Several months ago VHDA requested two scanners from the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (NFMCP) be granted to AHOME and First Home Alliance to facilitate counseling activities. This opportunity, made possible through a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation, enabled the NFMCP to award 500 scanners to grantees around the nation, including the two agencies for whom VHDA had applied. Both agencies will use the scanners to ease communications barriers with servicers through participation in the HOPE LoanPort web portal.

LoanPort, developed by the HOPE NOW Alliance, is an online system to streamline the submission of completed loan-modification applications by giving servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and housing counselors a common platform and repository for documents. LoanPort gives HUD-approved counselors the ability to submit completed Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) applications directly to a homeowner’s servicer. The web portal also allows counselors to track the status of the application and provide borrowers with more timely decisions.

Because the security of tax and other sensitive documents is a huge issue for housing counselors, LoanPort documents are scanned and sent electronically instead of being faxed. In addition, LoanPort eases the challenge of incorporating changes to federal loan-modification programs and allows more precise measurements of where the loan-modification process is breaking down.

While the web portal is used for uploading of HAMP loan modification applications, it’s also used for other loan mod products offered by the 10 participating mortgage servicers. HOPE LoanPort is a non-profit organization and is not affiliated with or managed by the government.

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