Additional_Questions_and_Responses.docx

1. Due to the size and complexity of this RFP, would HUD consider re-soliciting it as three separate RFPs: Loan Servicing, Business Support, and Customer Service?

Response: No.

2. Due to the size and complexity of this RFP, would HUD remove the 8(a) set-aside?

Response: No

3. Would HUD please disclose the name of the incumbent(s) currently performing these services and the contract number(s)?

Response: Novad Management Consulting, contract number DU208WR-14-C-01

4. What is the address of the incumbent’s facility?

Response: 2401 NW 23rd St. Ste. 1A1 Oklahoma City, OK

5. Will the incumbent be required to attend training at the contractor’s facilities? Will the contractor be required to travel to the incumbent’s facilities?

Response: Yes

6. Where does HUD anticipate the post award/kickoff conference will be located?

Response: The post award conference will be conducted by teleconference.

7. Would HUD agree to hold all of the Status Meetings by webinar?

Response: No

8. What dates does HUD anticipate awarding this contract?

Response: HUD anticipates awarding this contract 30 days after receipt of proposals.

9. Page 117 of 140 lists the NAICS code of 531311 with the business size of $15.0 and the SF1449 has the NAICS code of 522390 with the business size of $20.5, would HUD please clarify?

Response: Page 117 has been corrected with a NAICS code of 522390 with the business size of $20.5 Million.

10. Is there a conflict of interest with awarding this contract to a current M&M Contractor?

Response: No.

11. 1.9 Special Qualifications for Key Personnel: Would HUD waive the CPA license for the Case Manager Qualifications? For the Title Attorney Qualifications does HUD expect to have a full-time licensed Attorney on staff?

Response: HUD would not waive the CPA license for the Case Manager Qualifications. Yes, HUD expects the Title Attorney to be a full-time staff member.

12. 4.5 Contractor Personnel lists two Key Personnel yet 1.9 Special Qualifications lists 6 Key Personnel, would HUD please clarify?

Response: 4.5 provides additional requirements for the Contract/Project Manager and alternate. 1.9 provides all of the required Key Personnel.

13. Would HUD consider releasing the Customer Relations/Servicing Guides now?

Response: No.

14. Would HUD please provide an approximate number of fireproof file cabinets that need to be moved from the current incumbent’s office to the new contractor’s office?

Response: There is one (1) fireproof file cabinet to be moved.

15. B.4 – CLIN’s state that the actual cost of shipping files for record retention will be a pass-through expense yet in 5.1.6 it states that the delivering of the archived boxes will be at the Contractor’s expense, would HUD please clarify?

Response: Shipping costs to the National Servicing Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for processing to the Federal Records Center in Ft. Worth, TX, in accordance with HUD Handbook 2225.6 Rev-1 are reimbursable, but the costs of retrieving files from off-site storage, if the contractor chooses to use such facility, will not be reimbursed.

16. 5.4.3/5.4.4 Are the occupancy inspections at the contractor’s expense?

Response: No.

17. Has the Government made a decision on whether the contractor may use the delegation of authority via Federal Register Notice versus filing an LPOA?

Response: A decision has not been made at this time.

18. What support from the current contractor (incumbent) will the new contractor receive during transition –in?

Response: The incumbent contractor will work with the successor contractor to facilitate transition in conjunction with HUD. The incumbent will participate in specialized training.

19. Will the awardee be able to interview the current contractor’s staff?

Response: Yes.

20. How often will HUD conduct its performance evaluation as outlined on page 21 of 140? How often will the contractor be required to send the files selected for review by mail versus electronic file?

Response: Quarterly

21. Can you provide current and historical volume of incoming customer service calls by month?

Response:

22. How long do current customer service calls last on average?

Response: Average duration time:

HECM: 25 Minutes Spanish HECM: 31.7 Minutes

23. How many customer service representatives does the current contractor employ?

Response: HUD will not be releasing this information.

24. 5.1.5 Is the contractor financially liable for reconstructing the file if the file is lost by the Government?

Response: The Contractor shall account for all files placed in its custody by HUD, HUD's Former Contractor or a mortgage lender. If a file is lost, the Contractor shall be responsible and financially liable for reconstructing the file.

25. 5.4.4 Are the monthly inspections on all loans in a due and payable status (that are not in custodial care) interior inspections or occupancy inspections?

Response: Occupancy inspections.

26. 5.7.9 How is a complaint on contractor’s performance validated?

Response: The GTR will retrieve all information surrounding the complaint and submit recommendation to Contracting Officer for final determination.

27. B2: CLINS 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 are for transition out costs. If we are to provide pricing for these CLINS, why then the statement that transition out costs will be negotiated during the option period the transition will occur?

Response: Section B. CLINS 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 states that those CLINS are reserved, so no pricing is required to be submitted.

28. 1.13: Please confirm: The Quality Control Plan is to be presented no later than 30 days from the post award conference yet the Project Management Plan and the continuity of Operations Plan are to be presented no later than 30 days from the effective date of the contract, correct?

Response: Yes, the specified dates are correct as posted in the solicitation.

29. Are the services to be provided only for HECM loans or will servicing be required for other types of Secretary held loans?

Response: HECM only.

30. If there are delays in GTR/GTM approval for payment of taxes, insurance, or HOA dues which resulted in penalties and late fees, is the contractor responsible for those fees?

Response: If HUD delays are the sole reason for a penalty or late fee, the contractor will not be responsible for those fees.

31. If HUD requires the contractor to utilize specialized council (i.e. bankruptcy attorney) would those fees be considered a pass-through expense? Would associated travel also be considered a pass-through expense?

Response: The contractor is prohibited from representing HUD.

32. How frequently can the contractor request pass-through reimbursements?

Response: Reimbursements may be requested monthly along with the servicing invoice. A pass-through expense is not turned in as a reimbursable, but posted at a loan level.

33. Can line of credit be replaced with Certificate of Deposit in HUD’s name?

Response: No.

34. Do Key Personnel need to be based in OK?

Response: Yes.

35. Do all processes need to be performed in OK?

Response: Yes.

36. Are cover pages and table of contents excluded from the page count?

Response: Cover pages and table of contents are excluded from page count.

37. Is the required Proposal Matrix excluded from the page count?

Response: Proposal Matrix is excluded from the page count.

38. RFP Sec. L.1.3 states that Letters of Commitment are required for all Key Personnel. Are offerors required to submit Letters of Commitment for all Key Personnel at the time of proposal submission?

Response: Letter of Commitments for all key Personnel shall be submitted at the time of the proposal submission.

39. If offerors are required to submit Letters of Commitment at the time of proposal submission, will they be excluded from the page count?

Response: Letters of Commitment will be excluded from the page count.

40. RFP Sec. L.1.4 says “As an attachment to the [past performance] chart, the offeror shall provide a narrative describing the past performance references that reflect the most relevance to the services being obtained…” Are Past Performance narratives excluded from the overall page count?

Response: Past Performance narrative are excluded from the overall page count. Please keep narratives succinct.

41. RFP Sec. L.1.4 reads “If the offeror is proposing to subcontract […] more than 20% of the contract value, the offeror shall submit a separate chart and narrative described for past performance above, for the proposed Subcontractor(s).” How many total Subcontractor past performance references can offerors submit?

Response: All relevant services performed in the 3 years prior to submission of proposal up to the 5-reference limit.

42. Are Subcontractor past performance references included in the 5-reference limit?

Response: Prime and subcontractors each have a 5-reference limit.

43. Can offerors submit Subcontractor past performance references in addition to the 5 Prime contractor past performance references?

Response: Yes. Section L.1.4 states, “If the offeror is proposing to subcontract (or use joint ventures/ partners, or other entities other than the prime Contractor to perform) more than 20% of the contract value, the offeror shall submit a separate chart and narrative described for past performance above, for the proposed subContractor(s).

44. Will Subcontractor past performance references carry equal weight (during evaluation) to Prime contractor past performance references?

Response: Subcontract and Prime past performance is combined and evaluated in relevance to the requirement and then given a single rating.

45. RFP Sec. L states that proposals should use “not smaller than 12 point type font” (p. 123). Will the Government consider allowing offerors to use 10 point font in tables, charts, graphs?

Response: Smaller font can be used for tables, charts, and graphs as long as it is still legible.

46. B.2 TRANSITION COSTS – 2nd paragraph – Page 1 of 140 - “CLINs 0004, 0010, 0013, and 0016 are not anticipated to be used unless the government does not unilaterally exercise the following option period. Are these CLINS correct?

Response: The paragraph has been corrected to read CLINS 0004, 0008, 0012, 0016, and 0020.

47. B.3 CLINs 0003, 0007, 0011, 0015, and 0019 – 3rd paragraph – Page 1 of 140 - “..paragraph XXXX…” What is paragraph XXXX?

Response: The paragraph has been correct to read:

“In the month following acceptance of the service by the GTR, the Contractor may begin to invoice the Monthly Service Price in accordance with the requirements of SECTION G - Contract Administration Data HUDAR 2452.232-70 PAYMENT SCHEDULE AND INVOICE SUBMISSION (FIXED-PRICE). (DEC 2012) Alternate II.”

48. 1.13 Transition In - Phase Two - Welcome Letter - Page 15 of 140. Is the production and mailing of the Welcome Letter a Reimbursable expense?

Response: No.

49. 4 Contractor-Furnished Items and Services – Personnel – 4th sentence - Page 22 of 140. Is an IT Manager a Key Personnel? An IT Manager is referenced as a Key Personnel in the referenced section above but in section 1.9 Special Qualifications an IT Manager is not included.

Response: Section 4.5 provides additional requirements for the Contract/Project Manager and alternate. 1.9 provides all of the required Key Personnel.

50. Specific Tasks – Section 5 – numerous locations - CLIN 105 Reference. Is “CLIN 105” a valid CLIN reference?

Response: CLIN 105 has been changed to read “the servicing CLIN.”

51. SECTION G - Contract Administration Data - HUDAR 2452.232-70 PAYMENT SCHEDULE AND INVOICE SUBMISSION (FIXED-PRICE). (DEC 2012) Alternate II - (a) Payment Schedule - CLINS 0003, 0006, 0009, 00012, 0015 – Page 70 of 140. Are the referenced CLINS 0003, 0006, 0009, 00012, 0015 correct?

Response: The paragraph has been correct to read as follows:

CLINS 0003, 0007, 0011, 00015, 0019 – The contractor will submit an invoice for the referenced CLINS not later than the 5th business day of each month.

52. Will ALL checks go through treasury thus eliminating the need for physical checks to issued daily (Section 5.3.5)?

Response: No, the contractor must have the capability to issue daily checks.

53. Will HUD give Contractor access to Social Security Death Index Search (Section 5.4.2.)?

Response: No.

54. Will the Certified Mail Charge be charged to the borrower/loan since this is from a default event (Section 5.4.3)?

Response: These letters are not required to be sent via Certified Mail.

55. Would the government considering increasing the page limit for Management Plan to 12 pages? Given the amount of information requested in this section, we think it would be beneficial for the government to see as much detail as possible (Section L.1.2).

Response: No.

56. What is the minimum number of past performance references (RFP L.1.4, Paragraph 1, page 125)?

Response: There is no minimum. We are asking for all relevant services performed in the 3 years prior to submission of proposal. It is up to the contractor do decide what work they have performed that is relevant to the solicitation.

57. Is the Proposal Matrix excluded from the stipulated page limits for Part I (RFP L.1, page 124)?

Response: Yes, the proposal matrix is excluded from the stipulated page limits.

58. Provided that legibility is preserved, may an Offeror use a font size smaller than 12 point in tables, charts, graphics, and diagrams (RFP Section L.1, (e), (2), page 123)?

Response: Smaller font can be used for tables, charts, and graphs as long as it is still legible.

59. Please clarify that HEMC was intended to be HECM (Cover Page, page 5).

Response: The Cover page has been correct to read HECM.

60. The contractor shall regularly verify data in HERMIT, SMART OR ANY REPLACEMENT SYSTEM…' Will the government please clarify/quantify what constitutes 'regular verification' ( RFP 1.2, page10)?

Response: The contractor must verify data in any system being used to ensure accuracy. It is expected that this will occur continuously throughout the life of the contract.

61. When there are legislative or regulatory changes that significant impact the servicing requirements such as the MOE, how will it affect the fixed price contract (Ref. B.3 CLINs 0003, 0007, 0011, 0015, and 0019 Page 1 of 140)?

Response: If after award the contractor believes that there are legislative or regulatory changes that significantly impact the servicing requirement, they should follow the steps dictated by FAR 52.212-4(d) Disputes- Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items.

62. Is HUD defining expenses made on behalf of the borrower, to include Cashier's checks, release fees, FedEx, title, tax research (Ref. B.4. CLINs 0005, 0009, 0013, 0017, and 0021 Page 2 of 140)?

Response: For purposes of this section, HUD is referring to disbursements made to a third party from a borrower’s available HECM loan funds as the result of a request for funds from the borrower, such as a property tax payment.

63. Are the One Time Reimbursable expenses to be included as transition costs or Reimbursables (B.4. One Time Reimbursables)?

Response: Yes.

64. Please clarify with regard to HUD's intent for licensed software or proprietary software (3.3 Equipment- Systems Rights Page 20 of 140).

Response: The Systems Rights paragraph has been removed from the solicitation.

65. Can you please clarify and provide an example of how a disincentive is calculated and the frequency of possible charges. Is the denominator monthly, quarterly, annual volumes (5.3 Accounting/Performance Standards/Disincentive Page 30 of 140)?

Response:

66. Please provide Attachment 5 (RFP 123)

Response: The Contract Pricing Proposal Format was provided as part of the original solicitation.

67. Will the Contractor be responsible for Asset Sales and if so in what capacity and if so, will costs associated with file retrievals from off site locations be reimbursed?

Response: Yes, the contractor will be responsible for Asset Sales, but the costs of retrieving files from off-site storage, if the contractor chooses to use such facility, will not be reimbursed.

68. Does the fixed monthly loan servicing cost of CLIN 003 change if the number of loans changes from the “approximately 650,000 active HECM loans” as indicated on page 10 of the RFP (1.2 Background)?

Response: No, this is a flat fixed rate for servicing

69. These references are confusing as to hard copy submission vs. email submission. Can you please clarify whether this is an electronic/email submission or hard copy (Ref. Section L.HUDAR 2452.215-70 Proposal Content. (MAR 2016) Alternate I and Alternate II (a).(Page 122) / Section L.4(d) (Page 128) / Section L.3 (Page 127) /FBO Web Site notification for this solicitation dated 11/16/2016).

Response: Section L.3 states: Please provide your proposal via email to Christopher.S.Stuart@hud.gov at the date and time specified in block 8 of the 1449.

70. Can you please clarify this requirement? How many total copies (original and reproduction) are required for Part II. If this is an electronic submission via email, please confirm the definition of original and copy with respect to electronic files (Ref. Section L.HUDAR 2452.215-70 Proposal Content. (MAR 2016) Alternate I and Alternate II (Page 122).

Response: Response: Only 1 copy should be provided. Section L.3 states: Please provide your proposal via email to Christopher.S.Stuart@hud.gov at the date and time specified in block 8 of the 1449.

71. Can you define all the Reimbursable “Servicing Expenses”?

Response: No, the monthly service price shall be compensation for all requirements not elsewhere specified in the PWS.

72. Specifically, are “Tax Monitoring” and Tax Research Services reimbursable by HUD?

Who is the current vendor, if any, for these services?

Response: No, these fees are not reimbursable.

73. Are “Hazard insurance” monitoring services reimbursable by HUD? Is there a current vendor for these services?

Response: No

74. Is required Forced Placed Insurance a pass through expense?

Response: Forced placed insurance is not a task provided by the Contractor.

75. Please confirm the following expenses are pass through and thus reimbursable?

Response:

A. Title Search Yes B. Eviction Yes C. Property Inspection Yes D. Appraisals Yes E. Death Monitoring Services No F. Bankruptcy Monitoring Services No G. Credit Report Fees Yes

76. For CLINS 0003, 0007, 0011, 0015, 0019, is the service to be priced per Unit/Loan or priced as a fixed price regardless on the current Assigned loan volume?

Response: As a fixed price.

77. Does the contractor have to use SMART system for the ticketing feature and call log?

Could the HERMIT system be used to track calls or some other system of choice by the contractor?

Response: HERMIT does not offer a ticketing feature and may not be used for this purpose. The contractor is expected to use the SMART system for the ticketing feature and call log.

78. Can the key personnel for the Title Attorney be a paralegal with extensive experience?

Response: No.

79. Are any of the existing servicing (i.e. tax monitoring, death monitoring, etc.) transferable?

Response: HUD is not involved in the relationship between the vendor and contractor and would therefore be unable to confirm transfer options.

80. Can the proposal be submitted electronically as opposed to delivered by printed copies ?

Response: Proposals shall be submitted electronically.

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