Lenders ‘Foreclose’ Homes They Don’t Own
In dozens of incidents nationwide, confused banks have ransacked properties that were either not mortgaged at all or were mortgaged by a different lender or were a customer of the bank in question but were current on their payments.
For instance, Bank of America broke into Alan Schroit’s second home in Galveston, Texas, and turned off the power, allowing 75 pounds of salmon and halibut Schroit had caught on an Alaskan fishing vacation to spoil and create a reeking mess. Schroit had previously paid off the property. Schroit and the bank settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed sum.
Critics of the mortgage process say these kinds of incidents are evidence that the mortgage foreclosure business is flawed and needs to be reformed.
”Every day, smaller wrongs happen to people trying to save their homes: being charged the wrong amount of money, being wrongly denied a loan modification, being asked to hand over documents four or five times,” says Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.
Source: The New York Times, Andrew Martin (12/22/2010)
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Pregnant Women Have Trouble Getting Mortgages
Some lenders are balking at approving loans when a new parent has temporary lost income because she is home taking care of the baby.
Even if a parent expects to be back at work in weeks, banks still may deny the mortgage. “If you are not back at work, it’s a huge problem,” says Rick Cason, owner of Integrity Mortgage, a mortgage firm in Orlando, Fla. “Banks only deal in guaranteed income these days. “
Lenders will not consider disability payments as income because they don’t last for three years.
A spokesperson for Fannie Mae said that a borrower on maternity or paternity leave could qualify for a mortgage by providing a letter from a doctor with the approved return-to-work date and a letter from the employer confirming the acceptability of the return date.
But mortgage brokers and practitioners say lenders aren’t interpreting the guidelines that way. “There is no real assurance that the new mom will come back to work after she has the baby,” says Marc Savitt, president of the Mortgage Center, a brokerage in Martinsburg, W.Va. “It’s just prudent underwriting to go ahead and approve the loan, but she has to be back before closing.”
Source: The New York Times, Tara Siegel Bernard (07/19/2010)
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Some Lenders Skirt GFE Requirements
Some lenders are avoiding the requirement that they lock in the good faith estimate by providing something loan officers are calling “worksheets” or “loan scenario forms” that don’t have to meet a government accuracy standard.
The worksheets contain some of the information provided by a good faith estimate. They are typically provided to shoppers who don’t provide – and often aren’t asked to provide – key information, such as the address of the property to be financed.
Loan officers defend the worksheets, saying that it is impossible to provide completely accurate estimates. But Vicki Bott, a deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, says if these worksheets turn out to be a way for lenders to avoid meeting their obligations, the department will respond by tightening the guidelines.
Meanwhile, buyers should ask for the good-faith estimate by name, so they get an accurate estimate of costs.
Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth Harney (01/15/2010)
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Mortgage relief money goes to six lenders.
$9.9 billion of eventual $75 billion program to help avoid foreclosure.
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Wednesday named the first six companies participating in a $75 billion program designed to help millions of struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure.
The administration said the companies — including some of the mortgage industry’s biggest players — will receive a maximum of $9.9 billion in incentive payments, which are designed to encourage mortgage companies to lower borrowers’ monthly bills. The government expects to finish arrangements with other companies in the coming months.
Chase Home Finance, part of JPMorgan Chase & Co., will receive up to $3.6 billion, the largest amount among the six companies.
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The other recipients are: Wells Fargo & Co., GMAC Mortgage Inc., Citigroup Inc.’s CitiMortgage unit, Select Portfolio Servicing and Saxon Mortgage Services Inc.
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