$8 Billion in Settlement with Mortgage Lenders Earmarked for Florida. Citigroup, Bank of America, Ally Financial, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo included
Florida is one of many states that were victimized by the mishandling of mortgages. A West Palm Beach mortgage foreclosure attorney may be able to help if you were one of those victims.
$8 Billion Settlement to Be Received in Florida
In all, a settlement of $25 billion was reached with state of Florida and federal authorities in regard to 5 of the nation’s largest lenders engaging in the robo-signing scandal. These banks include Citigroup, Bank of America, Ally Financial, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Of that amount, Florida will receive $8 billion.
However, the only amount currently being guaranteed to the state of Florida is at least $4 billion from Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. This includes $3.1 billion to reduce and modify principal loans for those homeowners who face significant financial difficulties.
It also includes $309 million for those homeowners who are not behind on mortgage payments, but their high interest rate loans are greater than the value of their home. This will allow them the opportunity to refinance.
Penalties will be meted out if any of the banks fail to comply with the settlement. However, this doesn’t mean that Florida is out of the woods yet.
That’s because Florida is one of the top states to experience mortgage fraud. Most of the settlement will go to the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County in the way of loan modifications.
The settlement also should include about $334 million to help fund foreclosure prevention programs and other housing-related programs in the state of Florida. Approximately $171 million will go toward those owners who lost their homes, as a means of partially compensating them for fraudulent mortgage practices.
Florida’s attorney general has indicated that Florida is one of the states on the monitoring committee. It intends to hold banks accountable and make sure that they comply with the settlement.
Yet not everyone believes this settlement is enough to cover the losses experienced. There are some homeowners who will still be left holding the bag.
Overview of the Robo-Signing Scandal
It was the robo-signing scandal that led to thousands of owners losing their homes through foreclosure. This settlement is a means of compensating for the fraudulent practices, of which homeowners in Florida were many of the victims.
The previously named 5 banks engaged in practices in which a bank employee signed off on foreclosures without verifying it was legitimate. In some cases, this meant that a home may have been foreclosed on, even though the owner wasn’t truly in default.
Falsified affidavits and failure to review documents may have led to illegal foreclosures. Even if a home was potentially at risk, by not following the practice of reviewing all documents before signing off, it could help a homeowner fight the loss of their home.
Contacting a West Palm Beach Mortgage Foreclosure Attorney
It is hard to imagine that the traumatic loss of a home could have been avoided, or to learn that a home was illegally foreclosed upon. If you have been the victim of fraudulent mortgage practices, you may be able to pursue legal action.
If your home is in the midst of being foreclosed on, and you would like to know if you have the right to stop it, you should contact a mortgage foreclosure attorney at The Neustein Law Group, P.A.
Our law firm serves residents of the Palm Beach County, Miami-Dade County, Broward County and various other counties throughout the state of Florida. If you would like to learn what your rights are and how you can protect your home from foreclosure, contact us today – (561) 232-3788 (West Palm Beach), (888)400-ATTY (2889) or (305)531-2545 (Direct HQ).