Bank of America Halts Foreclosures!

Succumbing to legal and political pressure, Bank of America announced today that it suspending ALL foreclosures in the entire country until further notice. What this means is that BofA will no longer foreclose on any homeowner until it has had the time necessary to review ALL title and foreclosure documents on all of its mortgages to be certain that these docs are the correct ones and that they have been correctly completed and signed. How long this will take is anyone's guess, but the suspension begins tomorrow, Saturday, October 9, 2010.

There are hints that other large players in the home mortgage industry may also undertake such a policy, but thus far none have actually done so. Stay alert for further info in your local newspaper, TV, on-line or, of course, HERE!

Good luck!

More Relief in Michigan

In addition to one of the most storied football rivalries in the nation, UM vs. MSU, the state of Michigan has something else to help Michiganders who are having trouble making their mortgage payments because they're out of work. Called the Michigan's Hardest Hit Fund, it is an attempt by the state's Housing Authority to help unemployed homeowners make their payments. It is designed to cover up to half of a homeowner's monthly mortgage payment, and will provide this assistance to eligible borrowers for up to twelve months. Chase Bank has announced it will partner with the state to help out its mortgage customers. By the way, eligibility does NOT require the homeowner be behind in their payments. Perhaps the mortgage is getting paid, but while doing so, the lack of income is being felt in some other area of the family budget--other loans or financial obligations, food, utilities bills, medical care--you name it. Under this program, the assistance will help ease the strain by covering half of the mortgage payment.
Separately, Chase also has counseling centers set up in Troy and Detroit to help provide counselors to various outreach programs in those areas.
Mortgage with Chase? Call them now if you are unemployed, and Good luck.

Connecticut Leads The Way!

Not only does the Nutmeg State have the best women's basketball team in the country, but last week it took the lead in dealing with the issue of possible illegitimate foreclosure actions by banks. As those of you who follow this blog are already aware, many defaulted mortgages, as well as subsequent foreclosures, are being called into question across the country as more and more often it is being discovered that documents proving a lender's right to foreclose either don't exist or have nothing to do with the lender wishing to foreclose. Some states have established moratoria on foreclosures in a limited way, while other states have seen specific banks say they are suspending foreclosures while they review relevant documents and loan portfolios.

Not Connecticut! The Attorney General of the state, Richard Blumenthal last week announced a total, as in complete, no exceptions, moratorium on ALL BANKS regarding foreclosures in the state of Connecticut. The freeze on foreclosures will last 60 days, and could be extended beyond at that point if the situation warrants it. If you live in Conn, call your attorney for further advice. No lawyer, call Legal Aid.
Good luck!

BofA Backs Off On Foreclosures--A Little

Echoing recent similar actions by a couple of its major home mortgage rivals, Bank of America announced yesterday that it would suspend final foreclosure actions (the actual foreclosing and subsequent eviction of occupants) for the time being in a number of its areas of operation around the country. They are taking this action in states where foreclosure is handled by judicial action only. This means that if you are not located in a state where such form of foreclosure is an option, you fall outside this moratorium by BofA. There are 27 states that do not have judicial action as a form of foreclosure, including California. But, there ARE 23 states that do have this option, so you may have some good fortune here.

The reason for this action by the bank is in cases of BofA having difficulty verifying it has the legal and documentary right to foreclose on a particular property, it wants the ability to locate and verify it has legal rights of foreclosure backed by the appropriate related documents before proceeding on these foreclosures. This has increasingly become an issue in many areas of the nation not only for BofA, but for many other lenders as increased numbers of loans were sold and resold in various parts of the secondary and/or securitized markets.

Advice to the homeowner potentially facing foreclosure, regardless whether your loan was made by BofA or not, be prepared to challenge the action by the bank by forcing them to produce the relevant mortgage docs (promissory note and/or loan agreement). No docs from the bank may mean no foreclosure, or at least a long delay while they attempt to locate them.

Good luck!

Hope in Congress

Hope, and that's all it is at this point, for some loan mod help is showing up in Congress. A vote is possible on a bill that would mandate a loan modification decision before a foreclosure could proceed. Whether it finally happens and when is an open set of questions, but apparently, both are getting serious consideration by the folks in DC. Stay tuned and good luck.

Florida Fares Well with Fannie!

A while ago, last December, in fact, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that lenders had to have mediation sessions before finalizing a foreclosure or a summary judgment of judicial foreclosure. In line with this decision, Fannie Mae has now announced that its administrative guidelines for such activity will require that any such lender with a Fannie Mae backed loan refer any loans on Florida property to an attorney from Fannie's retained counsel mediation network BEFORE instituting foreclosure proceedings. This provides anyone with a Fannie loan on Florida property some additional opportunity to go through the mediation process as part of the effort to resolve the problem without automatically losing the property to foreclosure. Check with your lender or attorney for more details as to how exactly this applies to you if you are a Florida property owner in this category. Good luck.

Possible Help If You're Underwater

Well, an item we discussed previously is now up and running. The FHA's program to help those who are underwater (owe more than the home is worth) went into effect on Tuesday, September 7. Basically, it is directed at non-FHA borrowers, and aims to offer FHA-guaranteed refinancing of their existing loan. While it will NOT help all homeowners who are in this situation, estimates range from 250,000 to 1.5 million owners that will be helped.
The way it will work is that FHA will provide FHA-guaranteed refinance loans to homeowners who are in a negative equity position, and whose existing lenders will agree to write of a minimum of ten percent of the presently existing loan balance.

Comment: This is an excellent opportunity for those who qualify! My advice: Call both HUD and your lender TODAY!
Good luck!