Voluntary Flexible Agreement

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The Voluntary Flexible Agreement (VFA) was created by the United States Congress in 1998 during a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The VFA enables Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) guarantors to develop programs and techniques to help borrowers avoid student-loan default and all of its negative consequences. The VFA objective is experimentation for the purpose of finding the best practices, collecting long-term data, and sharing results in order to determine what benefits schools, students, the federal government, and the American taxpayer. [1]

United States Congress Legislature of the United States

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal Government of the United States. The legislature consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Higher Education Act of 1965 U.S. law establishing a student loan program

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) was legislation signed into United States law on November 8, 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. Johnson chose Texas State University, his alma mater, as the signing site. The law was intended "to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in postsecondary and higher education". It increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships, gave low-interest loans for students, and established a National Teachers Corps. The "financial assistance for students" is covered in Title IV of the HEA.

The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program was a system of private student loans which were subsidized and guaranteed by the United States federal government. The program issued loans from 1965 until it was ended in 2010. Similar loans are now provided under the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, which are federal loans issued directly by the United States Department of Education.

Contents

New Methods

The VFA allows for the development of new methods for debt management and default prevention. Previously, the guarantor financing model was more focused on default collection. Approximately 60 percent of a loan guarantor's revenue was generated from the collection of defaulted loans, with less than 10 percent coming from default prevention and zero percent coming from delinquency prevention. [1] Under the VFA, focus shifted to proactive delinquency, which means to stop repayment problems before they begin.

"First Generation" VFAs

Originally, the government entered into a VFA with only four guarantors. The "first generation" VFA organizations are American Student Assistance (ASA), California Student Aid Commission/EdFund, Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation (Great Lakes) and Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG). Before the first VFA, the federal student loan program existed for nearly 40 years without any definitive data on what prevents delinquency and default. Since the approval of the first generation VFAs, the following has been realized:

American Student Assistance (ASA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to help students know themselves, know their options, and make informed choices to achieve their education and career goals. It is headquartered in downtown Boston, Massachusetts.

EdFund is the United States' second largest provider of student loan guarantee services under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). It is organized as a non-profit public-benefit corporation. EdFund offers students and their families a wide range of information on the value of higher education, how to pursue it, how to pay for it, and debt management. In addition, EdFund supports schools with advanced loan processing solutions and default prevention techniques.

Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation was one of the largest student loan providers and guarantors in the United States. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, the corporation is non-profit. It was one of the four largest companies which service United States federal student loans: Great Lakes, Nelnet, Navient, and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. In 2018, the loan servicing part of the organization was sold to Nelnet.

The First Generation VFAs found that preventing delinquency is key in preventing default. Studies conducted by the First Generation VFAs found that educating students early and often about student loan repayment is an effective way to prevent late payments. Each guarantor invested in training programs to enhance its counselors' telephone skills. Counselors became more familiar with default prevention goals and learned appropriate strategies for resolving underlying causes of borrower delinquency. Best practice found that the best time to intervene is during the six-month grace period after a student graduates, withdraws, or drops below half-time attendance in school.

Consequences of Defaulting on a Loan

After a loan has been in default for 270 days (meaning no payment has been made) and the loan agency is unable to collect the loan, the loan is turned over to the state's guarantor. The loan may become "accelerated," meaning the entire balance will be due in a single payment. The following steps may be taken in order to collect the loan. The United States Department of the Treasury may offset federal and/or state tax refunds. The Department may also require an employer to garnish 15% of disposable employee pay to be put toward repayment of the loan. Additional collection costs may be assessed. Legal action may be taken against the defaulted borrower. And finally, the credit bureau may be notified, resulting in a damaged credit rating. [2]

Options for Defaulted Borrowers

Through the VFA proposal, borrowers who previously defaulted on their loans are able to enter a rehabilitation process and clean up their credit reports. [3] In the loan rehabilitation process, borrowers can reverse their delinquent status by making nine voluntary, on-time, consecutive payments. Borrowers can also get assistance in re-establishing eligibility for federal student aid.

See also

In finance, a surety, surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. The person or company providing the promise is also known as a "surety" or as a "guarantor".

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Thus the birth of Modifications. It is yet to date for clarity how theses enforcements came into existence and except b whom, but t is certain that note holders form the Midwest reached out in the Democratic Process for assistance. FBI Mortgage Fraud Department came into existence. Modifications HMAP HARP were also birthed to help note holders get Justice through reduced mortgage by making terms legal. Modification of mortgage terms was introduced by IRS staff addressing the crisis called the HAMP TEAMS that went across the United States desiring the new products to assist homeowners that were victims of predatory lending practices, unethical staff, brokers, attorneys and lenders that contributed to the crash. Modification were a fix to the crash as litigation has ensued as the lenders reorganized and renamed the lending institutions and government agencies are to closely monitor them. Prior to modifications loan holders that experiences crisis would use Loan assumptions and Loan transfers to keep the note in the 1930s. During the Great Depression, loan transfers, loan assumption, and loan bail out programs took place at the state level in an effort to reduce levels of loan foreclosures while the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Trade Commission, Comptroller, the United States Government and State Government responded to lending institution violations of law in these arenas by setting public court records that are legal precedence of such illegal actions. The legal precedents and reporting agencies were created to address the violations of laws to consumers while the Modifications were created to assist the consumers that are victims of predatory lending practices. During the so-called "Great Recession" of the early 21st century, loan modification became a matter of national policy, with various actions taken to alter mortgage loan terms to prevent further economic destabilization. Due to absorbent personal profits nothing has been done to educate Homeowners or Creditors that this money from equity, escrow is truly theirs the Loan Note Holder and it is their monetary rights as the real prize and reason for the Housing Crash was the profit n obtaining the mortgage holders Escrow. The Escrow and Equity that is accursed form the Note Holders payments various staff through the United States claimed as recorded and cashed by all staff in real-estate from local residential Tax Assessing Staff, Real Estate Staff, Ordinance Staff, Police Staff, Brokers, attorneys, lending institutional staff but typically Attorneys who are also typically the owners or Rental properties that are trained through Bankruptcies'. that collect the Escrow that is rightfully the Homeowners but because most Homeowners are unaware of what money is due them and how they can loose their escrow. Most Creditors are unaware that as the note holder that the Note Holder are due a annual or semi annual equity check and again bank or other lending and or legal intuitions staff claim this monies instead. This money Note Holders were unaware of is the prize of real estate and the cause of the Real Estate Crash of 2008 where Lending Institutions provided mortgages to people years prior they know they would eventually loose with Loan holders purchasing Balloon Mortgages lending product that is designed to make fast money off the note holder whom is always typically unaware of their escrow, equity and that are further victimized by conferences and books on HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN REAL STATE - when in fact the money is the Note Holder. The key of the crash was not the House, but the loan product used and the interest and money that was accrued form the note holders that staff too immorally. The immoral and illegal actions of predatory lending station and their staff began with the inception of balloon mortgages although illegal activity has always existed in the arena, yet the crash created "Watch Dog" like HAMP TEAM, IRS, COMPTROLLER< Federal Trade Commission Consumer Protection Bureau, FBI, CIA, Local Police Department, ICE and other watch dog agencies came into existence to examine if houses were purchased through a processed check at Government Debited office as many obtained free homes illegally. Many were incarcerated for such illegal actions. Modifications fixed the Notes to proper lower interest, escrow, tax fees that staff typically raised for no reason. Many people from various arenas involved in reals estate have been incarcerated for these actions as well as other illegal actions like charging for a modification. Additionally Modifications were also made to address the falsifications such as inappropriate mortgage charges, filing of fraudulently deeds, reporting of and at times filing of fraudulent mortgages that were already paid off that were fraudulently continued by lenders staff and attorneys or brokers or anyone in the Real Estate Chain through the issues of real estate terms to continue to violate United States Laws, contract law and legal precedence where collusion was often done again to defraud and steal from the Note Holder was such a common practice that was evidence as to why the Mortgage Crash in 2008 occurred for the purpose of wining the prize of stealing form Homeowners and those that foreclosed was actually often purposefully for these monies note holders were unaware of to be obtained which was why Balloon mortgages and loans were given to the staff in the Real Estate Market with the hoper and the expectation that the loan holders would default as it offered opportunity to commit illegal transactions of obtaining the homeowners funds. While such scams were addressed through modifications in 2008. The Market relied heavily on Consumers ignorance to prosper, ignorance of real estate terms, ignorance on what they were to be charged properly for unethical financial gain and while staff in real estates lending arenas mingled terms to deceive y deliberate confusion consumers out of cash and homes while the USA Government provided Justice through President Obamas Inception and IRS Inception of Modifications which addressed these unethical profits in Reals Estate. It was in 2009 that HARP, HAMP and Modifications were introduced to stop the victimization of Note Holders. Taking on the Banks that ran USA Government was a great and dangerous undertaking that made America Great Again as Justice for Consumers reigned. Legal action taken against institutions that have such business practices can be viewed in State Code of Law and Federal Law on precedent cases that are available to the public. Finally, It had been unlawful to be charged by an attorney to modify as well as for banking staff to modify terms to increase a mortgage and or change lending product to a balloon in an concerted effort to make homeowner foreclose which is also illegal, computer fraud and not the governments intended purpose or definition of a modification. There are reputable companies that are trained to assist with foreclosure defense and home retention options. In addition, hud.gov offers a variety of non-profit agencies that offer assistance.

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References

[1] American Student Assistance. Voluntary Flexible Agreement Report 2007. © 2007.

[2] Federal Student Aid. Retrieved on October 8, 2008.

[3] USA Funds Education Access Report. Retrieved on October 3, 2008.