Showing posts with label United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Show all posts

Thursday, August 25, 2011

SCHNEIDERMAN REMOVED BY TOM MILLER FROM THE 50-STATE COALITION OF ATTORNEYS GENERAL AND THE NATION'S FIVE BIGGEST SERVICERS. I AM FURIOUS. THE STRONGEST ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE COALITION HAS BEEN REMOVED BY THE SERVICER'S DIRECTED LEAD NEGOTIATOR. THANKS A LOT TOM MILLER. WE'LL SEE IF YOU GET RE-ELECTED.

Schneiderman Accused
Of Undermining AG-Bank Negotiations

IN NEWS > MORTGAGE SERVICING
BY MORTGAGEORB.COM ON WEDNESDAY 24 AUGUST 2011

COMMENTS: 0

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
has been removed from the executive committee
responsible for steering negotiations between
the 50-state coalition of attorneys general and
the nation's five biggest servicers, the
Washington Postreports.

In a statement provided to the Post, the lead negotiator
in the settlement talks, Iowa AG Tom Miller (pictured left),
accused Schneiderman of undermining negotiations. The Post
reports that Iowa Assistant AG Patrick Madigan alerted
other state officials of the decision by email Tuesday afternoon.

Schneiderman, who is currently investigating banks’
mortgage securitization activities, has objected to any
broad settlement that would release the banks from
liability relating to mortgage issues apart from flawed
servicing. Over the weekend, several news outlets
reported that federal and state officials, including
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Shaun Donovan, have pressured Schneiderman
to soften his position. Other state AGs, including those
from Nevada and Massachusetts, have similarly
expressed concerns over any settlement that would
shield banks from future litigation.

In his statement Tuesday, Miller said Schneiderman
had declined to join a “negotiation committee” in June.

“Since that time, New York has actively worked to
undermine the very same multistate group that it
had spent the previous nine months working very
closely with,” Miller said. “While we certainly respect
the right of any state to choose to no longer participate
in a multistate and to pursue another path, working to
actively undermine a multistate while still a member
of the executive committee simply doesn’t make sense,
is unprecedented and is unacceptable.”

Schneiderman spokesperson Danny Kanner said in a
statement that “ongoing investigations by attorneys
general cannot be shut down by efforts to settle
quickly,” the Post reports.

Friday, July 22, 2011

JULY 22 DEADLINE FOR PRE-APPLICATION FILING!!

MMI is approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to qualify homeowners for HUD’s Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP).

The EHLP is designed to provide mortgage payment relief for qualifying homeowners who have experienced a drop in income of at least 15 percent due to circumstances beyond their control, such as unemployment or underemployment due to adverse economic conditions or an illness.

Some highlights of the program include:

The $1 billion initiative is expected to provide help for up to 30,000 homeowners.
Applicants who meet the program’s eligibility requirements may receive a zero interest forgivable loan that pays past due mortgage payments, including missed payments and past-due charges, for up to a maximum of $50,000.
The zero percent interest forgivable loans will average $35,000 each, with a maximum of $50,000 awarded to eligible homeowners who are selected through the program. Learn more about this selection process by reading the EHLP frequently asked questions.
The deadline for filing a pre-application worksheet is July 22.

EHLP documents will only be accepted by approved agencies, such as Money Management International. To determine whether you may qualify to for help through this program, fill out the EHLP pre-applicant screening worksheet.

For more information about EHLP, read our list of EHLP FAQs or visit FindEHLP.org.

WHY DO BANK HIDE FORECLOSURE RECORDS?

RPT-States negotiating immunity for banks over foreclosures

(Repeats to additional subscribers; click on link.reuters.com/kyb72s for a special report on this issue)

* Negotiations continue despite evidence of continuing irregularities

* Reuters report helps prompt senators to demand information

By Scot J. Paltrow

NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - State attorneys general are negotiating to give major banks wide immunity over irregularities in handling foreclosures, even as evidence has emerged that banks are continuing to file questionable documents.

A coalition of all 50 states' attorneys general has been negotiating settlements with five of the biggest U.S. banks that would include payment of up to $25 billion in penalties and commitments to follow new rules. In exchange, the banks would get immunity from civil lawsuits by the states, as well as similar guarantees by the Justice Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development, which have participated in the talks.

State and federal officials declined to say if any form of immunity from criminal prosecution also is under discussion. The banks involved in the talks are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, CitiGroup, JPMorgan Chase and Ally Financial.

REUTERS REPORT PROMPTS LETTER

Reuters reported Monday that major banks and other loan servicers have continued to file questionable documents in foreclosure cases. These include false mortgage assignments, and promissory notes with suspect or missing "endorsements," which prove ownership.

The Reuters report also showed continued "robo-signing," in which lenders' employees or outside contractors churn out reams of documents without fully understanding their content. The report turned up several cases involving individuals who were publicly identified as robo-signers months ago.

Reuters found that such activity has continued even after 14 major mortgage lenders signed settlements with federal bank regulators promising to halt such practices and give remediation to some homeowners who were harmed.

In response to these disclosures, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, and nine other senators sent a letter to federal bank regulators, asking them to disclose information gathered about banks' foreclosure practices.

"This is especially important given this week's allegations that mortgage servicers continue to engage in widespread 'robo-signing' despite your assurances that the illegal actions would not continue," said the letter, which also cited a report by the Associated Press.

Several senators on the Senate Banking Committee, including Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican, have faulted bank regulators for not conducting a thorough investigation of the banks' handling of foreclosures. Six months ago, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other federal regulators conducted brief "examinations" of banks, during which they looked at a sample of only 2,800 loan files.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has publicly objected to any wide-ranging grant of immunity by the other states. Schneiderman has launched his own investigations of the banks, including probes of suspected misdeeds in "securitizing" mortgages. Securitization involves packaging large numbers of mortgages into pools and selling securities that give investors income from the mortgages.

"Attorney General Schneiderman remains concerned by any settlement agreement that would preclude state attorneys general from conducting comprehensive investigations of the mortgage crisis," a spokesman said.

Three states' attorneys general -- in Iowa, Illinois and Connecticut -- have been designated to handle the states' negotiations with the banks over protection from civil suits and other issues. Spokesmen for all three declined to comment on the progress of negotiations, or on the evidence of continuing wrongdoing by the banks. But people close to the talks said there is still widespread disagreement over the extent of immunity and the dollar amount of penalties.

The banks involved have declined to comment on the talks.

(Editing by Michael Williams)