Friday, June 22, 2012

Foreclosure Review Deadline Extended, Nearly 200K Requests So Far

The deadline to request a free, independent foreclosure review has been extended for another two months, and so far, nearly 200,000 people have requested a foreclosure review, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board announced Thursday. The new deadline to request an independent foreclosure review is getting pushed back from July 31 to September 30, 2012.

The review is for those who believe they have suffered financial harm as result of servicing errors during a foreclosure process between 2009 and 2010. The property must be the borrower’s primary residence and serviced by a participating servicer to be eligible. The OCC first issued consent orders for the reviews on April 13, 2011 against 12 mortgage servicers, and so far, about 193,630 people have requested a free review. In addition, independent consultants have reviewed servicers’ portfolios and selected 144,817 files to review. Currently there are 156,826 files under review, and 11,939 files have been completed, according to the OCC. If financial harm did occur as a result of a faulty foreclosure process, relief may be available in the form of lump-sum payments, rescission of a foreclosure, a modification, or corrections on credit reports, deficiency amounts, and records. Efforts from the OCC to reach out to borrowers have included 4.4 million letters sent to those who may be eligible for a review, and the agency also required servicers to pay for advertising announcing the review.

 The IndependentForeclosureReview.com website has been visited 600,386 times, and 7,948 borrowers have submitted requests for review online as of May 31. The toll-free number, 1-888-952-9105, has received 241,048 calls, and 25,752 people have requested forms. The independent foreclosure review is separate from the $25 billion servicing settlement reached between federal and state officials and five of the largest servicers. As part of OCC’s agreements, four banks – Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo – received penalties totaling $394 million.

 Examples of servicer actions that could lead to relief include Servicemembers Civil Relief Act violations; modifications that were not approved but should have been, lack of proper notification during the foreclosure process, and errors that did not result in foreclosure, but still led to financial injury.

By: Esther Cho

 Bayside NY Real Estate
Bayside Homes for Sale
homes for sale bayside ny

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