Tag Archives: Foreclosure Prevention

Los Angeles' city attorney, Carmen A. Trutanich, announced his office filed a lawsuit against US Bank over allegations that the bank allows its foreclosures to deteriorate into slum conditions and executes illegal evictions, according to a release Tuesday. The complaint cites more than 170 properties as examples of US Bank's illegal conduct. US Bank denied its role in the complaints, stating, ""We are extremely disappointed that the City Attorney's office has chosen to file this lawsuit. The city attorney has chosen the wrong party - we are not the owners of the properties, nor are we responsible for the servicing of the properties.""

Lake Research Partners released the results of an opinion poll showing that financial reforms enacted in recent years remain popular with potential voters. In light of events leading to 2008's financial meltdown, potential voters seem to overwhelmingly favor financial reform laws designed to prevent abuse. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents favor the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, while only 20 percent expressed disagreement.

Fannie Mae is now offering a program to help prevent foreclosures by enabling better relationships between servicers and homeowners, the GSE announced Monday. The program, dubbed Know Your Options Customer Care, is a customer engagement strategy and training program for servicers. Fannie Mae will conduct training sessions for servicer call center employees, provide scripting for homeowner interaction, and help implement ongoing quality control measures.

Delaware attorney general Beau Biden announced Friday that the state has reached an agreement with Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., (MERS) about implementing reforms. Biden filed suit against MERS last year after hearing from homeowners in the state who were ""unable to have meaningful conversations about saving their home"" and who could not find out who owned their mortgage.

ForeclosureRadar issued its Foreclosure Report for June on Wednesday, revealing that foreclosure sales fell significantly in the three largest foreclosure states in the company's coverage area. According to the report, foreclosure sales in California were down 13.4 percent over May and 48.8 percent over June 2011. Arizona and Nevada also saw a downturn in sales, showing month-over-month decreases of 18.5 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively. Year-over-year, Arizona's foreclosure sales were down 42.1 percent, while Nevada's sales fell 72.1 percent.

The Homeowner Bill of Rights so far consists of a series of related bills containing provisions that prohibit certain practices by lenders that have been attributed to the state's foreclosure crisis. Chief among the banned practices are robo-signing (signing of fraudulent mortgage documents without review) and dual-track foreclosure (starting foreclosure proceedings while the homeowner is in negotiations to save the home). The bill imposes civil penalties on perpetrators of these activities. In addition, it guarantees struggling homeowners a single point of contact at their lender who has knowledge of their loan and direct access to decision makers.

According to a report from NCLC, laws in many states allow local governments to sell property through a tax lien foreclosure process if the owner falls behind on property taxes. A tax lien may be started over nonpayment of a small delinquent tax bill and then sold at a tax lien sale for the back taxes owed on the property. If the homeowner fails to buy back the property, the purchaser may acquire the home for very little and then resell it for a huge profit.

The most significant impact of the $25 billion robo-signing settlement has been the clarification of foreclosure standards for servicers, which has led to a higher number of initiated foreclosures, Fitch Ratings said in a note. Foreclosure initiation rates rose to roughly 12 percent in June, the highest figure since first half-2009, according to Fitch. While there has been an increase in principal reductions, Fitch said the growing use of principal reduction may be a continuation of an earlier trend, not a result of the settlement. In February, state and federal officials reached a landmark settlement with five of the largest servicers - Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and Ally over foreclosure practices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed mortgage disclosure forms designed for understanding on Monday. The forms are a result of research, testing, writing, and review and are being created to help consumers comprehend the terms of their mortgage and the costs involved. The proposed forms are part of the agency's Know Before You Owe project and are to be provided after applying for a loan and before closing.

Wells Fargo announced Friday that as of May 31, the company had in place 771,757 active trial or completed mortgage modifications. Of those modifications, approximately 84 percent (648,709) were done through the company's own programs, and 123,048 were through HAMP.