Tag: National Mortgage Settlement

Credit, Debt Relief, Foreclosures

Florida Offers Homeowners Facing Foreclosure a Free Assistance Program

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According to CoreLogic, Florida had the highest number of completed foreclosures of any state last year, with a total of 57,000 foreclosed homes. South Florida led the state with 9,603 in September alone. As a result, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation is offering a free statewide assistance program designed to help homeowners facing foreclosure called the Foreclosure Counseling Program.

The program provides struggling homeowners with one-on-one counseling and financial education services. Residents in all 67 counties are eligible.

“Foreclosure is still an issue facing thousands of homeowners in every county of our state,” said Florida Housing Communications Director Cecka Rose Green. “As a participant in the FCP, homeowners can expect to receive extensive housing and financial counseling services that can help them save their homes and become more financially stable.”

The Florida Legislature allocated $10 million from the state’s National Mortgage Settlement funds to implement the program. More than 40 agencies are available to assist interested homeowners across the state.

Click here to read more on this story or click here to visit the Florida Housing website for a full list of participating agencies.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

More military members qualify for foreclosure relief

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Nearly 1,500 additional members of the military are eligible for more than $186 million in foreclosure reimbursements under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), according to the Justice Department.   In addition to other compensation, a total of 2,413 service members and their co-borrowers are eligible to receive more than $311 million.

The five mortgage servicers include:

  • JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. (JP Morgan Chase);
  • Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and Wells Fargo & Co. (Wells Fargo);
  • Citi Residential Lending Inc., Citibank, NA and CitiMortgage Inc. (Citi);
  • GMAC Mortgage LLC, Ally Financial Inc. and Residential Capital LLC (GMAC Mortgage);
  • Bank of America N.A., Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Countrywide Financial Corp., Countrywide Home Loans Servicing L.P. and BAC Home Loans Servicing L.P. (Bank of America).

The compensation is a result of the 2012 settlement known as the National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) and an earlier settlement with Bank of America. It affects foreclosures that took place between January 1, 2006, and April 4, 2012, where the servicer obtained a foreclosure without a judicial proceeding or where the servicer obtained a default foreclosure judgment without filing a proper affidavit with the court stating that the service member was serving in the military.

For mortgages serviced by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, and GMAC Mortgage, members of the military who qualify will each receive $125,000, plus any lost equity in the property and interest on that equity.  Eligible co-borrowers will also be compensated for their share of any lost equity in the property.

Members of the military and their dependents who believe that their SCRA rights have been violated should speak with an experienced foreclosure defense attorney immediately. Additional information about the Justice Department’s enforcement of the SCRA and the other laws protecting service members is available at www.servicemembers.gov.

Click here to read more on this story.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Big banks meet obligations of robo-signing settlement, Homeowner relief falls short

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Big banks are cheering now that they have fulfilled their obligations under the National Mortgage Settlement. However, new reports reveal the $20 billion “robo signing” deal has fallen short, leaving many struggling borrowers underwhelmed.

While the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in 2012 that a million homeowners would see reduced mortgage principals or refinanced loans, data show only 630,000 homeowners across the country have seen any sort of relief.

In Florida, approximately 120,000 homeowners were offered $9.2 billion in relief, the nation’s second-highest level of assistance behind California. However, much of this money went toward short sales or second-mortgage forgiveness- relief, which did not help distressed borrowers stay in their homes.

Nearly $3.5 billion went toward eliminating second-loan debt that the lenders likely would have never collected. Banks earned another $3.5 billion in credit though short sales, by approving sales of distressed homes for less than the homeowners owed. Investors are the ones who largely benefited from banks’ focus on short sales. Approximately 11,000 of the 120,000 Florida homeowners offered settlement aid were allowed principal forgiveness.

Click here to read more on this story.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.