IndiSoft to support loss mitigation technology after HLP closes

IndiSoft will continue to support the distressed-borrower assistance platform formerly known as Hope LoanPort after the nonprofit that runs it winds down operations at the end of this year.

"HLP has been a reseller of IndiSoft's patented and HUD Certified RxOffice Case Management System, and IndiSoft is actively working with all stakeholders on a transition plan to ensure uninterrupted service and a smooth cutover on Jan. 1, 2020," the mortgage technology firm said in a press release.

IndiSoft also "will continue its commitment to the housing advocacy sector, residential mortgage servicing industry, consumers and State Housing Finance Agencies during and beyond this transition period," according to the release.

Servicers that are not planning to continue using IndiSoft's services after Dec. 30 are being asked to start processing affected loans outside of the HLP platform.

"HLP will be proactively reaching out to those servicers on Dec. 10 to remind them to move cases outside of the platform," a notice on the HLP website said.

The board of HLP, formerly Hope LoanPort, voted to shut down the organization on Dec. 31 because they decided the nonprofit's services are no longer needed in the current environment.

"I believe we should view HLP's closing as 'mission accomplished,'" its CEO Mark Cole said in a Q&A that appeared in an HLP newsletter. "We were created during the financial crisis to solve a specific problem that was crushing the housing industry. Diverse groups worked together and created a unique technology that served as a bridge to the mortgage industry for hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure.

"But times have changed and now most servicers have built their own customer portals to serve at-risk homeowners. A decade later, we can take pride that we help the industry make this transition and move on to other challenges," said Cole.

The organization was created in 2009, co-founded by Faith Schwartz, who at the time headed up Hope Now.

In 2014, HLP partnered with IndiSoft to use its RxOffice communication system to power the National Homeownership Solutions Platform.

Among the users of the portal was the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, which in 2017 became the first bankruptcy court to approve its use in the mediation process.

Over the years, HLP received grants to support its operations from a number of groups, including the Finance of America Foundation, an organization with ties to former Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. Another organization that provided a grant to HLP was CBC Mortgage Agency. CBC is currently challenging HUD over its down payment assistance policies.

"At our peak, there were more than 1,600 counseling agencies and 6,000 counselors using the platform to help their clients," Cole said. "In the past decade, we've helped more than 750,000 families seeking help."