Applications for exemption and miscellaneous determination requests are assigned to Exempt Organizations specialists for review. If additional information is necessary to make a determination, a specialist will contact the organization for the information. Here’s a list of questions that might be asked on this topic. Explain your mortgage foreclosure counseling and loss mitigation processes. Include: a. The qualifications you use to determine who receives these services b. Whether you limit your services to any class of individuals c. The financial information you solicit from your clients Provide copies of application forms for assistance and agreements or contracts given to individuals seeking services from you. Concerning your workshops, classes, seminars on mortgage foreclosure intervention, financial counseling, mortgage loss mitigation, consumer budgeting assistance or other educational programs, provide: a. Whether your educational programs are open to the public and, if so, describe how the public learns about them b. A list of sessions you conducted in the last year c. A sample of the syllabi and materials you used d. Whether you offered these sessions with other entities, and if so, state the entity names, the terms of the relationship, and any limitations on attendees e. The percentage of your time and money that you spent on these educational sessions f. The locations of your programs g. Qualifications of your instructors State whether you offer, or plan to offer, any additional services or financial products such as loans, credit counseling (other than mortgage counseling), credit repair, negotiating with creditors, bankruptcy counseling, brokerage services, short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure or down payment assistance. If so, describe those services in detail. State whether you provide credit counseling or other financial counseling services. If so, provide: a. State the source, amount and purpose of the grant b. Describe grants that come from lenders who participate in your programs c. The number of individuals in each counseling session d. The criteria you use to determine which services are appropriate for a client e. Whether you also provide a written budget analysis to all clients f. Samples of materials used during your sessions State whether you require counseling clients to take ongoing educational programs during their counseling. If so, describe that activity in detail. State the number of times you meet with a client before recommending a particular approach. Describe the average amount of time your counselors speak with each client during an initial inquiry and subsequent follow- up inquiries. State whether you receive client referrals by purchasing notice of default lists, mortgage lists or lead lists, and if so, provide copies of any written agreements or contracts. If there is no written agreement or contract, describe the terms and conditions of each arrangement. Provide the following information about referrals: a. Describe the types of referrals or leads (for example, clients, services or goods) that you give or sell to others or obtain for your own use. b. Name the entities (for example, banks, credit-offering entities, local service agencies or government agencies) or individuals (for example, mortgage brokers, loan officers, realtors or attorneys) from whom you receive referrals, or to whom you refer clients. c. State how you selected those entities or individuals. d. State whether you pay or receive any fees for obtaining or providing referrals or leads. e. Describe each referral arrangement. f. Send us your documentation relating to agreements or contracts. State whether you have a business relationship with any mortgage brokers, loan officers, realtors or attorneys. If so, describe your relationships in detail and provide a copy of all agreements or contracts. State whether you applied to (or plan to apply to) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for certification as an approved housing counseling agency. If so, send a copy of your HUD application (or draft application if you’re in the planning stage) (for example, Form HUD-9900A, Form HUD-9900B or Form HUD-9900C). Describe the courses, services and counseling activities that you’ll conduct to qualify for and retain HUD certification. State whether you applied to (or plan to apply to) the Department of the Treasury for certification as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). If so, send a copy of your application (or draft application). State whether you applied for (or will apply for) funding from the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program as administered by NeighborWorks, or any other similar programs. If you applied, send a copy of your application (or draft application). State whether you made loans to clients. If so, provide a copy of the loan agreement. If there is no written agreement, state the terms of the loan (for example, the current balance, repayment period, and interest rate). State whether you negotiate formal payment plans. If so, provide the details and conditions of the plans. O16. State whether the payment plan involves the write down of the existing loan by the mortgage holder, a change in the mortgage interest rate, or the creation of a new loan. If yes to any, describe the transaction in detail. Provide copies of materials used in the work-out process. Provide the number of clients receiving mortgage mitigation assistance who you've helped in the last year: a. To bring a mortgage current b. To refinance or otherwise modify a mortgage c. To receive a second mortgage d. To initiate a forbearance agreement or repayment plan e. To execute a deed-in-lieu f. To find an alternative housing solution g. Refer to another social service or emergency assistance agency h. By following up, describe the methods you use to follow up with clients (for example, status updates to ensure that all agreements are in good standing), the mortgage holder, or the loan servicing agent Describe the methods you use, if any, to track the success rate of your mortgage loan renegotiation efforts in comparison to the failures. Provide the following information about your fees: a. Whether you charge fees for your programs. If so, provide a copy of your fee schedule. b. The factors you use to establish your fee schedule, including how you ensure that your fees are reasonable. c. Whether the fee is refundable under any circumstance. If so, describe in detail when the fee is refundable. d. Whether you provide services to individuals who are unable to pay your fee. If so, list the factors you rely upon to make the determination that a client is unable to pay. Provide the number of clients and the percentage of clients you served without charging a fee. e. If you have a policy about waiving your fees, send a copy of the policy. f. State whether any portion of fees are paid for or reimbursed by Department of Housing and Urban Development. State whether any of your services will be funded (in whole or in part) by fee-for-service agreements with lenders, creditors or debtors. If so, explain these agreements in detail and attach copies of the agreements. Explain whether you charge a separate fee to improve a client's credit record, credit history or credit rating. If so, describe that activity in detail. Explain whether you solicit contributions from clients during the initial counseling process or at any other time when they are in your program. For each grant you received: a. State the source, amount and purpose of the grant b. Describe grants that come from lenders who participate in your programs c. Attach copies of all grant requests and applications Send us the following information about your past and present directors: a. The total number of directors currently on your board. b. Whether you employ any director with voting rights in a capacity other than director and if so, provide their name and position held as an employee. c. Whether directors with voting rights receive a financial benefit, either directly or indirectly through your activities (excluding reasonable directors' fees). If so, name the director and describe the type of benefit they may receive. d. Whether your directors have special knowledge or expertise in credit or financial education, are public officials acting in their capacities as such, or are community leaders. e. Whether directors are acting in their official capacity as a public official, such as from the federal, state or city government. List each past or present board member, officer or key employee who has served on the board of any organization with whom you do business, has an ownership interest in any for-profit entity that does business with you, or who would otherwise be treated as a disqualified person by virtue of some other relationship with either of the above. For each, explain the nature of the relationship to your organization. Provide the following information about your employees: a. All categories of employees (for example, counselors, administrative or staff) b. The number of employees in each category c. A written description of each category Describe your employee compensation process. Include how you determine base compensation for all employees, bonuses or incentives and how employees qualify for bonuses or incentives. If this system has changed since you began operations, please explain. Describe the training or experience each counselor has and which training they received before and during their employment with you. Send us copies of your advertising materials, such as: a. Flyers and letters you distributed (or will distribute) through printed media (for example, the yellow pages, newspapers, magazines or local circulars), social media or internet advertising b. Current or prospective radio, television and phone call scripts Send us a list of internet sites where you advertise or plan to advertise, or that you link to or that link to you for advertising. Excluding any ownership interests in IRC Section 501(c)(3) organizations, explain whether you have a 35% or more interest in any corporation, partnership or trust or estate that is in the trade or business of: Lending money Repairing credit Providing debt management plan services, payment processing or similar services If so, provide the name of the person, the name of the for-profit entity, and any relationship that may still exist with the for-profit entity. State whether you have been the subject of an investigation, complaint or lawsuit by any of the following entities: State Attorney General State Office of Consumer Protection Better Business Bureau Federal Trade Commission Department of Housing and Urban Development Any other local, state or federal agency If so, describe the issue. State where and when it was started and describe the result. Additional information See the complete list of Applying for Exemption/Miscellaneous Determination Sample Questions by topic.
