GMAC Mortgage Formalizes Participation in Home Affordable Modification Program

Company signs HMP servicer participation agreement

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. - GMAC’s mortgage servicing operations this week formalized the company’s commitment to participate in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HMP) to assist struggling homeowners. GMAC Mortgage LLC signed the HMP servicer participation agreement on April 13, but started early in 2009 to prepare for the program.

GMAC Mortgage proactively sent tens of thousands of financial packages to customers it believed would qualify for modifications under the federal program, and to date has distributed more than 100,000 financial packages to homeowners who are potentially eligible for modifications under HMP.

“We are pleased to be among the first servicers to formalize our participation in the HMP program,” said Anthony Renzi, president of GMAC Mortgage and chief operating officer of Residential Capital, LLC, the company’s parent.

“In the course of our 25 years of mortgage servicing, we have built strong relationships with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and have partnered with both agencies in the past to pilot mortgage programs,” Renzi continued. “This agreement represents our full support of the Obama Administration’s program objectives and our confidence in these two agencies to implement and administer the program.”

To accommodate the increased customer activity, in part driven by the Making Home Affordable modification and refinance programs, GMAC Mortgage began adding staff to its nationwide lending and servicing centers.

GMAC Mortgage executives who lead the company’s servicing operations, Joseph Pensabene and John Vella, are overseeing the changes to staffing, processes and technology needed to implement the HMP program effectively while maintaining the company’s top servicer ratings.

GMAC Mortgage will launch a customer outreach program to follow up with homeowners who have not returned the financial packages within 90 days of sending. The company also makes the financial package available for download on its web sites (gmacmortage.com, homecomings.com and ditech.com).

“We want customers to contact us if they are behind or are having difficulty keeping up with payments,” Renzi said. “The HMP program offers borrowers more modification options than were previously available, so it is important that homeowners reach out to us.”

“It is critical that the customer quickly return the completed financial package and affidavit of hardship to us,” he added. “The sooner we receive that information, the sooner we can evaluate them for a modification under the program’s guidelines.”