Regulators are extending the deadline for homeowners, who
believe they were subjected to wrongful foreclosure practices in 2009 and 2010,
to have their cases reviewed.
Under the terms of a settlement reached with regulators,
fourteen banks agreed to review the foreclosure documents. The banks hired
independent consultants to determine if any errors or violations caused any
wrongful foreclosures.
The reviews came in the wake of a robo-signing scandal where
mortgage servicers and banks were accused of signing foreclosure documents
without even reading the documents. In some instances, employees for mortgage
servicers would sign thousands of documents a day.
Generally, when a homeowner feels that their foreclosure
documents may have been mishandled they can have a foreclosure attorney review the paperwork.
Homeowners- still living in their homes or not- may be
entitled to some compensation from the lenders if the review reveals that their
documents were fraudulent or handled improperly. The original deadline for
review was April 30, but the Office of the Comptroller of
Currency and the Federal Reserve have extended that deadline to July 31, giving
homeowners an additional 90 days to file.
The homeowner may be entitled to compensation if their
foreclosure documents were mishandled although the terms of the compensation
have not been determined.
Thousands of homes were seized by banks under false
pretenses and many have enlisted the expertise of a foreclosure lawyer to keep possession of their homes. Foreclosure attorneys are able to
assist a homeowner with all aspects of the foreclosure process.