Hurricane Matthew could lead to slower turn times on valuation requests, CoesterVMS said Friday.
The valuation management services company said that it expects turn times to be delayed or extended as a result of the severe weather across the Southeast.
Evacuations were ordered across much of Florida's east coast and the coastal parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, and President Obama declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina, as Hurricane Matthew made its way north. As of Friday, the storm had caused wind gusts above 100 miles per hour at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and could still bring a storm surge of between two and nine feet across the four states, according to The Weather Channel.
Fannie Mae also issued a reminder that homeowners and servicers have mortgage assistance options at their disposal following a major disaster. In particular, servicers can grant an initial period of forbearance to any borrower they believe has been affected by the hurricane.
"We understand that many families and communities are hurting as they deal with the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew," said Malloy Evans, vice president of servicing at Fannie Mae, in a news release.
"Fannie Mae and our servicers stand with homeowners who have been impacted by these extremely challenging conditions. We are working with our servicers to ensure assistance is offered to borrowers and communities in need. Our thoughts are with all of those who have been impacted."
Homeowners were not the only ones in the storm's path. Technology provider Black Knight Financial Services is based in Jacksonville, Fla., which should continue to feel the effects of the storm into Saturday morning. Jacksonville had not fallen under a hurricane warning in 17 years before this week, according to The Weather Channel.
Michelle Kersch, Black Knight's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, said that the company's Jacksonville campus closed for the storm but the rest of the company remained open.
She noted that the company has "specific plans in place to respond to situations such as these," which are tested multiple times a year. These plans include sending staff to alternate locations, keeping critical operations staff onsite to support clients and hardening the company's data center for storm activity.
"As a result, there has been no client impact as a result of the storm and we do not expect any client impact," Kersch said in an email.
Black Knight's LoanSphere MSP is the technology used for
