The Ohio Attorney General's office and Ohio Department of Commerce have announced an ""assurance of voluntary compliance"":http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/CarringtonMortageServicesSignedAgreement.aspx (AVC) with ""Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC"":http://www.carringtonms.com to resolve a 2009 lawsuit. The AVC will also provide relief to Ohio homeowners facing foreclosure.
[IMAGE]""This agreement will help Ohioans obtain affordable modifications to allow them to stay in their homes,"" said Mike DeWine, Ohio attorney general. ""We are pleased that Carrington Mortgage Services has worked with our office and is committed to helping Ohio homeowners avoid foreclosure.""
The three parties agreed to several mortgage servicing standards that will apply to all Ohio loans serviced by Carrington Mortgage Services, a California-based firm that provides loan servicing support to investors throughout the country.
[COLUMN_BREAK]Under the agreement, borrowers who complete a loan modification application will receive a single point of contact with Carrington Mortgage Services.
In addition, Carrington will implement a specific timeline for all loan modification requests and temporarily suspend foreclosures when a borrower completes a loan modification application. The servicer will also implement an internal review process for denied loan modifications.
""Ohio consumers benefit from mortgage servicers that work proactively to avoid foreclosures,"" said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce. ""This settlement will allow Ohio homeowners to benefit from higher standards of customer service and responsiveness.""
Goodman added, ""The benefits of this agreement multiply. Working with homeowners to modify loans instead of foreclosure is a value to the neighborhood and beyond. Empty, unattended homes are not good for a community.""
Carrington also agreed to provide loan modifications or other relief to 60 Ohio homeowners who obtained their loans from a non-Carrington Mortgage Services lender, the servicing rights for which Carrington Mortgage Services acquired in 2007.
The AVC ended the litigation that the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Ohio Department of Commerce filed against Carrington Mortgage Services in Franklin County nearly two years ago. Carrington Mortgage Services admits to no wrongdoing or liability as part of the AVC.