

mark.cole@hlp.org | 202.803.7933 | 100 International Drive | 23rd Floor | Baltimore, Maryland 21202

…continued from page 1

Coming Next MonthHLP continues to build its roster of partners and expand the services they use. Our February

issue will announce two new partners and provide details about their plans to use HLP for a

variety of services.

HLP’s chief strategy officer. “It will provide prospective homebuyers with individual

home buying plans using advanced analytics and a proprietary workflow to guide

the home buying experience.”

The app also puts buying power into the hands of consumers by connecting them

with a marketplace where they can shop for services and have a variety of mortgage

companies, realtors, title companies and other housing professionals compete for

their business. Anyone can get access to HLP.guru by joining the HLP Homebuyer

Club for a monthly subscription.

Working with Lenders and Other StakeholdersIn addition to Greenlight, many lenders see HLP.guru’s potential to assist applicants

who don’t yet meet mortgage underwriting standards. Several lenders have indicat-

ed that they are considering recommending HLP.guru to any person turned down for

a mortgage loan, offering a positive path toward achieving homeownership.

“While our primary goal is to help consumers, we believe HLP.guru provides bene-

fits to just about any company or organization involved in the mortgage origination

process,” said Cole.

Access to GurusThe “gurus” providing advice and guidance to consumers are nonprofit housing

counselors from around the country. Once a person joins the HLP Homebuyer Club

and has access to HLP.guru, they will be connected to a housing counselor that will

help them develop an action plan aimed at buying a home.

Gurus will be available online and by phone at any time during a person’s member-

ship in the Homebuyer Club. By utilizing HLP’s system, counselors and HLP.guru

members can work seamlessly together.

Greenlight agrees to use HLP.Guru

Greenlight Loans, a division of Nation-

star Mortgage, has become the first

mortgage origination company to pro-

vide its pool of applicants with access to

HLP.guru and the HLP Homebuyer Club.

The company will begin offering ac-

cess to HLP.guru in February.

Greenlight has agreed to recommend

HLP.guru on a trial basis to any person

it turns down for a mortgage loan. The

company believes that the new app

can help hundreds of families become

eligible for its mortgages.