Monday, November 25, 2013

Latest Foreclosure News 11-25-2013

Both the Fair Housing Act and Civil Rights Act were designed to protect consumers and homeowners from being trampled in the way they have been repeatedly… if you were told you did not qualify to apply, should not apply, or otherwise discouraged from applying for a loan or modification for any reason it could be a Fair Housing violation; if you believe you are qualified for loans you can repay to keep you in your home but believe you have been improperly denied a loan or modification it could be a Fair Housing violation; if during the course of the loan, from beginning to now you believe you were discriminated against, treated differently, or harmed by your Servicer or Lender it could be a violation of the Fair Housing Act. Read More at The Huffington Post

With home prices on the rise and foreclosures down nearly 30 percent from this time last year, the major issue distressed homeowners face today is the lack of laws that mortgage servicers are forced to abide by… During the housing crisis, the sloppy and unscrupulous collection practices were exposed as millions of homeowners could no longer afford to pay their mortgage. Because of this, various laws came into play and the CFPB has established a new set of rules servicers must follow – beginning January 1, 2014. Read More at LoanSafe

The Massachusetts Division of Banks has adopted amendments to its debt collection and loan servicing rules that prevent third-party mortgage servicers, including banks, from foreclosing on mortgaged property if an application for a loan modification is in process. The amended rules, which became effective on October 11, are meant to complement the recently adopted foreclosure prevention rules that require home mortgage lenders and servicers to modify certain mortgage loans if the cost of modification is less than the cost of foreclosure, according to the Division… Under the amended debt collection and loan servicing rules, third-party mortgage servicers are required to consider options to avoid foreclosure and third-party mortgage servicers are prohibited from initiating a foreclosure when an application for a loan modification is in process, a practice also known as “dual tracking.” Read More at Lexology