Application deadline extended to December 31

Wilmington – Delawareans whose mortgage loans were active in the foreclosure process in 2009 and 2010 now have extra time to take advantage of an opportunity to have their cases independently reviewed, Attorney General Beau Biden announced today.

To ensure as many eligible people as possible participate in the Independent Foreclosure Review program, the deadline to apply has been extended to December 31, 2012. More than 12,000 foreclosures occurred in Delaware during 2009 and 2010.

In April 2011, federal agencies required 14 mortgage servicing banks to hire independent consultants to comprehensively review foreclosures conducted in 2009 and 2010 in order to identify borrowers who suffered financial harm due to bank errors or misrepresentations, or other problems in the foreclosure process. Individuals who suffered financial harm may be eligible for compensation.

“For our housing market to thrive, everyone must play by the rules,” Biden said. “Borrowers have an opportunity to find out if banks followed the rules when foreclosing. If the rules were broken and borrowers were harmed, the borrowers may have an opportunity through this review to be compensated.”

Biden’s office will also hold two educational events on Thursday, August 30 to provide information to homeowners about the foreclosure process, including possible alternatives to foreclosure and other housing-related issues. The first event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Millsboro at the Georgia House Restaurant (119 Main Street). The second will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the NCALL Research office in Dover (336 Saulsbury Road).  For more information on either event, homeowners should call the Attorney General’s Mortgage Hotline at 800-220-5424.

The Independent Foreclosure Review can help identify financial harm that borrowers may have suffered if their home was in the foreclosure process, such as:  

·         The mortgage balance amount at the time of the foreclosure action was more than was actually owed.

·         The borrower was doing everything the modification agreement required, but the sheriff sale still happened.

·         The foreclosure action occurred while the borrower was protected by bankruptcy.

·         The borrower requested assistance/modification, submitted complete documents on time, and was waiting for a decision when the sheriff sale occurred.

·         The foreclosure action occurred on a mortgage that was obtained before active duty military service began, while on active duty, or within 9 months after the active duty  ended and the servicemember did not waive his/her rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

For information on applying for a review, borrowers can visit:

·         www.federalreserve.gov/consumerinfo/independent-foreclosure-review.htm

·         www.occ.gov/independentforeclosurereview

·         Or call 888-952-9105 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST or from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays)

To be eligible for the review, loans must have been in foreclosure during the 2009-2010 timeframe, and must have been held by one of the participating mortgage servicers. Those servicers are:

·         America’s Servicing Company

·         Aurora Loan Services

·         BAC Home Loans Servicing

·         Bank of America

·         Beneficial

·         Chase

·         Citibank

·         CitiFinancial

·         CitiMortgage

·         Countrywide

·         EMC

·         Everbank/Everhome Mortgage Company

·         Financial Freedom, GMAC Mortgag

·         HFC

·         HSBC

·         IndyMac Mortgage Services

·         MetLife Ban

·         National City Mortgage

·         PNC Mortgage

·         Sovereign Ban

·         SunTrust Mortgage

·         U.S. Bank

·         Wachovia Mortgage

·         Washington Mutual

·         Wells Fargo

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