The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a U.S. Treasury Department office, has introduced a new program that looks to aid homeowners who have been harmed by unlawful bank procedures in their foreclosure in North Carolina, and other states. Homeowners who were wrongfully foreclosed in 2009 and 2010 may be eligible for the program.
The OCC has set up something called the “Independent Foreclosure Review”. In North Carolina, this could mean tens of thousands of homeowners statewide would end up with help on their foreclosure because of bank errors, and could get relief, or even get back into their homes after a foreclosure.
Our North Carolina foreclosure defense lawyers believe this is one program that may actually work. After years of failed initiatives that were shot down by banks because they did little to help them make money, it’s possible that this new program could actually help homeowners who lost their homes through foreclosure.
If a homeowner misses even one payment, the banks begin sending letters, calling and harassing the family. Before long, the mortgage company is urging the homeowner to enroll in loan modification programs. These have been a nightmare — often the homeowner is later rejected and the bank uses the resulting arrears to file a foreclosure action. Meanwhile, they will continue assessing fees and penalties.
What many North Carolina homeowners have discovered in the foreclosure process is that banks aren’t out to help homeowners stay in their houses. They are focused solely on the best way to maximize profits. For the Big Banks, homeowners are literally “only a number”.
And that is why many programs have failed in the fight to help homeowners. The government-backed ideas threw money at the problem, but have helped very few homeowners. President Barack Obama had a goal of helping many people, but only 1.7 million have received funds. Of the $50 billion planned to be used to save the country’s real estate market, only $2.4 billion has been allocated.
But the Independent Foreclosure Review may be different.
Under the OCC’s plan, the federal bank regulators will use independent consultants to look at customers who may have been financially injured because of bank errors, misrepresentations or other deficiencies in the foreclosure process. If the homeowner is proven to have been injured, they may be able to recover funds.
These errors and misrepresentations have been outlined by many foreclosure defense attorneys nationwide – including ‘robo-signing’ and other problems. Robo-signing occurs when banks file documentation that has been signed by people who aren’t authorized to do so or by people who would have no knowledge of the facts of a particular homeowner’s case, yet they offer sworn testimony to prove the facts necessary to take away someone’s home.
Robo-signing has been rampant in recent years as banks have struggled to keep up with the influx of residential foreclosure cases nationwide. Rather than ensure homeowners’ rights were upheld, they hired companies to sign documents that should have gone through proper channels at the banks. Ironically, the “big banks” caused the mess they are now having to deal with, as the entire economic collapse was caused by the lack of regulation and oversight in the lending industry.
This resulted in many foreclosure documents lacking authenticity or represented in court as proper when, in fact, they were mishandled. Another issue that has been identified in the last few years is that banks have filed fabricated or made-up documents to support a foreclosure. This is perhaps the most egregious example of bank’s violating homeowners’ rights.
Banks are creating documents that should have been in hand long before a foreclosure is filed. There have been other examples of banks filing documents that are outright false and using incorrect numbers to justify taking away a person’s house. These are some of the issues that our Foreclosure Attorneys are fighting to rectify in North Carolina.
According to the OCC’s frequently asked questions page, there is a list of participating banks. The list includes major lenders Bank of America, Citibank, GMAC Mortgage, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, Chase, SunTrust Mortgage and other large institutions. If you lost your home in 2009 or 2010, check the list to see if you qualify for a review under the plan, and if so, fill out a complaint on the OCC’s page.
If you are in foreclosure in North Carolina or believe that foreclosure may be in your future, contact an experienced foreclosure defense lawyer first. There are defenses to foreclosure that can be exercised. And in cases where the homeowner has lost their home through illegal practices, it’s possible this new program could help.
The North Carolina foreclosure defense attorneys at Soboleski Law, P.C. can be reached at 828-285-8888.
