Dual Tracking Still Exists in California!

It's illegal; it's severely criticized and it's still happening! Dual Tracking is a process by which lenders dealing with distressed housing simultaneously consider loan modifications while continuing to move the same property along in the foreclosure process. The problem with this procedure is that a borrower can be right in the middle of a potential successful loan modification of their mortgage, thinking they're safe for the time being from the risk of foreclosure and, BOOM--they find they've been foreclosed upon. The reason is that while they were faithfully, and in good faith, working with one individual representing their lender, someone else working for that same lender was moving the foreclosure along because he had neither received any new payments nor been informed that his institution was engaged in considering a loan mod for the homeowner. When the time to foreclose came, he foreclosed because no-one told him to do otherwise. He was on a dual track. Under both the recent national mortgage settlement with the largest mortgage lenders and the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, dual tracking is supposed to cease. The CHBR is state law, and bans the process after January 1, 2013. A survey by housing counselors in the state shows that four of the five biggest lenders are still regularly dual tracking their borrowers. In sync with these violations is the fact that once a homeowner requests a mod, they are to be provided with a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) who will be the only individual they have to deal with during mod negotiations, thus avoiding the potential risks entailed in dual tracking. The counselors found that in many cases, the SPOC was either very difficult to contact or didn't know either the status of the borrower's case or was uninformed of the methodology and/or procedures related to the process, and thus couldn't provide the homeowner accurate and complete information even when the borrower could reach the SPOC. If you are facing possible foreclosure, are located in California and are also trying for a loan modification, call your SPOC to be certain that individual is on top of your case, and that there is no dual tracking happening to you. Specifically ask him/her to confirm that no foreclosure process is currently moving on your home if you are anywhere in the overall mod process. If you are unable to ascertain this from your SPOC, cannot contact your SPOC, or get no response at all, contact your state legislator, the California Banking Commissioner, and, if you don't mind the publicity, your local newspaper and/or TV station. Let them know the issue and ask for some assistance. As always, Good Luck.