Wilmington – Delaware homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments, face foreclosure, or have questions about their mortgage can meet face-to-face with six of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders at free housing workshops next week in Wilmington and Dover, Attorney General Beau Biden announced today. Homeowners can attend the events, on June 10 in Dover and June 11 in Wilmington, to discuss their loans with their banks, connect with a non-profit housing counselor, get information from the Attorney General’s Office and Delaware State Housing Authority about government programs, and learn how to prevent foreclosure-related frauds and scams.
“Since 2009, our workshops with lenders have helped hundreds of homeowners who are behind in their mortgage payments or have faced a significant change in their financial situation sit across the table from their bank and discuss repayment options,” Biden said. “I strongly encourage homeowners who are worried about missing mortgage payments to attend, learn about the resources and programs available to help keep them in their homes, and receive immediate on-site assistance from a variety of housing professionals we have brought together for them.”
At each workshop, mortgage servicers, state employees, and HUD-certified housing counselors will discuss mortgage modifications, government homeowner programs, and foreclosure scams. No reservations are needed. Workshops will take place as follows:
Monday, June 10, 2013
1 – 7 pm
Modern Maturity Center, 1121 Forrest Avenue, Dover
Participating servicers: Bank of America, Citi, M&T Bank, Ocwen, and Wells Fargo
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
3 – 7 pm
Chase Center on the Riverfront, 815 Justison Street, Wilmington
Participating servicers: Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, M&T Bank, Ocwen, and Wells Fargo
Homeowners who wish to meet on-site with their mortgage servicer should bring information about current income and details about their current mortgage, including loan number, monthly payment, interest rate, and loan balance.
Next week’s workshops follow Biden’s announcement this week that Delaware’s innovative foreclosure mediation program has been extended for four more years, and that more than 2,500 Delawareans are benefitting through direct payments, mortgage modifications and other assistance from last year’s historic nationwide settlement with the country’s largest banks. In January, 2012, Biden’s office launched the Delaware Mortgage Mediation Program, which requires lenders to have a meaningful face-to-face conversation with borrowers in foreclosure before a foreclosure proceeding can move forward. The program was slated to expire next January, but last week legislation was signed into law that extends the initiative to 2018. To-date, of the 884 foreclosure actions processed by the mediation program, approximately 50% of eligible homeowners actively participated in mediation conferences with lenders, and of those participants, 61% continue to be in discussion with their lender or have reached a non-foreclosure resolution.
In February of last year, Biden, 48 other attorneys general and the federal government reached a $25 billion settlement with 5 of the nation’s largest mortgage banks, resolving allegations of widespread mortgage servicing misconduct, including “robo-signing” of foreclosure documents by those banks. As required under the settlement, Biden announced that over the next two weeks approximately 1,500 Delawareans who lost their homes to foreclosure between 2008 and 2011 and whose mortgage loans were services by one of the 5 settling banks will begin receiving checks in the mail. The checks are to provide compensation for mortgage servicing abuses the banks may have committed. In addition to compensating borrowers for the prior servicing abuse, the 2013 settlement set tough new mortgage servicing standards for banks that aim to prevent future abusive conduct. The settlement also requires the five banks to provide more than $30 million in direct benefits to current Delaware homeowners by reducing principal on mortgage loans, extinguishing second lien mortgage loans, waiving deficiencies in short sales, and providing refinancing to “underwater” homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth. Since the settlement took effect, more than 1,200 Delaware homeowners have received more than $67 million in these financial benefits.
Delawareans who have questions about next week’s workshops should call the Delaware Homeowner Relief Hotline at 1-800-220-5424, e-mail mortgage@delaware.gov, or visit http://www.delawarehomeownerrelief.com.
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