SunTrust North Carolina Borrowers have Cash Coming!!

As part of a settlement, North Carolina borrowers with loans with SunTrust have some cash coming. According to the NC State Atty. General, they will receive a total of $2 Million in cash payments as a part of a larger $500 Million+ settlement related to mishandled foreclosures after the financial meltdown of a few years ago. To verify if you qualify, contact the office of the NC Atty. General, Roy Cooper. As always, Good Luck. Hopefully, this news will help all who are eligible have a very Happy Holiday Season!

Wells Admits Bankruptcy Rule Violation

If you have a mortgage with Wells Fargo, you may want to check about the following. Wells Fargo will return a reported $81.6 million to homeowners after apparently reaching a settlement with the Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee Program over the bank’s so-called “repeated failures” to provide bankrupt homeowners with legally required notices of mortgage payment increases. This was widely reported in various media locations in the past couple of days, so if you fit the description, I'd recommend you get in touch with Wells for more complete info, not to mention to see if you have any money coming from Wells, and, if so, how much and when you can expect payment. As always, Good Luck.

Great Refi News!!

This just in--Mel Watt has announced a potentially wonderful gift to everyone teetering on the edge with their existing home financing. Both the HARP and HAMP programs have been extended for another year! This may be the desperately needed key to saving the homes of many folks who need a reduction in their monthly mortgage nut. Details are scheduled to come soon and when I get them, I'll of course pass along the info. Meanwhile, you can check with your local mortgage lender and see if they have the details yet, or keep your eyes and ears peeled for announcements in the media. As always, Good Luck.

Possible Benefit for Service Members

Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island just announced he's written a bill to permanently extend foreclosure protection for all service members. The bill, if it becomes law, would extend the existing law protecting service members on active duty from foreclosure. It would eliminate the expiration date of the existing law, and extend its protection permanently. If you have any questions, contact the Senator's office. If you are an active duty service member and want to support the bill on its way through Congress, call or write your Congressman/woman AND both Senators. I say both as each state has two Senators. For all of our service people, passage of this bill is the least we can do to recognize the travails they all face in our defense.

NY Atty. Gen. Fights Zombie Forclosures

In an attempt to help homeowners remain in their homes longer, as well as stop the spread of abandoned properties and eliminate the blight these homes create, the New York state Attorney General has initiated legislation that would specifically allow homeowners to remain in their homes while facing foreclosure until that process has been completed in the lenders' favor. Additionally, it would prohibit lenders from harassing homeowners or other legal residents while they remain in the property pending the final foreclosure decision. If you own or legally live in a home in New York state and are having problems along these lines with your lender or its representatives, give the NY AG a call. It's (800) 788-9898.The address is Office of the Attorney General; The Capitol; Albany, NY 12224. Good Luck.

Wells Violated Agreement Terms

If you have a mortgage from Wells Fargo, and are trying in vain for a loan mod, the following may be of interest to you. A Federal judge in northern California recently ruled that Wells had breached the terms of its settlement agreement on loan mods by using "evolving and perhaps ill-defined standards" in determining which borrowers were eligible for loan mods. By using standards to determine who got a mod and who didn't, Wells allegedly was increasing the difficulty that borrowers faced when trying to qualify for a mod. If you've had problems recently in getting your loan modified, check into it. Contact Wells and the Controller of the Currency to discuss your situation, and, while you're at it, you may wish to consider having your attorney join the conversation. As always, Good Luck.

Payments From Citi

Gee!After all this time without posting any new info, we've got two in two days. Like yesterday's posting, today's announces expected large payment sums from Citi. Yesterday's had the cash coming from Chase. Today's announcement is from Citi to the effect that they're preparing to make a total of $20 million in payments to homeowners who were previously 'overlooked' when 2013's lender settlement-based payments were passed out. How you can 'overlook' $20 million in obligations I don't know, but I guess when your overall obligations top the hundreds of billions, the number $20 million becomes so relatively small that overlooking it is a possibility. Anyway, to get right to the point, Citi is making payments to its present and former mortgage customers of between a few hundred Dollars and $125,000 per borrower. No, you don't get o choose the size of your award--that's based upon exactly what violation was involved in the individual case. Mark Rodgers of Citibank is overseeing the payments. So, two bits of advice here: 1.) if your mortgage was/is with citi, you may want to contact the bank to see if you're on the payment list; and 2.) try directing your call to Rodgers to get immediate attention and deal with someone who is supposed to be aware of the facts in all cases. Hey, you could do worse than calling him. As always, Good Luck!

Chase Settles w/Dept. of Justice

Well, it's been several months since our last item. Not much of interest has happened and I was hospitalized for two months in the fall. Moving forward, now and all is OK! JUst late yesterday, Chase and the DOJ announced a settlement by the bank of $50 million over a wide array of violations in robo-signing and other areas. The proposed settlements will include a mixture of cash payments, loan credits and mortgage loan forgiveness for borrowers in bankruptcy. Equally importsnt, an independent reviewer will keeps regular tabs on Chase to insure the institution's ongoing compliance with settlement terms. The settlement is subject to court approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Michigan. As part of the settlement, Chase admitted filing over 50,000 improper robo-signed change of payment notices. Justice's representative, Acting Asst. Atty. General Stuart Delery was quoted as stating, "It is shocking that the conduct admitted to by Chase in this settlement, including the filing of tens of thousands of documents in court that never had been reviewed by the people who attested to their accuracy, continued as long as it did, Such unlawful and abusive banking practices can deprive American homeowners of a fair chance in the bankruptcy system, and we will not tolerate them." Chase's payments, credits, and contributions which total more than $50 million will include: $22.4 million in credits and second lien forgiveness to approximately 400 homeowners who received inaccurate notices of payment increase while they were in bankruptcy; $10.8 million through credits or refunds for payment increases or decreases that were not filed in a timely manner or noticed to more than 12,000 homeowners in bankruptcy ; $4.8 million to more than 18,000 homeowners who did not receive accurate or timely escrow statements; $4.9 million (approximately $600 per loan) to more than 8,000 homeowners whose escrow payments were not applied in a manner consistent with escrow payments Chase provided; and contributing $7.5 million to the American Bankruptcy Institute's endowment for financial education and support for the Credit Abuse Resistance Education Program. The advice from here is that if you have or had a mortgage with Chase, call them immediaqtely to discover your status nder the settlement's terms. Failing thst, get it touch with the Department of Jutsice, or Amy Walsh of the law firm, Morvillo LLP, that is theplanned overseer of the settlement. As always, Good Luck.