Hello, welcome to Every Bank. This is an automated service.
Please tell me your name and account number.
John Doe. Account Number 12345678910.
You are applying for a Home Affordable Modification Plan. Please help us determine whether you are eligible.
Are you in an owner-occupied single-family one to four unit property?
Yes.
I’m sorry, I did not understand you. Can you please repeat?
YEEEEESSSS!!!
And so on.
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Loan modification, which the US government’s Hamp programme is all about, is a time-consuming and labour intensive process. In fact, such problems have been cited as reasons Hamp modifications have not necessarily taken off at the rate envisioned by some in the industry.
So step forward business communications company Avaya, with their Avaya Solutions Meet the Mortgage Modification Challenge.
Here’s the basic idea, courtesy HousingWire:
A new service released Monday could help mortgage lenders and servicers better manage the deluge of calls they receive from borrowers looking for a loan modification.
Basking Ridge, NJ-based Avaya is a communications company that specializes in interactive voice response (IVR) systems, the automated phone systems that companies use to collect customers’ information before connecting with a live representative. The company released a new product Monday that will help lenders and servicers pre-qualify borrowers for modifications under the Making Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
The phone system places an outbound cold call to borrowers, notifying them they may be eligible for a HAMP modification. The system walks the borrower through a series of questions to determine pre-eligibility. If the borrower is identified as someone who is pre-qualified, a live agent takes over and initiates the modification process.
Once the modification process begins, the system places additional automated calls to the borrower updating the status of the modification process.
You can read more about the whole thing here.
We present the Avaya initiative as of interest since it may indicate the mortgage industry is getting its act together when it comes to Hamp mods. Outbound calls, in particular, could hint at an upcoming deluge of trial Hamp modifications (not permanent modifications, importantly) if such systems start to gain traction. Remember that as of August 2009 230,000 trial mods had been initiated – that has since grown to circa 500,000.
Trial Hamp mods are becoming more frequent – with associated consequences for mortgage servicers, lenders and the US GSEs.
Related links:
Mortgage modifications are becoming more common and more lenient – St Louis Post
More than you probably ever wanted to know about the Hamp – FT Alphaville
Hamp-ered – FT Alphaville
Anatomy of a Hamp modification – FT Alphaville