A couple of months ago I wrote an article about the settlement between the state attorneys general in 49 states, HUD, the Department of Justice, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the following five lenders/servicers: Ally Financial(formerly GMAC), B of A, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. The original suit was for claims of lender misconduct in foreclosure, loan servicing and loan origination. The settlement includes $25 billion to be allocated by lenders/servicers for monetary sanctions and for relief and to assist homeowners.
There is a lot of information about this settlement but what I’d like to highlight here are the main features of the settlement that will or can affect the everyday homeowner.
There are various provisions that make the loan modification process easier; here is a list of some of the new rules (from the legal section of the C.A.R.’s website):
Lenders/servicers must evaluate the borrower’s situation for possible loss mitigation options prior to referring a borrower’s loan to foreclosure.
Borrowers will have the ability to appeal decisions turning down their request for loss mitigation.
Lenders/servicers must follow specific timelines when handling loan modification. For example: banks/servicers must review and make a determination… Continue Reading
