Real Estate Owned (REO Disposition Services

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY and a SOLICITATION IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or an obligation on the part of the Government to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the future. Further, the USDA, Rural Development is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary. The government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred associated with this RFI. Not responding to the sources sought does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on beta.SAM.gov and GSA eBuy. It is the responsibility of the potential offeror to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement. Responses do not guarantee award nor exclude/include you in the acquisition process. No feedback on evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. 1. Description: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development (RD), National Financial and Accounting Operations Center (NFAOC), St. Louis, MO is soliciting information for potential sources to provide NATIONWIDE Disposition SERVICES for its Real Estate Owned (REO) properties. The requirement is national in scope, supporting an RD portfolio that is located in all 50 United States, in addition to the U.S. Territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. Inventory would include single family homes, condominiums, manufactured homes, and vacant lots. The NFAOC is issuing the sources sought as a means of conducting market research to identify if there are small business concerns available and show interest in this upcoming requirement. Any vendor small or large interested must show experience, ability, capacity and resources to provide the supervision, labor, materials, equipment, and supplies necessary to provide REO disposition services nationwide. Status as a small business concern is determined in accordance with 13 CFR parts 125.8 through 125.13. Please refer to the Federal Acquisition Regulation at www.acquisition.gov, Part 19 for additional detailed information. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code to be assigned to this procurement is 531210 - Buyer's agents, real estate, offices. The REO disposition process is a collaborative effort between Agency and other entities to legally clear the property for sale, preservation of the property during the marketing and sales process and finalizing the sale process for free and clear title to the buyer. The Agency must review a current Appraisal and Title work to assure property is valued correctly and review title of the property for ease of sale process. Property Inspections and Preservation is done on the property to maintain the value of the property and to eliminate any nuisance abatement issues that could arise. Some of the services are monthly inspections, regular lawn mowing, waste removal and more. The Agency is seeking services to market/sale/close this property as per the handbook guidelines. The provider will need to work hand-in-hand with the agency during this process and provide a post-closing title assessment for assurance that any and all releases of Deed Restrictions, if applicable, are completed and property is legally conveyed to the new owner. 2.0 Background: The Customer Service Center (CSC) was established in 1996 to provide cost effective loan servicing for the Single-Family Housing (SFH) direct portfolio of the Rural Housing Service (RHS). The CSC realigned into the National Financial and Accounting Operations Center (NFAOC) in 2017. As of March 31, 2020, the NFAOC manages a loan portfolio of approximately 225,643 accounts. From the beginning, the amount of servicing was limited and did not include activities such as graduation, foreclosures, real estate owned property inventory (REOs), lien releases, document storage and other functions. In 2006, RHS began consolidating the last piece of loan servicing remaining in the field, specifically the foreclosure and REO processing. Today, there are 33 states included in this consolidation effort for both foreclosure and REO processing. National Financial and Accounting Operations Center (NFAOC) is charged with servicing mortgage loans and grants extended to low income borrowers in rural areas throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Trust Territories. Beginning operation in October 1996, USDA has serviced as many as 650,000 government loans and grants originating with U.S. Treasury funds. NFAOC currently services 225,643 Direct Single Family Housing Loans. The scope of these services will encompass all 50 U.S. States plus the U.S. Territories in the Western Pacific Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands, all services by USDA Rural Development/NFAOC. The NFAOC recognizes in many instances the property will be acquired by the Agency through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or foreclosure sale. If a foreclosure action results in no successful bidder, the USDA will assume successful bidder status. Current rate of acquisition is 80% however this will continue to decline as foreclosure cases are processed. The Contractor would be tasks with listing, marketing and sale of the property, closing, post-closing quality control and reporting back to the Agency as per the USDA Regulatory requirements 7 CFR Part 3550, Subpart F. The Contractor will work directly with the Agency if legal services or property preservation services are needed. Consistent with 7 CFR 3550.251(c)(1) [or see HB-1-3550 15.4 (A) ,Chapter 15: Managing Custodial And REO Property] the Agency is required to hold some properties due to Program versus Non-Program designation/classification, to allow potential SFH 502 Direct and Guaranteed program applicants to consider this home in an exclusive manner. Properties not meeting a decent, safe and sanitary (DSS) are also sold with an occupancy restriction. These requirements must be incorporated into a Vendor's model. Classifying the property is critical and one of the unique requirements of this program and that classification will be performed by the Agency. The Agency has established minimum standards for existing and new dwellings provided at HB-1-3550'Chapter 5 located at Chapter 5: Property Requirement. The Agency also has very specific guidelines in Disposing of REO Property - Chapter 16, HB-1-3550 the vendor will need to incorporate into their model. 3.0 Performance Objectives: REO Disposition Services- Establish an REO Disposition Service(s) to dispose of USDA-RD's properties with the primary goal reducing the days in inventory which reduces costs to the Agency. Multiple disposition methods can and should be considered. Listing: Ensure listings are up to date and available with listing of REO properties updated as per the property type and handbook and regulatory guidance. Listings must be published on a publicly accessible site. Marketing: REO properties are expected to receive maximum marketing efforts utilizing platforms and approaches such as local, regional, and state-wide Multiple Listing Services (MLS), marketing websites, auction sites, etc. Sales: Property sales are not limited to any one type of sales technique Closing: Ensure closings occur in a timely manner. Post-Closing - Ensure Agency required documents are submitted in a timely manner (Recorded Deed -(Quit Claim Deed), Copy of Hud-1 Settlement Statement and copy of sales proceeds, occupancy restrictions, etc.)) Reports: See Reporting Library Table below 4.0 Program Objectives Program Properties: See Handbook for more details. Program properties are determined by the agency. These properties are offered to 502 Direct Loan and 502 Guaranteed Loan eligible applicants during the first 60 days. At day 61, property can be sold as a Non-program property. Non-Program Properties: See Handbook for more detail. Non-Program properties are determined by the agency. These properties can be offered to the general public. Non-Program Properties - Lead Based Paint - as per Handbook and regulatory requirements, properties may be offered for sale with LBP disclosure and deed restrictions. An LBP Risk Assessment will be provided by the Agency. 3. Requested Information Your response should provide answers to the below seven (7) questions. Will you be submitting an offer on the formal solicitation when posted? Can your company provide REO Disposition services only, without any other ancillary services required by the Agency? How do you propose pricing to be structured? DO you prefer a fixed fee or a % of the sale or other? If other, please explain. DO you see any challenges adhering to the Agency required regulatory requirements (see handbook references) specific to the Pricing schedule and the initial listing price that are set by the Agency? Do you see any challenges in completing post-closing requirements set by the Agency? Are there any performance constraints you see in following the Agency requirement regulatory requirements (see handbook references)? 4. Responses a. Submission Instructions: Interested parties are encouraged to respond to this Sources Sought request. All communication shall be in writing and submitted electronically via email, referencing this RFI number to: Shelia.stoddard@usda.gov and Charles.spicer@usda.gov. No information will be taken by telephone. b. Written responses are to be in Portable Document Format (PDF) and are due no later than 5:00 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST) June 21, 2020. 5. Questions Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing, via e-mail to the Contract Officer Shelia.stoddard@usda.gov . Verbal questions will not be accepted. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after June 17, 2020, 2:00 PM EST will be answered.