congressional_record: CREC-2012-12-31-pt1-PgE2020
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| CREC-2012-12-31-pt1-PgE2020 | 2012-12-31 | 112 | 2 | MILLIONS FORGO FORECLOSURE REVIEWS | HOUSE | EXTENSIONS | ALLOTHER | E2020 | E2020 | [{"name": "Marcy Kaptur", "role": "speaking"}] | 158 Cong. Rec. E2020 | Congressional Record, Volume 158 Issue 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012) [Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E2020] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] MILLIONS FORGO FORECLOSURE REVIEWS ______ HON. MARCY KAPTUR of ohio in the house of representatives Monday, December 31, 2012 Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, this is the article I referred to in my one- minute speech this morning. (From USA Today) Millions Forgo Foreclosure Reviews (Homeowners Don't Have Much Time To Ask for Accuracy Checks) (By Julie Schmit) Millions of homeowners who were in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010 could miss a chance to have their cases reviewed for errors--and possible compensation--if they don't act by Monday. That's the deadline for eligible homeowners to request a free review required by a settlement last year between federal bank regulators and 14 mortgage servicers and their affiliates. The deadline has been extended three times due to poor response from homeowners. More than 4 million notices were mailed a year ago informing homeowners of their right to a review, but only 356,000 had asked for one by Dec. 13, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Compensation could range from hundreds of dollars to more than $100,000, the OCC has said. It is overseeing the settlement with the Federal Reserve. Requests must be submitted at independentforeclosurereview.com or be postmarked no later than Monday, the OCC says. Answers to questions can be found on the website or by calling 888-952-9105. ``The (response) numbers are not terribly impressive,'' says Bruce Mirken of the Greenlining Institute, a consumer advocacy group. Greenlining, like other consumer groups, says borrowers may still not be aware of the review opportunity. Notification materials--including the 4 million letters-- may have been ignored because they were written in legal jargon, were hard to read and looked too much like those used in foreclosure scams, says James Can, a senior policy fellow with the Opportunity Agenda, a non-partisan think tank. A Government Accountability Office report in June echoed those concerns. The settlement followed a federal probe in which regulators found significant weaknesses in foreclosure processes, including improper foreclosure document preparation. To meet regulators' deadlines, the GAO noted that servicers had just 60 days to develop outreach materials. That didn't leave time to test them with focus groups, one servicer representative told the GAO. About 95% of the letters were successfully delivered, the OCC has said. The reviews are intended to address a wide range of foreclosure errors, including excessive fees, wrongly denied loan modifications, misapplied payments or wrongful foreclosures. Borrower restitution will vary by case and financial harm, the OCC says. It's provided no cost estimate to servicers. No one has yet received restitution, OCC spokesman William Grassano says. The requested reviews are in addition to 159,000 reviews being done, as part of the same settlement, by consultants hired by the servicers, Grassano says. The Monday deadline should be lifted and review requests should be allowed as needed, the community groups say, especially since more recent outreach efforts have been more consumer friendly. The reviews are separate from a $25 billion settlement, reached between five servicers and, state and federal officials, that's also meant to address past foreclosure abuses. ____________________ |