Foreclosure Notice Requirement
The National Mortgage Settlement’s Pre-Foreclosure Notice Requirement for servicers
Servicers must now provide the homeowner with a pre-foreclosure notice at least fourteen (14) days before referring the case to a foreclosure attorney.
*The notice must:
- Set forth facts supporting the Servicer’s or holder’s right to foreclose.
- Include an itemized summary setting forth account information (i.e. reinstatement amount/arrears, date of the last full payment, description of any late fees).
- Include a statement that upon written request the borrower may receive certain information (i.e. payment history, copy of the note, copies of any assignment of the mortgage, the name of the investor that holds the loan).
- Include a statement outlining the loss mitigation efforts the service has undertaken before foreclosure.
- State why the borrower was denied a loan modification or other loss mitigation.
- Include contact information to obtain more information from servicer.
- Include contact information for counseling agencies.
We have seen several of this notices and believe that they provide useful information to homeowners and their attorneys.
Long Island Foreclosure Defense Attorneys
Call the Law Firm of Vaughn, Weber & Prakope, PLLC at 516-858-2620 today.
*The above is a partial list.
Forensic Loan Audits
Forensic Loan Audits
A Forensic Loan Auditor, purportedly, reviews your mortgage loan documents to determine whether your mortgage lender violated any state or federal mortgage lending laws when they funded your loan.
We always wondered if these outfits were really helping homeowners. We couldn’t quite figure out how just finding problems with the loan documents, and not actually using that information to defend the foreclosure, was helping homeowners.
Well, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a released a consumer alert, Forensic Mortgage Loan Audit Scams: A New Twist on Foreclosure Rescue Fraud, which states that these mortgage audits are “the latest foreclosure rescue scam to exploit financially strapped homeowners…” The alert goes on to state the following:
In exchange for an upfront fee of several hundred dollars, so-called forensic loan auditors, mortgage loan auditors, or foreclosure prevention auditors backed by forensic attorneys offer to review your mortgage loan documents to determine whether your lender complied with state and federal mortgage lending laws. The “auditors” say you can use the audit report to avoid foreclosure, accelerate the loan modification process, reduce your loan principal, or even cancel your loan.
Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the FTC and its law enforcement partners:
- there is no evidence that forensic loan audits will help you get a loan modification or any other foreclosure relief, even if they’re conducted by a licensed, legitimate and trained auditor, mortgage professional or lawyer.
- some federal laws allow you to sue your lender based on errors in your loan documents. But even if you sue and win, your lender is not required to modify your loan simply to make your payments more affordable.
- if you cancel your loan, you will lose your home and you will have to return the money you borrowed to your lender.
It is our standard practice, as foreclosure defense attorneys, to review ALL documents relating to the purchase and possible foreclosure of your home for potential defenses. We often find ourselves, due to no fault of our own, reviewing and drafting hundreds of pages in a short period of time. This is very labor intensive work, but we take pride in stopping unnecessary foreclosures and providing our clients with an opportunity to remain in their home.
As always, The Foreclosure Defense Law Firm of Vaughn, Weber & Prakope, PLLC is here to assist you. We are conveniently located in the heart of Nassau County, Long Island, NY. Contact us at (516) 858-2620 to arrange a consultation with a foreclosure defense attorney.
Please visit our Foreclosure category to learn more about foreclosure issues.
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